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This month’s welcome letter is also a bittersweet farewell, as it marks my last issue of IMAGE as editor. Regular readers will know how much I love and believe in the power of print with every fibre of my being, and I will continue to champion it ’til my dying breath. (Truly, I want #loveprint engraved on my headstone.) But for me, personally, it’s time for something new. Fortunately, I’m not going too far, as I’ve been promoted to group brand director here at IMAGE Publications. This is an exciting new role that will allow me to realise some of the crazy ideas swirling around in my brain, and through brand extensions and special projects, you may indeed end up seeing more of me, not less. I’ll also continue to contribute to this beautiful magazine I’ve called home for the last five years. Being the gatekeeper of such an important title has been a true honour, particularly during such defining years for Irish women.
As editor, I’ve occupied this page every month, but as everyone knows, this is far from a solo project. It takes a village to make a magazine or in our case, a small, but highly skilled team of dedicated print warriors. I’m forever in debt to our hard-working crew, both past and present, for their dedication, but most of all for their friendship and support even when I made them rewrite or stay very, very late to make a deadline. FYI, pizza is a great motivator.
Special mention goes to creative director Bill O’Sullivan, who has been my chief conspirator on all things visual, and managing editor Meg Walker, who is without doubt, the unsung hero of IMAGE HQ. I’d also like to take this opportunity to thank Ann Reihill, the second ever editor of this title for her mentorship over the last few years. I feel honoured to have had her support, along with that of our CEO, Clodagh Edwards, and all the members of our board of directors.
My other family – those genetically bound through DNA, and my wonderful friends deserve a mention too, for talking me off a ledge as I obsessed over a cover, a font or a fashion story, and for subtly removing me off WhatsApp groups during press week, knowing they’d never get a response.
But above all, I want to thank each and every one of you, our readers. You have no idea what your support and loyalty has meant to me over the last five years. Every ounce of feedback – good, bad or indifferent – has helped me to evolve as an editor and to know that the work we do every day is appreciated and valued. We know we’re not curing cancer, but if we can brighten your day, enrich your opinions or shed light on topics that are new to you, then I think we’ve done a good job.
Until we meet again, happy reading,
Rosaleen McMeel, editor
The November issue of IMAGE Magazine is on sale nationwide now.