The Phoenix Magazine

What The Phoenix Magazine does

The Phoenix Magazine was an Irish investigative and satirical political and financial publication founded in January 1983 by John Mulcahy and based at 44 Lower Baggot Street, Dublin 2. The magazine was published every two weeks and positioned itself as Ireland's best-selling political and financial title, deliberately excluding sports results, death notices, PR handouts, and opinion content in favor of investigative reporting, satirical commentary, and political cartoons. It served a primary reader base of Irish business and political readers seeking insider political and financial stories not covered by mainstream media.

The company's product portfolio centered on a bi-weekly print magazine, a digital edition delivered through the third-party Pagesuite Professional platform, the thephoenix.ie WordPress-based website with a searchable archive, and paid subscription services for both print and digital access. Distribution combined Irish newsstand sales, postal subscription delivery, and a globally accessible digital subscription channel.

The Phoenix generated revenue through three streams: recurring print and digital subscriptions, newsstand and digital edition sales, and advertising booked through a published media pack. Its operating footprint was national (Ireland) with digital reach global, and the company operated with 11–50 employees. On June 17, 2026, after 43+ years of continuous publication, the company announced the immediate cessation of The Phoenix Magazine and closed its offices, directing queries to a dedicated liquidation contact email and explicitly acknowledging the impact on creditors and subscribers.

Name

The Phoenix Magazine

Legal name

The Phoenix

Website

https://thephoenix.ie

Company type

Private

Founded year

1983

Operating status

Closed

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

The Phoenix Magazine was an Irish bi-weekly investigative and satirical political and financial publication, founded in 1983 by John Mulcahy and published in Dublin until its closure on June 17, 2026. It served discerning Irish business and political readers through print, digital editions, and a searchable archive via subscription and newsstand sales.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

News and Political Magazines

NAICS

Periodical Publishers (51312)

SIC

Periodicals: Publishing Or Publishing & Printing (2721)

akta.pro primary industry

News, Politics & Current Affairs Magazines (MPAJAEAO)

akta.pro secondary industries

Alternative/Independent Newsweeklies & Opinion Press (MPAJADAH), Business, Finance & Industry Trade Magazines (MPAJAEAM)

Keywords

• Investigative journalism
• Political magazines
• Satirical publications
• Current affairs
• News magazines

Headquarters

HQ city

Dublin

HQ country

Ireland

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Digital Commerce or Content

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Supply Chain, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Magazine Sales: The Phoenix generates revenue through the sale of its bi-weekly print magazine at newsstands and through subscription fees from loyal readers seeking investigative political and financial journalism.
2. Digital Edition Sales: The magazine offers digital editions through a digital reading platform, providing an additional revenue stream for online access to content.
3. Advertising: The magazine accepts advertising, as evidenced by their media pack and rate card available for prospective advertisers.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

The Phoenix Magazine publishes a bi-weekly print and digital magazine offering investigative journalism, satirical commentary, and political cartoons focused on Irish current affairs, politics, and finance. The publication operates through newsstand sales and a subscription model that grants readers access to print copies, a digital edition via the Pagesuite Professional platform, and a searchable archive of historical issues. Founded in 1983, it positioned itself as Ireland's leading investigative and satirical political and financial magazine before ceasing publication in June 2026.

Product overview

The Phoenix Magazine is a print and digital publication offering Ireland's leading investigative and satirical political and financial journalism, published every two weeks. The product portfolio includes the core print magazine, a digital edition accessible via Pagesuite Professional, the thephoenix.ie website with searchable archives, and a subscription service. The publication ceased operations effective June 17, 2026 after more than 43 years.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• The Phoenix Magazine (Print) Ireland's best-selling political and financial magazine published every two weeks, featuring investigative journalism, satirical content, and political cartoons about Irish affairs, sold via newsstands and subscriptions.
• Digital Edition

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves2 records

Regional players

• The Dubliner Magazine: Irish general-interest magazine covering politics, culture, and current affairs, comparable to The Phoenix as a domestic Irish print publication targeting politically engaged readers.
• The Drouth: Scottish political and cultural magazine mixing satire, commentary, and investigative reporting — a regional peer with a similar editorial formula to The Phoenix.

Direct peers

• Prospect Magazine: UK monthly current-affairs magazine combining long-form political and financial journalism with essays and satire, comparable in audience profile to The Phoenix's political/financial readership.
• The Spectator: Weekly political and current-affairs magazine with a strong commentary and satire tradition, comparable to The Phoenix in its mix of investigative pieces, political gossip, and opinion content for an engaged political reader.
• Charlie Hebdo: French satirical weekly combining political commentary with cartoons and investigative reporting; highly comparable to The Phoenix in editorial positioning as a satire-and-investigative-journalism hybrid publication.
• Private Eye: Long-running UK fortnightly magazine combining investigative journalism with satire and political cartoons — the closest direct peer to The Phoenix in editorial model, cadence, and tone, serving a UK audience where The Phoenix served Ireland.
• Village Magazine: Irish current-affairs magazine providing investigative and political journalism, the most direct surviving Irish competitor to The Phoenix in editorial niche and domestic readership.

Broad incumbents

• The Week: Weekly news magazine curating and summarising political and current-affairs coverage for engaged readers; comparable to The Phoenix in audience profile and subscription-led distribution.
• The Economist: Global weekly news magazine covering politics, finance, and current affairs via a subscription model; comparable to The Phoenix in combining serious political/financial reporting with witty editorial tone, though at vastly greater scale.

Emerging players

• The Dublin Review of Books: Irish digital-first publication focused on politics, culture, and ideas; comparable to The Phoenix as a domestically focused, intellectually engaged outlet that could absorb some of its readership post-closure.

Market position

Strengths2 records

Weaknesses3 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights5 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/thephoenixmag
• Facebookfacebook.com/ThePhoenixMagazine
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/the-phoenix-magazine

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about The Phoenix Magazine