Billy Cantwell is founding editor, publisher and owner of The Irish Echo, Australia’s only Irish newspaper. Born in Navan, Co. Meath in 1964, Billy studied Communications at the Dublin Institute of Technology before leaving for Sydney in 1987.

In 1988, frustrated by the lack of news and sports coverage from Ireland in the mainstream Australian media, he co-founded The Irish Exile.

In 1991, Billy became the sole owner of the newspaper and changed its masthead to The Irish Echo. The newspaper is now distributed nationally across Australia and online (www.irishecho.com.au).

It has forged a reputation as the newspaper of record for the Irish community in Australia and indeed the broader Irish Australian community.

In May 2009, the 20th anniversary of the first regular edition of The Irish Echo will be celebrated with a commemorative edition announcing the Top 100 Irish-Australians of all time, from Ned Kelly to Tadhg Kennelly.

Billy lives in the inner west of Sydney and is married to Kathy. They have two children, Liam (9) and Julia (7) and are expecting a third child in April.

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