Back row (from left): Peter Kennedy, Maurice Garvey, Chris Keeley, Gareth Mockler, James Reynolds, Mark Keane, David Kennedy and William O’Connor Front: Emma Kennedy, Audrey Brown, Alessia Micalizzi and Liz Kennedy
Local family business The Echo newspaper celebrating 45 years
An independent, community-oriented newspaper, The Echo is also a family story, with the second generation of the Kennedys having taken over the business a decade ago.
Many in Tallaght might refer to founder David Kennedy and his wife Liz as ‘Mr and Mrs Echo,’ but not everyone knows how intertwined the newspaper is with the lives of their kids Emma, Peter, and Brenda.
“The first edition of the newspaper was laid out on our sitting-room floor when we were kids,” said Peter ahead of the 45th anniversary, while Emma said, “It was always part of our lives.”
Peter, now the Office Manager at The Echo, recalled “always being in the office, growing up with the staff since a very young age.”
“Dad never put pressure on us or said, ‘You have to join the family business,’ but especially when we were teenagers it was very much part of our life.”
“When we were teenagers, it became bigger and much more serious, it was a full-time job for our father and it employed many people,” said Emma, who is now the Sales and Marketing manager and the paper’s MD.
“We really respected my dad for what he was doing, and mam for supporting him while she had her own job.
“Our dad having a newspaper was impressive, but we also saw the hardships of running a media business, which can be a tough and not-so-lucrative industry.”
When the time came to get their first jobs, the three siblings would “help out” as paper sellers, counting revenue from sales, or being involved with events.
Besides getting their pocket money within the family business, they were encouraged to find their own paths and gain work experience elsewhere.
However, Emma felt “drawn” to The Echo for “most of her adult life”, while Peter said the right opportunity to join full-time came after a year of travelling abroad.
“We were always treated like any other staff – we had our own managers, and it just felt normal,” he said.
“We’ve been able to navigate family and business as two separate things,” added Emma, as they both laughed about calling their dad ‘Dave’ and their mam ‘Liz’ when at work.
Their sister Brenda, who is now on a different career path, has also worked in The Echo in the past and is a company director alongside her siblings.
Emma runs health and fitness classes on the side “for her own purpose,” and as for Peter, he might go back to “wonder ‘What’s working life outside of The Echo?’ in the future.”
However, bringing forward the paper’s “legacy” is something they all value and want to continue doing.
“I still say that I’m managing ‘Dad’s business’, and I mainly see it as a ‘social enterprise’ giving voice to the people,” said Emma, “And this is a legacy that we should be pushing, no matter who owns it or runs it.”
“The paper was created to be a community service and even if people might not know about us as much as they know about our parents, they need to know that the paper is there for them.”
According to Peter, the readers still see David and Liz as very much part of it, as they are, and he is happy to be one of the unofficial “faces” of the paper.
“We cover stories that wouldn’t be covered in the national newspapers or anywhere else. It’s for the community.”
Emma’s and Brenda’s children are also occasionally involved in the paper, even though Emma believes that The Echo “most likely won’t be” their career.
Perhaps, it’s because they never felt the magic of a newspaper being laid out on their parents’ sitting room’s floor.
