Willie O’Hanlon: ‘Anglo-Celt’ managing director and key figure in the provincial press

Born: July 6th, 1924. Died: April 28th, 2013.

Willie O'Hanlon, who has died in his native Cavan, was one of the leading figures in the Irish provincial press. He was former managing director of the Cavan-based Anglo-Celt and a former president of the Provincial Newspapers Association of Ireland.

His family owned the Anglo-Celt from the mid-1860s until its sale to the Celtic Media Group in 2004. He became manager in 1948 and managing director in 1958.

For almost half a century he ran the paper's commercial side. He always kept up with changes in technology and business practice. In the late 1960s his initiative meant the Anglo-Celt was the second paper in Ireland with a web-offset press. This transformed the quality of pictures. It also led to the Anglo-Celt printing several other publications.

As well as having business acumen, O'Hanlon was a fine writer. For many years he was the paper's leader writer. One leader, written in 1982, was particularly effective. At the time his fellow Cavan man John Wilson was minister for posts and telegraphs. O'Hanlon was suffering a particularly frustrating day trying to make a call to Dublin, so he wrote a scathing leader.

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After the edition's publication, he happened to be speaking to a senior civil servant in the department. "There's fellas walking round here with the Celt in their back pockets," the official told him. There was a marked improvement thereafter in phone lines between Cavan and Dublin.

William Patrick O'Hanlon was born in Cavan town, the youngest child of four to John F O'Hanlon, managing director of the Anglo-Celt , and his wife Kathleen (née Gannon). After primary schooling locally he received secondary education at Clongowes Wood College in Kildare, where he excelled at rugby.

He is survived by his wife Nuala, son Mark, daughter Nola and grandchildren.