Kerry's 'Kingdom' newspaper closes with loss of 11 jobs

The Kingdom, the Killarney County Kerry based newspaper is set to close with the loss of 11 jobs, its owner Thomas Crosbie Holdings told the press yesterday.

The final, founded in the 1920s by the MacMonagle family, will publish its final edition next Tuesday, the Thomas Crosbie Holdings group said in a statement. Employees of the newspaper were told of the closure yesterday.

The Kingdom is the second Irish newspaper to close since the start of 2011, following the announcement last week that the Irish Daily Star Sunday will also close with the loss of 17 jobs.
The Kingdom competed with the Tralee-based Kerry’s Eye and the predominant provincial paper in County Kerry, The Kerryman.

In a statement John O'Mahoney, The Kingdom's editor, paid tribute to his longtime staff: “The Kingdom is immensely proud of the role it has played, offering award-winning news and sports coverage to the people of Kerry,” he said.

Thomas Crosbie Holdings reported operating losses of 2.95 million euro for 2009 and said it also expected to be loss-making in 2010.