Kieran McGeary, a 20-year veteran of Cork radio, has been appointed chief executive officer of Kerry's Eye, the independent weekly newspaper based in Tralee, County Kerry. The appointment was announced recently with McGeary expected to take up the role next month. The move marks a significant change in leadership at Ireland's largest independent regional newspaper, coming as new ownership and editorial restructuring reshape the publication.
McGeary's arrival follows the resignation of long-serving station directors at Onic, the radio and audio media group owned by Rupert Murdoch's News UK, where McGeary held the position of station director at Cork's 96FM and C103. McGeary departs Onic alongside three other senior station directors in what the company described as a review of operations in response to a challenging media landscape. Onic, formerly known as Wireless Ireland, reported losses of over 2 million euros in the year ended June 2025, up from 1.2 million euros the previous year, though turnover remained relatively stable at just over 23 million euros. The appointment of McGeary represents a transition from broadcast media to print journalism for the executive.
McGeary brings extensive experience in media leadership and entrepreneurship. Since the early 1990s, he has worked in local radio in Britain and Ireland, with a particular track record in launching and scaling youth-oriented media properties. In 2003, he launched Beat 102-103, Ireland's first regional youth radio station, which targeted listeners aged 15 to 34 across the Southeast and quickly became a market leader in its region. For the past two decades, he has served as chief executive of C103 and Cork 96FM, where he led operations through a period that saw significant changes in Irish broadcasting, culminating in Onic's acquisition of the stations under the News UK banner.
Kerry's Eye is a weekly publication founded in 1974 by Pádraig and Joan Kennelly and published every Thursday from its headquarters on Ashe Street in Tralee. The newspaper, with a claimed circulation of approximately 25,000, maintains coverage of local politics, governance, sports, and community events across County Kerry and border areas of Limerick and Cork. In April 2026, the publication was sold to Webprint, Ireland's largest privately owned cold-set printing company, marking a significant ownership change from the Kennelly family who had controlled the paper for over five decades. The Kennelly sons Pádraig and Brendan retained an active involvement following the sale, with Kerry Kennelly continuing as picture editor. Kerry's Eye remains the only independent newspaper in Kerry, competing against The Kerryman and The Kingdom, which are owned by larger media groups.
The appointment signals Webprint's strategic intent to bring experienced media leadership to Kerry's Eye following its acquisition. McGeary's background in building youth audiences and managing multiple station operations suggests the new leadership may pursue digital expansion and audience diversification beyond the newspaper's traditional print format. His appointment also comes as Kerry's Eye installs new editorial leadership, with Declan Malone taking over as editor from retiring long-serving editor Colin Lacey. The convergence of new ownership, new CEO, and new editor represents a comprehensive reset for the 52-year-old publication, potentially positioning it to address secular challenges facing regional print media through operational efficiency and cross-media product development, strategies Onic has similarly pursued with its digital transformation initiatives.
