So what’s that now, paperless newspapers?
Indeed. Subscribe to any of the Irish daily newspapers online, and you can read it without ever having to fold a paper again. Good for the environment, good for your purse.
How so?
For the environment? Have you ever looked at the pile of old newspapers building up in the corner?
No, I get that. For my purse!
It’s a lot cheaper. €4 per week for the Irish Times ePaper; €14.99 per month for the Herald, €19.99 for the Irish Independent. And they all offer the first month for just one Euro.
Yeah no. I tried it before and it just didn’t do it for me.
Same here. However, I’ve resubscribed to the Irish Times online, and it’s so much better now! Especially on the tablet. You open today’s paper in the app, it downloads automatically to your tablet (or phone, if you prefer). It looks just like the newspaper, but is easier to hold and handle. You resize the page to a convenient size for reading. Or you tap into an article to open just that article on your screen.
But you can’t cut out something to give to someone else. Or to keep it for later.
You can share articles easily by email and other ways. Once you’ve tapped into an article, sharing options are in the top right-hand corner. And you can save articles to your computer or cloud storage. That way, you can keep them in a neat place for later!
And can you search past issues?
Oh yes! In the case of the Irish Times, you can search every single newspaper back to 1859. So, if you sort of remember that someone from Skerries wrote an interesting letter to the editor some time last year, just put in “Skerries,” filter for “Letters to the Editor,” and you have a list of thoughtful contributions from our very own town. Or check out mentions of Skerries in the newspaper in general.
Oh okay, give me an example.
In 1860, a “steam excursion” on the Mars steamer was offered to the readers of the Irish Times, “combining healthy and pleasurable exercise, with noble views and historic associations.” After passing Howth, Malahide, Ireland’s Eye etc., the steamer was going to get close to our area:
Nor will the Skerries be passed without affording material for reflection. These consist of four islands – Shenex, Red Island, Colt Island, and Innispatrick, or St. Patrick’s Isle. The last, so-called from its being the first spot of Irish ground trodden by Ireland’s patron saint. Shenex comprises an area of fifteen acres, and on it and the Red Island are Martello towers. A rich treat is, therefore, offered to our citizens on this trip; and it is hoped that the weather will be such as to encourage numbers to avail themselves of it.
Monday, August 6, 1860.
Happy?
Delighted. Anyway, I don’t have a tablet, just a laptop.
You can access digital newspapers on any device, smartphone, laptop, tablet, desktop. Personally, I’m nearly always using my tablet. It’s brilliant on the train, at the hairdresser’s, in waiting rooms… anywhere where I would like to while away a bit of time by leafing (thumbing, tapping) through a newspaper. Try it yourself, and let me know how it went for you!
Local Tip
You can subscribe to Skerries News online as well! The great thing there is that you don’t have to wait for your fortnightly issue to appear in the shops, as an email will pop into your inbox on the day of publication. Once again, I like the tablet most– although computers work well, too. Oh, and it’s a great way for people not (currently) living in Skerries to keep up with what’s happening here!
As they say on skerriesnews.ie:
Online Subscription
For those who like to read Skerries News instantly, Skerries News Online is for you. An online subscription costs just €20 for the year and you can download each edition fortnightly as it is produced. You also have unlimited access to back issues in the archive. Alternatively for just €1 you can download a single edition any time you wish.