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Past Two Weeks

May 10

Nuala O'Faolain, RIP
The author and former Irish Times columnist Nuala O’Faolain has died aged 68. Ms O’Faolain spoke frankly about dying of cancer in an interview with Marian Finucane on RTE Radio 1 last month. For more details, please click Irish Times.
Photo Credit: NPR

Croí to hold biggest cycle event in the west
Organised by heart charity Croí and sponsored by Corrib Oil, the event is is expected to attract more than 500 cyclists from all over the west of Ireland. For more on this story, please click Croí.

Maeve on becoming a best-selling author
Based on a series of 20 letters that she wrote for students taking a writing course with the National College of Ireland, her new book, 'The Maeve Binchy Writers' Club', offers advice and encouragement for aspiring writers. For more on this story, please click Irish Independent.

O'Gara converts life story into six figures
The various controversies and rumours that briefly made the Munster man front-page news during last year's disappointing Rugby World Cup campaign are expected to be dealt with prominently in the book. For more details, please click Irish Independent.
Photo Credit: Irish Rugby

Neeson honoured at NY fundraiser
Actor Liam Neeson has been honoured by the America Ireland Fund at a ceremony in the Lincoln Centre which was attended by elite business people from both America and Ireland. For more on this story, please click Irish Independent.
Photo Credit: Joe Gerrigan/Getty Images

“Actor are all liars on horseback”
He can't sing and he can't dance, but that hasn't stopped Gabriel Byrne taking the starring role in a new version of the musical Camelot which just opened on Broadway. For more on this story, please click Irish Independent.
Photo Credit & Related Story The Huffington Post

George Best puppet up for auction
The original Spitting Image puppet of George Best dressed in a Manchester United kit is to be auctioned off along with other personal sporting items. For more details, please click BBC.

May 9

St James's Gate: brewing to be moved to new site
Global drinks giant Diageo is expected to announce a major scale down in its brewing activities at the iconic St James's Gate plant in Dublin, which has been making Guinness since 1759. For more details, please click Irish Times.
Photo Credit & Related Story: Breaking News

Museum beats the bidders with deal for stained glass
The National Museum has splashed out over €130,000 to snatch a "significant" piece of stained glass by renowned artist Harry Clarke from under the noses of private buyers and bring it back to Ireland. For more on this story, please click Irish Independent.
Photo Credit: Christies.

US president ancenstral home damaged
Repair work is to begin immediately on the ancestral home of US president Woodrow Wilson, which was damaged by fire on Thursday. For more details, please click BBC.
Photo credit: Straband District Council

Nesbitt to star in new Troubles drama
Five Minutes of Heaven is about a 1975 murder, as told through the eyes of the 17-year-old gunman and the victim's brother, 11, who witnessed the killing. For more on this story, please click BBC.

Fans score visa deal for Moscow soccer final
Irish fans of Manchester United and Chelsea were told yesterday afternoon that they will not now require a visa to travel to Moscow later this month, provided they have a valid match ticket on arrival in Russia. For more details, please click Irish Independent.

US college faculty to attend W.B.Yeats seminar
Among them is Baylor’s Dr. Richard Russell. An associate professor in the English department, will be one of 25 faculty members from universities across the U.S to attend a seminar this summer in Galway. For more details, please click Baylor University.
Photo credit: Aspirennies

Book Review: The Irish B & B Cookbook by Ann Mulligan
Darina Allen introduces the book by saying: "All the best ideas are the most obvious..." and it's very true of this handy reference book. Simple, practical ideas make up the bones of this cookbook. For more details, please click RTE.
Photo Credit: Olde Irish Butcher Shoppe

May 8

Cowen in command
Brian Cowen used his first day as taoiseach to deliver a dramatic cabinet shake-up that installed his closest allies in key posts. For more details, please click Irish Examiner.

Heroes of 1916 'would be disappointed by materialism'
In a surprisingly hard-hitting homily at the annual 1916 commemoration, the Rev Christopher Jones, told the congregation that while Ireland had prospered largely for the better, it had succumbed to materialism. For more on this story, please click Irish Independent.
Photo credit: Insurance Broadcasting

O'Driscoll welcomes Kidney
Brian O'Driscoll is confident new head coach Declan Kidney has all the right credentials to put a smile back on the face of Irish rugby; he is quoted as saying 'Declan has the CV to match the criteria for any international coach. For more details, please click RTE.

