'Irish Times' Names First Female Editor

By: (AP) The Irish Times said Friday it had appointed Geraldine Kennedy as its editor. She is the first woman to hold the post in the paper's 143-year history and the first woman to edit a national newspaper in Ireland.

Kennedy, 51, a former member of Ireland's parliament, replaces Conor Brady, who announced earlier this year he was stepping down after 16 years.

She has held various posts at the newspaper, including political editor, and also worked for Dublin's Sunday Tribune and the now-defunct Sunday Press.

She served as a lawmaker for the Progressive Democrat party between 1987 and 1989.

In 1987, she and another journalist successfully sued the Irish government for invasion of privacy after their telephones had been tapped on the authority of then-Justice Minister Sean Doherty.