On Oct. 18, our news organization celebrated the 29th year of publishing the Boston Irish Reporter with our tenth annual luncheon at the Seaport Boston Hotel.
The Boston Irish Honors luncheon is a celebration of people who we think exemplify the Boston Irish experience through their accomplishments, their family history, and their caring for others.
This year, we saluted two women and two men who have inspired us with their vision, their hard work and their caring for others: Jim Carmody, Kathy and John Drew, and Grace Cotter Regan. 
The luncheon serves another purpose, too: It supports our brand of community journalism. 
Since 1990, the Boston Irish Reporter has been a source of information for a constantly evolving, dynamic Irish American community in this region. As many of our readers know, we also publish community news about Dorchester and in Mattapan. 
We choose to focus on these people and these places— our people— because that’s who we are. And keeping a laser focus on our own communities has been our mission from the day that Ed— and my mom, Mary Casey Forry— started this enterprise in the 1970s.
By necessity, and quite naturally, we have evolved, and we have survived in a challenging environment. And that’s happened, in large part, because of your support. Thank you.
We have a terrific team of people around us— people like Tom Mulvoy and Barbara Langis and Dan Sheehan; Katie Trojano; Maureen Forry-Sorrell; Peter Stevens; Harry Brett; Sean Smith and Judy Enright. Thank you to all of the talented people who keep this project alive and well.
Next year— 2020— will introduce a new chapter in our Boston Irish story. 
We are preparing to re-launch our website, BostonIrish.com, which has been online since 1995. In the coming months, the site will become the primary vehicle for publishing our work. The print edition of the Boston Irish Reporter – the one you are holding in your hands – will continue, but in a seasonal form. It will no longer be a monthly publication. 
This transition will be an exciting one for our news organization, which continues to draw talented and dynamic reporters and editors to our newsroom. We’re committed to continuing to tell our stories— and to enhance what we do with new platforms.
At the Oct. 18 luncheon, we unveiled the new look of the Boston Irish brand that you will see more regularly in the months to come. The new look is printed alongside this story as well.
What will this mean for how we engage with you, our readers and advertisers?
For starters, we will be publishing and curating stories more often. Instead of the familiar monthly cycle that was timed to support our print publication, our team will be generating news and updates online in more of a weekly, even daily pace.
In January, we will roll out our new and improved website— with features that will include more video and shared content from media partners. Our social media channels— including Instagram, Facebook and Twitter— will also get busier and more interactive.
The December print edition of the Boston Irish Reporter will be our last monthly publication. Our next printed edition— which will be re-branded with the new logo you see here— will be timed to come out as a spring edition, ahead of St. Patrick’s season.
If you’re a subscriber, you will hear from us in a letter that will offer you a series of options to either keep receiving the seasonal editions or to opt out.
We view this transition as an opportunity to enhance the way we deliver our brand of community news. We welcome your feedback and critique along the way. Reach me anytime via email:
billforry@bostonirish.com.