Republic’s richest 500 — 98% are self-made
Ireland has as many as 500 tycoons who together are worth €67 billion — and most are self-made, a report has revealed. A mere 10 of Ireland’s 500 super-rich men and women have inherited their wealth. For more on this story, please click Irish Examiner.
Photo Credit: RTÉ

Football legends bid Magee farewell
Sporting greats were among the hundreds of mourners who gathered to pay their respects yesterday to Paul Magee, RIP, son of commentating legend Jimmy, who died last week after a long battle with motor neuron disease. For more on this story, please click Irish Independent.

Iconic cinema raises curtain again
It was a beacon for a generation of movie lovers and after more than a decade in the dark the Light House is back. Filmmakers, movie stars and cinemagoers flocked to the official re-opening of the famous Dublin picture house last night. For more on this story, please click Irish Independent.
Photo Credit & Related Story: Dublin Links

Top Irish models show off flirty fashions
Sarah McGovern and Ruth Griffin graced the catwalk, showcasing designs for this summer's urban jungle as the style label Voom and eclectic Divine boutique joined forces for an ultra glamorous show. For more on this story, please click Irish Independent.

May 7

Bertie makes it official
Bertie Ahern at Áras an Uachtaráin yesterday, where he tendered his resignation as Taoiseach to President Mary McAleese. Mr Ahern's last official public duty will be at Arbour Hill this morning for the commemoration of the 1916 Rising. Photo caption from the Irish Times. To read other news from Ireland, please click Irish Times.
Photo Credit: Bryan O'Brien

One for the road
The Taoiseach's last day in office ended as it had begun. As the shadows cast by the May sunshine began to lengthen yesterday evening, Bertie made a final pilgrimage through the rolling greenland of Aras an Uachtarain to hand in his resignation. For more details, please click Irish Independent.

Gaelscoil gets good marks for English
A new study challenges the findings on the standard of English among pupils in the school at the heart of the row about Irish language education. For more on this story, please click Irish Independent.
Photo Credit: OCO Blog/Gaelscoil Bhaile Munna

US Bankers invited back to old homestead
A 200-year-old stone farmhouse with an open fire and chickens running in and out... an unlikely destination for executives from a US bank. For more details, please click BBC.

W.W.II Offaly gunner to be laid to rest
RAF Sergeant John Kehoe who was killed when his bomber crashed during World War II is to be laid to rest with full military honours in the Netherlands. For more on this story, please click BBC.
Photo Credit & Related Story: The Irish World

Comic Gildea wins PJ O'Connor Award
It has been announced that the comedian, writer and actor Kevin Gildea is the overall winner of the 2008 RTÉ Radio 1 Drama Awards, held in memory of PJ O'Connor. For more details, please click RTE.

Festival fever cooling?
Some 80,000 tickets for last year's Oxegen event sold out in a record 70 minutes. But, this time round, two months after the main release of tickets, they are still available. For more details, please click Irish Independent.
Photo Credit: NME

May 6

Last hurrah on political battlefield
It's "Bye, Bye Bertie Day". Today, he is meeting Northern Ireland's First Minister Ian Paisley, who will also soon quit the political stage, on the "green, grassy slopes of the Boyne". For more details, please click Belfast Telegraph.
Photo Credit & Related Story: RTE.

End of an era for Christian Brothers schools
Control of the Republic's 96 Christian Brothers schools is to be transferred to a charitable trust run by lay people from September. This ends the Brothers' day-to-day involvement in the running of the schools, a tradition dating back over two centuries. For more on this story, please click Irish Times.
Photo Credit: The Edmund Rice Schools Trust Project

Here comes summer
Summer is officially here with more warm and sunny weather on the way as most people head back to work today following a balmy May Bank Holiday weekend. For more on this story, please click Irish Independent.

Irish names saved for posterity on the web
Over a million Irish names that would have otherwise been lost to history can now be viewed online for the first time, which should go some way towards helping those looking to trace their family roots back to Ireland. For more details, please click Irish Post.
Photo credit: Nolan Family History

Five Irish authors on O'Connor long-list
Anne Enright, Roddy Doyle, Mary Rochford, Gerard Donovan and Mary O'Donnell have all been nominated for the Frank O'Connor International Short Story Award which is in its 4th year . For more on this story, please click RTE.
Photo Credit: Roddy Doyle from The List

Wicklow Festival starts tomorrow
The fifth Wicklow Arts Festival gets underway tomorrow and a huge variety of events including classical music, rock, comedy, theatre, art exhibitions and a French food market are planned. For more on this story, please click RTE.
Photo Credit: Wicklow Arts Festival

In pictures: The Belfast Marathon
Over 15,000 people took to the streets of Belfast for the city's May Day marathon. The Deep RiverRock Belfast City Marathon brought serious athletes and fun runners for the 27th annual event. To view the picture gallery, please click Belfast Telegraph.

