PICTURES | Change the front page! How the Longford Leader has evolved since the first paper in 1897

1897: Founded in 1897, by J.P. Farrell, MP for North Longford a former Longford correspondent of the Roscommon Herald, the Leader also laid claim to news from Roscommon, Leitrim and West- meath. In this September 4 edition, a news item stated: “Nothing could be more miserable than the weather there has been for the past week.” Weather stories are still all the rage 122 years on!
1905: After eight years, the early masthead was replaced by this more flamboyant effort and the Leader was now in the market for Cavan readers. Front pages of other local papers in Ireland were by now dominated by advertising, but the Leader continued to give priority to news. This front page gave major prominence to parliamentary questions asked in Westminster by J.P. Farrell, the Leader's owner.
1923: The Leader reverted to this more traditional masthead - a variation on the original - early in 1923. It stayed for the next 50 years. The front page of this edition - from February 17, 1923 - was dominated by a number of colourful reports from the local courts. Lengthy, lively exchanges were reported verbatim by journalists clearly armed with excellent shorthand.
1939: With World War II imminent, the Leader’s front page began to feature pictures early in 1939, though the practice ceased for the latter years of the war. ‘Photo Corner’ on this March 4 edition included three pictures illustrating foreign news items, including a gas-proof pram in London. Further down the page was a picture of the new Pope Pius XII, whose election had just been announced.
1959: By the late Fifties, the use of bigger and bolder headlines was in vogue, but the Leader still packed an impressive number of news stories on its front page. The focus by now was firmly on local news. The January 24 lead story featured comments from Longford County Board chairman Liam Hastings, who rounded on critics of the GAA after being re-elected as chairman, unopposed.
1973: July 1973 saw a different masthead introduced after five decades. Banner headlines like this one, from the August 24 edition, began appearing. This story was based on an exclusive Leader survey which revealed rocketing prices at local supermarkets. “Every time you go down the town, there is something gone up in price,” said Mrs Josephine Walsh.
1987: The Leader celebrated its 90th anniversary in 1987 and there was a minor change to the masthead to mark the occasion, with the definitive article placed between the words ‘Longford’ and ‘Leader’ rather than before them. It disappeared altogether five years later. This January 30 front page conveyed a real sense of the fervent political atmos- phere of the era, with FF's future Taoiseach Albert Reynolds squaring up to FG pair Paddy Cooney and Seamus Finnan in Longford in the upcoming general election. In the event, Reynolds topped the poll. The author of the lead story was editor Eugene McGee. The following year, he put together a consortium that bought the Leader from the Farrell family.
June 7, 2013: After 116 years as a broadsheet, the Longford Leader moved to compact (or tabloid) format in June 2013. This marvellous front page, featuring many of the biggest stories covered by the Leader in the broadsheet years, was a fitting farewell to the bigger format. “Times change and so must we, but the core of the paper will remain the same,” wrote editor Sheila Reilly, adding: “We are a paper built in Longford, for Longford and of Longford. As we enter a new era, we want to reflect the changing Longford around us.”
June 14, 2013: The first compact edition of the Leader led on a rather bizarre story about part of a consignment of dead pigs being upended on the street, during a visit to Granard by Minister Phil Hogan. Now, nearly six years on, we have refreshed your favourite local paper once again, in the proud traditions of the Leader!
March 15, 2019: The Longford Leader launches its latest look with extra colour and a cleaner, more exciting look to each of its four sections: News, Community, Lifestyle and Sport. The paper introduced a number of new columns across the various sections, and sported a brighter design. The first edition of the new paper led with a double tragedy that saw two men lose their lives in separate accidents, plunging the county into mourning.

Reporter:

News Reporter

14 Mar 2019 4:00 PM

Email:

newsroom@longfordleader.ie

The Leader has always changed with the times and this week’s refresh is just the latest example of numerous innovations stretching right back to our foundation 122 years ago.

Scroll through the images above to get a full history of how your local newspaper has change since the very first paper in 1897.

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