Review 'from the margins' ceases publication

Céide, the independent magazine which aimed to promote dialogue between different strands of Irish life, has closed after five years of publication.

Edited by Father Kevin Hegarty, the review sought to provide a forum for liberal, intellectual views on religion and society, the arts and the sciences.

However, this challenge proved to be "beyond the financial, personnel and personal resources" of the editorial team, according to a valedictory message in the present, final edition.

While the magazine received critical praise and carried articles by leading Irish commentators, it never achieved a widespread circulation. Launched by the former president, Mrs Mary Robinson, in August 1997, it appeared every two months.

According to Father Hegarty, the intention behind Céide was to provide a platform for the different traditions on the island of Ireland and to encourage them to engage honestly with each other.

"An underlying editorial imperative was to recognise and celebrate the diversity of our society and to have a robust respect for dissent. The review was to seek to divine what Séamus Heaney has called the 'comfortless noises' that challenge the easy establishment consensus in Ireland."

Produced in Father Hegarty's base in Mayo, Céide termed itself "a review from the margins" or, in President Robinson's phrase, "the periphery of the periphery".

"Céide saw the margins as a useful place from which to view the wider landscape. Given its provenance, the review chose a close affinity with those on the religious, social, economic and political margins of our society," Father Hegarty explained.

The magazine's management committee was chaired by Mr Oliver Maloney, a former director-general of RTÉ. Father Enda McDonagh and Father Brendan Hoban were associate editors. Father Hegarty had previously been the editor of Intercom, the Catholic Church's official magazine for priests.