May 5

Regional round-up from Antrim to Wicklow
All the news you probably won’t read in the national headlines:
World Fleadh launched in Portlaoise; Limerick Village retains ancient name; and triplet calves born in Tipperary. To read these news items and many others, please click Irish Emigrant.
Photo Credit: Crawford Brothers/for illustration purposes only

Celebrating the beginning of summer in Dingle
A young flower girl participates in the Féile na Bealtaine parade in Dingle, Co Kerry, yesterday. The event has its roots in the Celtic celebration of the sun's warmth and its importance in the fertility of crops and cattle. Photo is from the front page of the Irish Times. To see a better view and read today’s major headlines, please click Irish Times.

Country comes out to play in the sun
There were queues at Dublin Zoo and crowds on the beaches as bank holiday weekenders made the most of the good weather. And according to Met Eireann, today will be as good if not better. For more details, please click Irish Independent.
Photo Credit: Stay in Ireland

Round of applause for new stamp
An Post has launched what may well become a must-have for every stamp collector -- Ireland's first round stamp. The circular 'Planet Earth' stamps bear the images of two hand-crafted models of the planet made by two Dublin schoolboys, For more details, please click Irish Independent.

Lawrie completes fabulous hat-trick
Peter Lawrie yesterday completed a unique hat-trick for Irish golf.
The Dubliner sealed his first European Tour victory in dramatic fashion in Seville by beating Spain's Ignacio Garcia in a play-off. For more details, please click Irish Independent.

Ireland gives $2 million to JFK Library
Prime Minister Bertie Ahern announced the gift in a speech at the Boston museum, which honors the life of President Kennedy. His eight great-grandparents migrated to Boston during Ireland’s potato famine of the late 1840s. For more details, please click Boston Herald.

Rock-paper-scissors champion crowned in Dublin
Mark Cleland from Belfast was crowned the Irish rock-paper-scissors champion recently in Dublin. Mr Cleland fought off Martin Brosnan in the final and will now represent Ireland in the Rock Paper Scissors World Championships at the Beijing Olympics. For more details, please click Irish World.

May 4
Pope to make decision on NI visit
The invitation was issued by Irish Catholic bishops last year. The Pope's spokesman, Father Federico Lombardi, said that the Holy Father's international agenda for 2009 would be known before the end of the year. For more details, please click BBC.

Keep rural post offices open says bishop
Dr Dermot Clifford, the outspoken Archbishop of Cashel and Emly, has made an impassioned plea for post offices to remain open as focal points for rural communities. For more on this story, please click Irish Independent.
Photo Credit & Related Story: RTÉ

Pat Spillane pulling pints?
The Kerry football legend and commentator who coined the term 'Saturday Night Ireland' to describe the country's growing binge drinking culture was granted a publican's licence in his own name last week. For more details, please click Irish Independent.

Thousands gear up for Belfast Marathon
Tens of thousands of runners are on their marks to pound the pavements this Bank Holiday Monday for the annual Deep River Rock Belfast Marathon. The largest proportion of entrants will be taking part in the relay. For more details, please click Belfast Telegraph.

Join the hunt for your favourite bird
The Pecks Factor competition is calling on the public to register their vote for their favourite feathered friend. Voters will be able to choose from among garden, farmland, sea and wetland birds. For more details, please click Belfast Telegraph.
Photo Credit: Geographia

Free bus ride to cemetery packs them in
Older people and relatives visiting graves at Belfast's Roselawn Cemetery can now use a free bus service operating once a week in turn from north, east, south and west Belfast. For more details, please click BBC.

Book Review: A Taste of Wexford 2
A benefit cookbook, the total proceeds of this second volume of dishes from the southeast and beyond go to Wexford Area Lifeboats. Chefs from 16 businesses in the region are joined by guest chefs Derry Clarke and Neven Maguire to create menus and recipes for every occasion. To read the review, please click RTE.

May 3
Kennedy urges Ahern to become peace envoy
Senator Ted Kennedy has urged outgoing Taoiseach Bertie Ahern to travel the world as an envoy for peace. But Mr Ahern fended off making any immediate decisions. For more on this story, please click Irish Independent.
Photo Caption: Bertie Ahern poses under a portrait of John F Kennedy with former US Ambassador to Ireland Jean Kennedy Smith (left), Caroline Kennedy and US Senator Edward Kennedy at the JFK Library in Boston

10-year old conquers Kilimanjaro
Sean McSharry, from Stillorgan, south Co Dublin has become the youngest person in Europe to climb one of the world’s highest mountains. He reached the peak of Kilimanjaro in north east Tanzania – the highest in Africa – at noon Irish time. For more details, please click Breaking News.

