The Irish Examiner, formerly The Cork Examiner and then The Examiner, is an Irish national daily newspaper which primarily circulates in the Munster region surrounding its base in Cork, though it is available throughout the country. Its main national rivals are The Irish Times, and the Irish Independent.
The paper was founded by John Francis Maguire under the title The Cork Examiner in 1841 in support of the Catholic Emancipation and tenant rights work of Daniel O'Connell. Though originally appearing under The Cork Examiner title, it has re-branded in recent years to The Examiner, and subsequently The Irish Examiner to appeal to a more national readership.
The newspaper is part of the Thomas Crosbie Holdings group. As of 2004, its Chief Executive is Thomas J. Murphy, and its editor is Tim Vaughan. The newspaper was based at Academy Street, Cork for over a century, before moving to new offices at Lapp's Quay, Cork in early November 2006. Like all newspapers in Ireland it has experienced a sharp decline in readership over the last decade, The Examiner, however, has experienced a larger decline that other Irish broadsheet newspapers.
According to National Newspapers of Ireland, it had an average daily circulation of 42,083 (NNI July–December 2011). This represents a decline of 23.5% since the same period in 2007.
According to the Audit Bureau of Circulations, Ireland, the average daily circulation was down to 40,245 for the period January to June 2012. This represented falling circulation of 7% on a year-on-year basis.