[5] Though formed as a Protestant Irish nationalist paper, within two decades and under new owners, it became a supporter of unionism in Ireland.

[7][8] The editorship of the newspaper from 1859 until 1986 was controlled by the Anglo-Irish Protestant minority, only gaining its first nominal Irish Catholic editor 127 years into its existence.

The paper's notable columnists have included writer and arts commentator Fintan O'Toole and satirist Miriam Lord.

Senior international figures, including Tony Blair and Bill Clinton, have written for its op-ed page.

One of its most popular columns was the biting and humorous Cruiskeen Lawn satire column written, originally in Irish, later in English, by Myles na gCopaleen, the pen name of Brian O'Nolan (Brian Ó Nualláin) who also wrote books using the name Flann O'Brien.

Cruiskeen Lawn is an anglicised spelling of the Irish words crúiscín lán, meaning "little full jug".

The former owner, Major Thomas McDowell, was made "president for life" of the trust that runs the paper; he was paid a large dividend.

[15] The paper established its first bureau in Asia when foreign correspondent Conor O'Clery moved to Beijing, China, in 1996.

[16] The Irish Times suffered considerable financial difficulty in 2002 when a drop in advertising revenue coincided with a decision by the company to invest its reserves in the building of a new printing plant.

The paper's problems stemmed partly from internal strife, which led to McDowells's daughter, Karen Erwin, not being made chief executive.

[citation needed] In May 2005, the paper launched a new international edition,[citation needed] which was available in London and southeast England at the same time as other daily newspapers (previously, copies of the Irish edition were flown from Dublin to major cities in Britain on passenger flights, arriving around lunchtime).

[citation needed] In 2008 the Central Bank of Ireland fined The Irish Times after its management admitted breaking market abuse rules.

[18] In 2009, the Supreme Court ordered the paper to pay €600,000 in costs, despite it having won its case in support of protecting journalistic sources.

[28] The managing director said in 2009 that mobile phone applications would be a key investment for newspapers and The Irish Times now[when?]

[29] In June 2010, Gazette Group Newspapers' managing director claimed the company's affairs were being conducted oppressively by its majority shareholder, the Irish Times.

[31] The editor during the 1930s, R. M. Smyllie, had strong anti-fascist views, and angered the Irish Catholic hierarchy by opposing General Franco during the Spanish Civil War.

Later, columnist Fintan O'Toole told the Sunday Independent: "We as a paper are not shy of preaching about corporate pay and fat cats but with this there is a sense of excess.

[38] The Irish Times tended to support the 2007 Lisbon Treaty, which adjusted the operation of the European Union.

However, opposing views were also printed, including articles by Declan Ganley of Libertas Ireland, and other anti-Lisbon campaigners.

[39] It was subsequently criticised by current affairs magazine The Phoenix, which argued that the article romanticised the War in Afghanistan and served as little more than an indirect advertisement for the British military.

[44] Kate's parents complained to the Office of the Press Ombudsman about an apology made to The Communications Clinic, their complaint was upheld.

The former owner, Major Thomas McDowell, was made "president for life" of the trust which runs the paper and was paid a large dividend.

[citation needed] The Trust is regulated by a legal document, the Memorandum and Articles of Association, and controlled by a body of people (the Governors) under company law.

Any profits made by The Irish Times cannot be distributed to the Trust but must be used to strengthen the newspaper, directly or indirectly.

As of June 2012, Ruth Barrington is the chair of the trust, and the governors are Tom Arnold, David Begg, Noel Dorr, Margaret Elliott, Rosemary Kelly, Eoin O'Driscoll, Fergus O'Ferrall, Judith Woodworth, Barry Smyth, and Caitriona Murphy.

[citation needed] In 2015, The Irish Times Trust Limited joined as a member organisation of the European Press Prize.

[51][52] The Irish Literature Prizes (four categories, each worth £5,000 in 1998) were awarded for fiction, poetry, and non-fiction written in English.

The Saturday edition also includes the Magazine with consumer and lifestyle features on food, wine, gardening, and there are travel and sports supplements.

A number of blogs were added in April 2007, written by Jim Carroll, Shane Hegarty, and Conor Pope.

On 15 October 2012 John O'Shea, Head of Online, The Irish Times, announced that the ireland.com domain name had been sold to Tourism Ireland, and that the associated ireland.com email service would end on 7 November 2012.