Sunday Game celebrates 30 years
The famous theme tune has gone, along with the dodgy graphics, terrible set and most of the terrible haircuts. But it's difficult to imagine an Irish summer without 'The Sunday Game'. For more on this story, please click Irish Independent.

Spreading the word with butter
Images and testimonies from some of the characters who played their part in the development of butter production in Ireland have been compiled in a new limited edition book 'A Little Bit of Butter' which was introduced yesterday by Sir Anthony O'Reilly. For more details, please click Irish Independent.
Photo Credit: Cork Butter Museum

Fiddle virtuoso to be honoured
Martin Hayes will be officially recognised by Clare County Council at a Civic Reception. A Civic Reception is the highest accolade that a Local Authority can award to an individual, group or organisation. For more details, please click Irish World.

Where Ballymun goes, the world will follow?
The Dublin suburb of Ballymun will be the international model for how to build large-scale, environmentally friendly communities which reduce people's dependency on fossil fuels, a conference was told yesterday.http://www.independent.ie/national-news/where-ballymun-goes-the-world-follows-in-model-for-green-future-1366175.html
Photo Credit: Draft Ireland

World's largest cruise ship due in Cork
The largest cruise ship in the world is docking in Cobh, Co Cork, today as part of her maiden voyage.'Independence of the Seas' took over two years to build at a cost of more than €500m. For more on this news item, please click RTE.

May 2
Church leaders forced to cancel holy site visit
The leaders of Ireland's four main Christian Churches have accepted an apology from the Israeli government after a Jewish settler prevented them from praying for peace at the Western Wall in Jerusalem on Holocaust Memorial Day. For more details, please click Irish Independent.

FAI introduces Trapattoni
His English was weak but his charisma was strong and though we only caught one word in three, he made more sense than his predecessor Steve Staunton and we nodded back enthusiastically and let ourselves be seduced by Don Giovanni. For more details, please click Irish Times.

Eden star wins NY festival award
Eileen Walsh has won the Best Actress award at the Tribeca Film Festival in New York for her role in the Irish film 'Eden' based on Eugene O'Brien's play and directed by Declan Recks. For more details, please click RTE.

Travelling exhibition looks at childhood in Ireland
Hosted by the Local Authority Museums’ Network ‘Seen But Not Heard (Feictear Ach Ní Cloistear) - A Century Of Childhood In Ireland’ celebrates some of the many lifestyle changes experienced by successive generations of Irish children. For more details, please click Irish World.

It’s Academy Awards Time
Nominations are being sought for this year's prestigious Royal Irish Academy (RIA) gold medals. The medals are awarded to persons ordinarily resident in Ireland who have made a substantial contribution to their field whilst working in Ireland. For more details, please click Irish Independent.

Belfast Cathedral Arts Festival hits new box office record
Organisers of the popular event say they are delighted that the festival has broken box office records with the highest pre-festival sales in its history. For more details, please click Belfast Telegraph.
Photo Credit: Last FM

Book Review: Anzacs & Ireland by Jeff Kildea
Just over four years ago, a memorial plaque was unveiled at Belvedere College, the Jesuit school in Dublin. It honoured all former students who died as victims of war. It therefore honoured men whose beliefs took them in quite different directions. For more on this story, please click: Eureka Street

May 1
US Congress applauds Ahern
The Taoiseach was given a standing ovation during an historic address to a joint meeting of the United States Congress in Washington yesterday when he declared: "Ireland is at peace." For more on this story, please click Irish Times.
To read an abridged version of Mr. Ahern’s address, please click Irish Independent.

Lotto winners pledge not to waste windfall
The winners, from west Dublin, chose to keep their identity secret after they collected €15,658,143 from National Lottery offices yesterday afternoon. For more on this story, please click Irish Independent.
Photo Credit: Theatre Scarborough

Me and the Sea - Mick Brogan
Originally from Kinvara, Mick Brogan grew up watching hookers carry turf between his home village and Connemara. in the late 1970s he took part enthusiastically in the revival of the hookers, buying a gleoiteog and teaching himself to sail, getting involved in the annual Cruinniú na mBád in Kinvara, which is celebrating its 30th anniversary this year. For more on this story, please click Galway Independent.

