 The "Leitrim Observer" was founded by the Mulvey family in 1889 and was bought by Pat Dunne, for a rumoured sum of £150 some time before 1910.The paper has experienced a very varied and colourful history.The Black and Tans made the paper their first stop when they came to Carrick-on-Shannon during the War of Independence and badly burned the premises, destroying a lot of the early files of the paper.