The Galway Advertiser holds the commanding position in the local media landscape, with a strong print readership of 115,000 readers per issue —according to a detailed readership survey of local newspapers conducted by RED C Research in February 2026, which examines media consumption habits among adults in County Galway.
Based on 246 face-to-face interviews conducted across multiple towns and retail locations, the study provides a representative snapshot of readership behaviour across gender, age, and social class. The survey shows that 98 per cent of respondents stated that they read the newspaper.
Overall, the findings clearly establish the locally-owned Galway Advertiser as the dominant local publication in the region, as it significantly outperforms all competitors in both reach and recency.
The Advertiser is the highest circulation regional newspaper in the country, sustaining readership and advertising sales — bucking the trend for the newspaper industry in general and representing a real Galway success story.
Only 2% of respondents in Galway city and county report never reading the paper, while 41% have read it within the past week and a further 36% within the past month. This places it well ahead of competitors such as the Connacht Tribune, City Tribune, and Tuam Herald, all of which show much higher “never read” rates and lower weekly engagement.
Within the paper itself, news is by far the most widely read section, with 63% of readers engaging with it. Other popular sections include entertainment, classifieds, sport, and lifestyle. The findings also show that it is the best advertising medium in the region for property, lifestyle, motoring, jobs and classified ads.
Basically, advertising in the Galway Advertiser brings your business or service to the audience that you wish to address.
Máire McCarthy, CEO of the Galway Advertiser, is delighted with the results of the survey, as at a time when newspapers are seen to be facing challenging times in terms of readership.
“The Galway Advertiser is 56 years old this year. When Ronnie O’Gorman first started it back in 1970, Galway was just a small town. As Galway grew into the multi-cultural vibrant city it has become, the Galway Advertiser grew along with it. Starting with an initial print run of just 7,000 papers, The Galway Advertiser now prints and distributes over 38,000 papers every week, with 20,500 of these delivered direct into people’s homes.
Ms McCarthy said the success of the Advertiser is down to the hard work and dedication of all the team who work there, and their commitment to delivering the best paper for our readers and advertisers each week.
“This survey shows that all the hard work of our team throughout the years has paid off, with 115,000 people reading the paper every week, and a further 99,000 people reading the paper at least once a month.
“The quality of our newspaper is of particular importance to us, as a locally family-owned newspaper, whose founder was a huge contributor to the growth of Galway and the success of the city. We take great pride in being known as the ‘bible of Galway life’, and carry that responsibility seriously,” she added.
“At a time when businesses are being bombarded with so many marketing media options, it’s reassuring for them that advertising with the Galway Advertiser will allow them communicate with the people of Galway city and county.
“In a world of uncertainty, no other county in Ireland has an advertising medium such as the Galway Advertiser which engages with the Galway community, and with people from all walks of life. When businesses are looking to communicate with people in Galway city and county, The Galway Advertiser allows them to do this successfully.
Ms McCarthy admitted that this survey also identified areas for improvement for the company, and that these findings will result in significant developments both in print and online in the coming year.
“We are continuing to invest in our customers and the services we provide. The first of our many planned projects was the introduction of our new and improved classified site, launched just last week. This new improved classified website, was developed with our customers in mind, for a better online experience. As a customer you have the facility to place your advert to appear on our classified online website only, to appear in the Galway Advertiser itself, or to appear in both the newspaper and on our online site.
“Our next project will involve the development of our website, while never forgetting to focus on the improvement of the newspaper, again with the aim to improve our readers’ and advertisers’ experience of the galway advertiser,” she said.
Advertiser editor Declan Varley also welcomed the findings, saying that they provide a useful tool in determing the type of content readers are looking for in their local media.
“The company continues to recruit a strong curious news team that is at touch with the happenings in the city and county.
“In a time when many local newspapers are owned by multinational conglomerates, it is a proud challenge to us as a locally owned and locally produced independent newspaper in the heart of the city, to publish a great newspaper each week that has something for everyone,” he said, adding that exciting times lie ahead for the Advertiser.
