GAA:GAA website An Fear Rua has been closed by its publisher today after 12 years online.
A statement posted on the website by publisher Liam Cahill points to falling advertising revenue, saying that making the website a paying proposition was “simply not possible”.
In the statement, Cahill says he has spent €150,000 to date keeping the website online. He says he was "no longer prepared to walk the tight rope between an open, anonymous forum like [An Fear Rua] and the libel laws," criticising a "growing minority" of the 10,277 members of the website for a "unreasonable sense of entitlement" about what they could post on the website.
His statement points to the growth of identity-based systems such as Twitter and Facebook which have contributors using their real names.
Cahill, who describes himself as a “journalist, broadcaster and political handler,” has previously worked for RTÉ, as well as holding advisor roles with Fianna Fáil, Labour, Intel and AIB. He currently acts as an advisor to Minister of State with responsibility for Food Shane McEntee.
