Submission guidelines

Everything you need to know before contributing an article, photo, or video to The Irish Horizon.

Thank you for your interest in contributing to The Irish Horizon! We are excited to share your story with our followers. Before submitting your article, media, or business, please read through the guidelines below to learn about our expectations for content and photography.

Article guidelines
Media guidelines
Business feature guidelines

Why contribute to The Irish Horizon?

Whether you bring an article, a photo, a video, or your Irish business, contributing is always free, and it goes toward something bigger than one post.

Reach an engaged audience

Reach thousands of readers actively planning trips to Ireland, and the wider diaspora who love it from afar.

Build your portfolio

Articles and media are credited to you, with a bio and a link back where relevant, real, published work you can point to.

Always free, no catch

Nothing here is pay-to-play. It’s a way to give back to a community that loves Ireland as much as we do.

Article guidelines

For written contributions, destination guides, personal stories, and practical tips submitted through our Submit an article page.

What we’re looking for:

  • Original content, either brand new or a piece from your own blog that’s been substantially rewritten for The Irish Horizon. We don’t publish duplicate content, as it hurts both our site and yours in Google’s rankings. If we publish your article and the same piece later appears on your blog or elsewhere, we’ll remove it from our site and won’t be able to accept future submissions from you.
  • To keep stories authentic, we keep our editing light. That said, we reserve the right to make edits for SEO, required links, added information, grammar, and photo sourcing.
  • At least 800 words, ideally 1 000–2 000, with clear subheadings and short paragraphs.
  • Specific and honest over generic; we’d rather hear about the one café that surprised you than a list anyone could write.
  • Factual claims (prices, opening hours, distances) should be accurate as of when you’re writing, since these change often.
  • A photo or two to accompany your piece (see “Photos for your article” below).

Writing guidelines:

  • Open with 1-3 paragraphs that draw readers in and give a sense of what the post will cover.
  • Aim for 6-15 paragraphs in the body, each 3-6 sentences long.
  • Write headings in sentence case, and set them to Heading 2 in the submission form’s text editor, so they clearly separate each section.
  • Close with a short conclusion that sums up the post’s main message: a takeaway to consider, a memorable line, or next steps for the reader.
  • If it fits the topic, add 3-5 FAQs with answers at the end.

Photos for your article

  • Submit 1-3 photos per section, plus one additional featured image.
  • Photos should be horizontal (landscape), at least 1200 x 675px, and between 250KB-500KB. A Resize Tool and Compression Tool can help if needed.
  • Name each file descriptively, e.g., name-of-the-photo.jpg. If your article is about Dublin, for example, every photo should have Dublin in the title, i.e., phoenix-park-dublin.jpg.
  • Match photos to the section they illustrate. For example, for “6 Tips on Visiting Dublin,” structure your photos so each one lines up with one of the six tips.
  • Please only submit photos you own the rights to.

Please avoid:

  • Overly promotional or advertorial content for a business or brand.
  • Content unrelated to Ireland or Irish culture.
  • Plagiarised or AI-generated text submitted without disclosure and a genuine personal edit.
  • Anything you don’t hold the rights to publish.

Photo and video guidelines

For standalone photos and videos submitted through our Submit media page, for use in blog posts and across our social channels.

What we’re looking for:

  • Landscapes, everyday moments, food, music, and candid scenes that capture Ireland well.
  • We accept horizontal and vertical orientations; we use different crops for the blog and for socials.
  • Horizontal images should be at least 1200px x 675px, and vertical images should be at least 1080px x 1350px.
  • Light, natural editing is fine, colour correction and cropping, but please avoid heavy filters.
  • Video clips should be  1080px x 1920 px.
  • Include a caption covering what made the place special, any tips for visiting, and why you’d recommend it, along with how you’d like to be credited.
  • Please only submit photos and videos that you own the rights to.

Please avoid:

  • Low-resolution, blurry, or heavily compressed files.
  • Visible watermarks, timestamps, or third-party logos.
  • Stock photography or anything you don’t hold the rights to.
  • Images of identifiable people without their knowledge or consent.

Business feature guidelines

For small Irish businesses submitting through our Social media feature page. Every feature includes a spot on our social channels and may also appear in a blog post.

What we’re looking for:

  • Small, independently-owned Irish businesses, shops, cafés, guesthouses, tour operators, and makers.
  • Based in Ireland, or an Irish-owned business abroad with a genuine connection to Ireland.
  • Your own photo or video of the business; we don’t create content on your behalf.
  • A short caption describing what makes the business worth a visit, plus how, where, and when to visit.
  • Submitted by the business owner or someone authorised to represent them.

Please avoid:

  • If you are a large chain or franchise, please skip.
  • Paid promotion requests. This is a free feature, not a sponsored post.
  • Businesses with no genuine connection to Ireland.
  • Stock photos or content you don’t have the rights to use.

Some FAQs

Do you pay for contributions?

No. Contributing is always free and unpaid unless we’ve separately agreed to a paid partnership with you in writing.

Absolutely, we welcome repeat contributors. Each submission is reviewed on its own merits.