The years between 1914 and 1921 were arguably the most tumultuous in modern Irish history. The period began with the evolving Home Rule crisis and was followed by the outbreak of World War I, the Easter Rising of 1916, the rise of the Sinn Féin party, the War of Independence, and finally the AngloIrish Treaty of December 1921. This thesis charts the history of the Irish provincial press during these turbulent years. In doing so it poses four primary research questions. The first of these research questions seeks to establish the nature of the relationship between the provincial press and broader Irish society. The second research question aims to determine the characteristics of those newspaper owners and editors that comprised the senior ranks of the Irish provincial press. The third research question seeks to determine how the relationship between provincial newspapers and the British authorities manifested itself. The fourth and final research question aims to identify the essence of the editorial response to the numerous critical developments that took place in Ireland between 1914 and 1921. In chronicling the history of the Irish provincial press during these years this study provides a comprehensive overview of the existing local newspapers in each county of the four Irish provinces. However, this thesis primarily consists of seventeen case studies of individual newspapers spread evenly across the four provinces. This geographical balance is complemented by a political balance as the papers analysed are comprised of those regarded as not only nationalist, but also unionist and independent organs. Each case study details the broader history of the individual title and also profiles individual owners and editors. Finally, the editorial comment of each individual newspaper during the entirety of this period is analysed in detail so as to provide an accurate depiction of how this critical period of Irish history was portrayed within the provincial print media. This thesis concludes that the history of the Irish provincial press during this time was hallmarked by a number of distinguishing features such as the presence of many long-serving proprietors and editors who held a deep religious faith, and is also highly notable for long periods of unbroken family ownership of newspapers. It is also revealed that despite enduring a somewhat stormy relationship with the British authorities, the Irish provincial press emerged as a rather conservative force in the Irish Free State.