The newspaper's Web site became a subscription-based site in 2002, “to provide a revenue stream,” Geraldine Kennedy, editor of The Irish Times, stated in an article. Prior to becoming a paid model, Ireland.com had 2.5 million unique users and 25 million page impressions each month.

The Irish Times was the first newspaper in Ireland or Britain to launch a Web site, and did so in 1994, at irish-times.ie. It was also one of the first 30 newspapers in the world to launch a Web site, Kennedy wrote.

Subscribers to the online newspaper at Ireland.com, will receive a full refund for the remainder of their subscription, and also have the option of joining the site's Crossword Club, which was rolled out Monday, as well as access to the newspaper's digital archive, which dates back to 1859, when the newspaper was founded, according to The Irish Times.

Ireland.com has been repurposed as a separate commercial and lifestyle site. When the site is accessed, a pop-up appears, notifying users that the site has moved.

“In a new world where trust and accuracy are often the casualties of speed, www.irishtimes.com is designed to co-ordinate Irish Times content in print and online; to capitalise on our reputation for accuracy, authority, independent analysis and comment; to appeal to web-based readers who are growing in numbers; and, to restore The Irish Times title to the web,” Kennedy wrote.

For a previous article on this topic, visit our partner site, Editorsweblog.org.

• Note: the author of this blog previously interned at The Irish Times.