Northern Ireland

Noel Doran to reflect on 25 years as editor of The Irish News at Belfast festival event

Noel Doran and Amanda Ferguson
Noel Doran and Amanda Ferguson
By Suzanne McGonagle

The outgoing editor of The Irish News will reflect on his career in journalism at an event in Belfast aimed at exploring political and societal issues.

Noel Doran, the longest serving editor of a daily newspaper in Ireland and the UK, will stand down from his role in April.

Joining journalist Amanda Ferguson at the Imagine Festival of Ideas and Politics ahead of his departure, Mr Doran will look back on the past 25 years he has spent as editor.

Noel Doran will step down as editor in April 2024
Noel Doran will step down as editor in April

The free event at the Crescent Arts Centre next month is part of the annual festival that includes discussions on the “big issues of our times including new ideas on politics, culture and activism”.

While Mr Doran will leave his role as editor in April, he will continue to play a consultancy role with the paper.

Join the Irish News Whatsapp channel

Chris Sherrard, former Reach Ireland editor-in-chief, has been appointed as Mr Doran’s successor.

Mr Doran began his career with the Antrim Guardian in 1978, before moving to the Ballymena Observer and later joining the Belfast Telegraph.

Working in Derry and Belfast, he also served as the paper’s local government correspondent, before a period as duty news editor with Downtown Radio/Cool FM.

Mr Doran joined the Irish News as deputy editor in 1993, becoming editor in 1999.

During his distinguished tenure, The Irish News has amassed a raft of UK and regional awards in recognition of its consistent top-level content.

In 2020 he was voted by readers of the Hold The Front Page website as the best UK regional editor of the 21st century.

He has been credited with winning a wider cross-community readership for the paper.

According to the Audit Bureau of Circulations, The Irish News is now the UK’s biggest selling regional daily.

He will join Ms Ferguson, a freelance journalist who has worked as a Northern Ireland editor and Ireland stringer for a wide range of clients, including Reuters news agency and the Washington Post, on March 22.

Tickets for the event, which takes place from 12.30-2pm, are available from imaginebelfast.com/event/noel-doran-in-conversation-with-amanda-ferguson