Irene Nolan Owner of Island Free Press Dies
Irene Nolan, owner of Island Free Press, died March 3, 2017 after a brief stay in the hospital due to a respiratory illness. Irene was the editor and co-owner of The Island Free Press which she
started up in 2007. She worked as a journalist all her life and loved it. Before moving to the Outer Banks she was a journalist for over 20 years at The Courier-Journal in Louisville, Kentucky.
Irene and her staff at The Courier-Journal were awarded a Pulitzer Prize for their work on one particular story they covered.
After many vacations to the Outer Banks she finally made Hatteras Island her home in 1991. She first worked at The Island Breeze then started up her own online Hatteras and Ocracoke news site The Island Free Press. She loved the Outer Banks, especially the two island Hatteras and Ocracoke. Irene was dedicated to getting the news published about the area all the important issues. She wrote many in-depth and informative articles about the Bonner Bridge replacement controversy as well as covering the many hurricanes and how the islands were so devastated by each storm. Her articles and her blog on The Island Free Press will be missed.
Irene Nolan had many friends and she will be truly missed. She leaves two children and nine grandchildren along with other extended family members. Donna Barnett, friend and business partner, said The Island Free Press will continue.
A Celebration of Life service will take place on Monday 3/6/17 at 2:00 p.m. at Our Lady of the Seas Catholic Church in Buxton, N.C., with the Rev. Toni Wood and the Rev. Pam Stoffel officiating.