River bank to sizzle in battle of chefs
A busy Limerick riverside street will sizzle over the coming holiday weekend as hundreds of barbecue chefs gather from all over the world to pit their skills in an international cook-off. For more on this story, please click Irish Examiner.
Photo Credit & Related Story: Limerick Leader

Ferriter comes out tops
A record three Irish Book Awards have been won by author Diarmaid Ferriter for his book ‘Judging Dev', at the 2008 Irish Book Awards in Dublin. For more on this story, please click Irish World.
Photo Credit: BBC

Rally for return of ferry
Tourist bosses in Cork, suffering because of the continued cancellation of a ferry connection to Swansea, have been told they have been “hoodwinked” into believing that there was no European Union funding to help the situation. For more details, please click Irish World.

Book Review: The Journey Home by Dermot Bolger
“We came from nowhere and found we belonged nowhere else,” says Francis Hanrahan, the troubled young hero of Dermot Bolger’s fiercely beautiful novel “The Journey Home.” The nowhere he’s referring to is the Dublin suburb he reluctantly, often bitterly, calls home. To read the review in full , please click New York Times.
Photo Credit: Kate Geraghty/Irish Times

April 30
Taoiseach to thank US for NI peace role
In a major public event that will mark one of the highlights of his 11 years in office, Taoiseach Bertie Ahern will today address a joint session of the United States Congress and afterwards will meet President Bush in the White House. For more on this story, please click Irish Times.
Photo Credit & Related Story: Irish Independent

Niamh survives sing-off scare
Niamh Perry became the first Irish contestant to finish in the bottom two in the BBC's musical talent search 'I'd Do Anything' on Sunday evening, but survived a sing-off against Keisha Amponsa-Banson. For more on this story, please click RTE.

Award-winning strand unveils visitor facility
A new environmentally friendly £500,000 visitor facility has been unveiled at one of Northern Ireland's best loved beaches. With more than 175,000 visitors every year, Portstewart Strand is one of the most visited open spaces cared for by the trust in Northern Ireland, For more details, please click Belfast Telegraph.
Phoo Credit: North Coast. Northern Ireland

Dublin slang guide for Mickey Dazzlers
A new dictionary of Dublin street slang details for the first time ever the language of the underworld. For more details, please click Irish Independent.
Photo Credit: Newsfeed Ireland

Number of people smoking increases despite ban
Despite the introduction of the smoking ban nearly three years ago, smoking levels have increased in this country, according to a national study of Irish health and lifestyles. For more details, please click Irish Examiner.

Catalogue of a Country
Mills mines, lime kilns, waterwheels - all were once a common sight around the countryside in Ireland, but sadly now fast disappearing. That’s why conservationists have begun a survey to list what’s left of the county’s industrial and farming heritage. For more on this story, please click Irish World.

Shoppers willing to pay more for Irish
According to a recent survey, 58 per cent will fork out extra for home-made or Irish goods, with eight out of 10 preferring branded products to supermarket’s own label items. For more details, please click Irish World.
Photo Credit: Food ireland

April 29
Bertie not the first Taoiseach to address US Congress
When Taoiseach Bertie Ahern addresses the Joint Houses of US Congress on Wednesday, he will be following in the footsteps of five previous Taoisigh and Irish Presidents. For more details, please click RTE.

Church leaders begin visit to Holy Land
Roman Catholic Primate Cardinal Sean Brady, President of the Methodist Church the Rev Roy Cooper, Presbyterian Moderator Dr John Finlay, and Church of Ireland Primate Archbishop Alan Harper will also offer Christian hope in a situation where continuing hostilities are causing increased hardship for ordinary people. For more on this story, please click Breaking News.
Photo Credit: His Prayer House

New nuncio presents his credentials
The diplomat appointed by Pope Benedict to represent the interests of the Holy See in Ireland presented his credentials yesterday to President Mary McAleese at Aras an Uachtarain. For more on this story, please click Irish Independent.

Day trip to Westport
And why not? Nobody has a bad word to say about Westport. Overlooking Clew Bay, in the shadow of Croagh Patrick, it's every bit as dramatic as New Plymouth in New Zealand, itself overlooked by Mount Taranaki. For more on this story, please click Irish Independent.

Coldplay single is free from today
Coldplay have announced that their new single will be available as a free download from this afternoon. Violet Hill will be available on www.coldplay.com for one week from 12:15pm (Irish time) today. For more on this story, please click RTE.

Boyne painting sells for £59,000
It is believed to be by Dutch artist Jan Wyck and sold for more than five times the guide price at Whyte's auction, held at the RDS in Dublin. For more on this story, please click BBC.

Tiny shrew a big hope for dwindling owls
The discovery of a tiny new mammal in Ireland may be the key to reviving dwindling populations of the elusive barn owl, environment experts said yesterday. For more on this story, please click Irish Independent.
Photo Credit: Davy Watson/Flicker