Morning freesheet Metro Herald, created by the merger of freesheets Herald AM and Metro Ireland, has launched in Dublin today.

The merger, announced last summer, was widely expected as both papers were believed to be running at a loss, according to The Guardian.

To fit its new identity, the paper features a new design. Its target readership is professionals who commute in the Greater Dublin area. About 70,000 copies will be distributed each weekday between 7am and 9.30am at bus stops, train stations and busy points in the city centre.

The Metro Herald is jointly owned by Associated Newspapers, the Daily Mail and General Trust subsidiary, the Irish Times and Independent News and Media.

Managing director of Associated Newspapers' free newspaper division, Steve Auckland, told The Guardian that this was an opportunity for a free newspaper to prosper. "As Metro Herald attracts a young, working audience through its unique distribution model, it will benefit advertisers in providing them with a key platform to reach these young urban consumers," he said.

Managing director of Metro Ireland, Paul Crosbie, will now take the same position at Metro Herald.

Last year was a difficult one for commuter papers in the UK, as London Lite and thelondonpaper both closed. News out of Ireland of a freesheet merger is at least somewhat more encouraging.

Sources: The Guardian, Marketing.ie