Inactive Defunct An Phoblacht (Irish pronunciation: [ənˠ ˈfˠɔbˠlˠəxt̪ˠ]; English: "The Republic") is a formerly weekly, and later monthly[1] newspaper published by Sinn Féin in Ireland.

Along with covering Irish political and trade union issues the newspaper frequently featured interviews with celebrities, musicians, artists, intellectuals and international activists.

The original An Phoblacht was founded as the official organ of the Dungannon Clubs in Belfast in 1906 and its first edition was printed on 13 December 1906 under the English-language version of the title The Republic.

[citation needed] In the first edition, Bulmer Hobson, one of the founders of the Dungannon Clubs, set out their aims: Ireland today claims her place among the free peoples of the Earth.

An Phoblacht became more important in disseminating the republican message and highlighting what it saw as the naked state oppression by the Unionist Party and the Royal Ulster Constabulary in Northern Ireland.

However, it was the southern Irish government which harassed An Phoblacht most stridently, with regular Garda Special Branch investigations into the publication's links (both real and alleged) to the IRA.

In the final editorial of Republican News on 20 January 1979, the essential thinking behind the merger was outlined: "To improve on both our reporting and analysis of the war in the North and of popular economic and social struggles in the South... the absolute necessity of one single united paper providing a clear line of republican leadership... [and] the need to overcome any partitionist thinking which results from the British-enforced division of this country and of the Irish people."

On 12 May 1979 An Phoblacht published extracts from a secret British Ministry of Defence intelligence document which contained a detailed analysis of the Provisional IRA and the situation in Northern Ireland.

The document, written by Brigadier JM Glover, described the IRA as "highly-professional" and capable of sustaining their campaign for at least a further five years, and predicted increasing British military casualties.

The publication caused considerable embarrassment to the incoming British Secretary of State for Northern Ireland Humphrey Atkins with Danny Morrison, the paper's editor, forced into hiding for several months.

A representative of the Press Association who was passed a copy of the document by AP/RN was also issued an arrest warrant by the British authorities and fled to the United States in response.

During the 1981 hunger strike sales of the newspaper reached up to 60,000 copies per-week and some issues quadrupled in size resulting in some editions running to 48 pages long.

[12] In January 2018, loyalist Winston Churchill Rea was charged with encouraging the murder of "persons working in shops selling An Phoblacht in republican and nationalist areas" between November 1977 and October 1994.

[14] In November 2017 it was announced that An Phoblacht would cease as a monthly print publication and would become an internet based news service with only special editions being made available in magazine format.