A trust is established to maintain The Irish Times as an independent newspaper.
Directors at the Irish Times, who control the shares of the company, have sold their shares to a non-profit making trust company for the sum of £1.6 million.
The Irish Times newspaper will be run by a board of governors who will control the Irish Times Trust to be run by The Irish Times Ltd and The Irish Times Holdings.
Former owner of the newspaper Major Thomas McDowell is to be made a president for life of the trust. He explains that the reason for the formation of the trust is to ensure that the paper continues to operate in the same fashion as in the past. Major Thomas McDowell spoke to staff at the newspaper as soon as the announcement of the transfer of ownership was sent to the stock exchange. He assures staff that their jobs will be safe under the new structure.
With the way that we look after our staff, with the provisions that we have made, I cannot see any reason why now that their jobs have been made secure in this way and protected against a takeover, why they should not welcome it.
The Irish Times has also announced plans to extend and modernise its plant and to provide facilities for the printing of provincial newspapers. The plan is to move the offices from Westmoreland Street to enable this expansion. He believes it is important for democracy in any country that a variety of newspapers provide a range of views of society.
An RTÉ News report broadcast on 4 April 1974.
