Two hundred years ago the first editor of the Impartial Reporter newspaper in Enniskillen, William Trimble, was described as “the father of the Irish press”. And although busily engaged in his job, he was also the father of 26 children by two wives.
One of Ireland’s oldest provincial newspapers, the Impartial is deeply-rooted in the community and this year marks its bicentenary. Its full title is the Impartial Reporter and Fermanagh Farmers’ Journal and it is the only 19th century paper from Fermanagh to survive to the present day. First printed on May 19th, 1825 and priced at sixpence ha’penny, the paper produced an initial prospectus in February that year to alert readers of its forthcoming appearance.
In those days printing was a slow, primitive process and few people could read. International news, which formed the greater part of the contents, came to Britain by sailing ship, then by mail coach and packet boat to Ireland. Trimble’s journey by horse-drawn mail coach from Dublin, where he had served his apprenticeship as a printer, took 21 hours.
The Trimble family was connected with the paper for five generations. After William Trimble retired, his son Copeland, who trained in law in Dublin, was appointed editor. He was succeeded by his son, Egbert, known as “Master Bertie”, who took over the editorial reins in 1941; between the three of them, they chalked up 142 years’ service. Egbert’s elder daughter Joan Trimble – a renowned musician who played piano solos for Count John McCormack – became managing director in 1967.
McGrath hurrah - Frank McNally on the first Kentucky Derby, 150 years ago
Disunited Irishmen - Frank McNally on the year Shankill Road protestants paid tribute in Bodenstown and were attacked by the IRA
Red into the record – Frank McNally on Peadar O’Donnell’s libel case against the Irish Rosary magazine
Remembering the many talents of broadcaster, activist and historian Máire de Paor
The ebb and flow of significant stories in the 19th century included a black-edged issue in 1830 covering the death and funeral obsequies of King George IV at Windsor Castle. Less than a decade later the paper reported on the Night of the Big Wind on January 6th, 1839. The storm left a trail of destruction throughout Ireland, with the paper stating that “the roar of the wind was like an uninterrupted cannonade”. Next morning it declared that Enniskillen presented a frightful sight: “The shops were all closed as if death has visited the inmates of each; the streets were covered with broken slates, thatch and rubbish.”
During the 19th century the paper ran harrowing stories of the Great Famine in the 1840s when Fermanagh lost a quarter of its population to death and emigration. Other major events included evictions from the land and the Home Rule crisis, while the paper assumed the cause of tenant farmers and supported most of the politics of the Liberal governments of the day.
The Reporter was traditionally a unionist paper while the Fermanagh Herald was identified with nationalist opinion. However, the Trimble family embraced a cross-community ethos that nurtured fair, professional journalism. In his first editorial, William Trimble stated: “We should defend the protestant and the roman catholic with similar treatment.”
One of the Reporter’s triumphs is that it is believed to be one of the first newspapers in Ireland to publish an on the spot account of the Easter Rising in 1916. Egbert Trimble was in Dublin when the Rising began on Monday, April 24th and provided immediate reports of the fighting, published three days later.
As a garrison town, Enniskillen was the foundation of two British army regiments and its Dragoons and Fusiliers went to battle in many foreign fields. Both world wars of the 20th century were important in its history and from the clock tower of Enniskillen town hall stone statues of a Royal Inniskilling Fusilier and an Inniskilling Dragoon look out. Over the years, the Reporter kept the Inniskilling regiments in touch with the town of their birth. Copeland Trimble wrote a history of the 27th Inniskillings, illustrated by his friend William Wakeman, who in 1876 was art master at Portora Royal School.
Last year at the Newspaper Awards ceremony in London, the Impartial Reporter was named “UK Weekly Newspaper of the Year”. The judges praised its campaigning journalism saying it showed there is still a thirst for a well-produced traditional weekly newspaper. Under the editorship of Rodney Edwards, the paper has been transformed with a renewed focus on investigative journalism, highlighting injustices, community reporting and long-form storytelling, focused on history and heritage.
No longer in the ownership of the Trimble family, the paper prides itself on shining a light into hidden issues. One front page last year ran a headline “Gravy Train” carrying a cartoon featuring local councillors, before their meeting, enjoying hot meals at ratepayers’ expense.
As it celebrates a remarkable bicentennial milestone, the paper is not just looking back but has bucked the trend of the contracting print world by expanding its coverage into Dungannon and surrounding district in what might humorously be termed a “journalistic power grab”. In the era of the smartphone and social media influencers, it may seem anachronistic for a weekly newspaper to flourish, yet aside from its extended geographical coverage, it has also launched a new supplement, the Farmer’s Voice. Just like the bumblebee, the Impartial Reporter knows how to create a buzz.
An exhibition on the paper’s history will run at Fermanagh County Museum from May 19th
