"Another little piece of history" made in Northern Ireland
First Minister Peter Robinson has attended his first Gaelic football match. The DUP leader was a guest of the Ulster Council for the final of the Dr McKenna Cup between Derry and Tyrone in Armagh on Saturday night. Gaelic games are traditionally played and watched by the nationalist community in Northern Ireland. Deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness was also at the game. Mr Robinson got a "warm reception", he said. He said that Mr Robinson's attendance was evidence of his "inclusive approach" and was "another little piece of history". For more details, please click BBC.
Photo Credit $ Related Story: Belfast Telegraph

Michael Collins's beloved Kerry Blue breed at risk in UK?
If Michael Collins hadn't been shot at Beal Na Blath, the Kerry Blue Terrier would be Ireland's national dog. But the Big Fella met his end before he could enact legislation giving the Kerry Blue official recognition in the new Irish State. Now, according to the latest statistics by the UK Kennel Club, the Kerry Blue, or Irish Blue Terrier as it was known in Collins's time, is near extinction. It's one of 25 vulnerable breeds cross-channel, including the English Setter, which have fallen out of favour because of the fad for smaller dogs. For more details, please click Irish Independent.
Photo Credit: Kerry Blue

Is Enya a Muslim name?
When Journal Ireland decided to take a look at exactly what Google users want to know about famous Irish people, they decided to use the empirically tested and scientifically proven method of looking at Google.ie autocomplete results. Autocomplete uses a Google algorithm to predict and display search queries based on the things that users have been searching for. The results are slightly bizarre. There were queries about whether one politician is “actually mad” and one asking whether a famous actor is “a shark”. To read the list of questions, please click Journal Ireland.
Photo Credit: Newspaper li (discussion forum)

Dolphin group gets grant to refit former Haughey boat
The Irish Whale and Dolphin Group has secured 75 per cent funding from the Leader scheme to refit the former Charles Haughey-owned vessel Celtic Mist. The allocation of €47,900 towards the refit has been approved by Clare Local Development Company. Welcoming the grant allocation, the whale and dolphin group’s co-ordinator Dr Simon Berrow paid tribute to the development company’s support, and said that work was already well under way, with a number of volunteers enlisted. For more details, pleasec lick Irish Times.
Photo Credit: Cyril Byrne

Geantrai is back for new series
A brand new series of the popular TG4 traditional music programme Geantraí kicks off on January, 29 on TG4. By the looks of the first two programmes, we’ll have a musical feast on our hands during its 13-week run. The series, which has built up a loyal audience among traditional music followers in Ireland and abroad, will again feature musicians from well known session pubs around Ireland. This first programme of the new series (Clár 1 – 29/01/12 10pm TG4 – repeat 03/02/12 8pm TG4) is presented by box player Christy Leahy and comes from The White Horse Pub in Ballincollig, Co.Cork where he plays with piano player Caoimhín Vallely. For more details, please click Irish World.

From industrial site to lifestyle shop
Tony and Jackie Collins were not deterred in any way by the times we are in when they developed and opened their big new Red Earth Lifestyle Store & Cafe in Mullingar Industrial Park. Today, what was originally a none-too-pretty industrial building has become a smart lifestyle store and restaurant stocking clothes, jewellery, glassware, mirrors, throws, cushions, pottery, preserves, wines, and small furniture. For more details, please click Irish Independent.
Photo Credit: Red Earth Facebook Page

'We'll stay open until fans stop drinking'
Unlike Ireland, there is no official closing time for pubs in Poland they can stay open 24 hours a day. The majority of pubs in both Gdansk and Poznan are located around the main squares. However, despite the fact that there are a number of Irish pubs in both towns, none are owned or operated by Irish people. But Maciek Musial, a bartender in The Dubliner bar in Poznan, said they would have an Irish breakfast on their menu. "We're already aware of what kind of crowds will come," he joked. "We probably won't close at all." For more details, please click Irish Independent.
Photo Credit & related Story: Journal Ireland/INPHO/Donall Farmer

Cricket: Murtagh to boost Ireland
The Irish team has received a boost with news of the recruitment of top Middlesex bowler Tim Murtagh. The man who took 80 wickets in last summer's county championship became an Irish citizen last week, and if he gets his passport by February 12 he can play in the World Twenty20 qualifier in Dubai. Murtagh, who goes by the nickname 'Dial M', qualifies through his Dublin-born grandfather. For more details and other sports news please click Irish Independent.
Photo Credit & Relatd Story/Interview: All Out Cricket

January 28
Derry wins bid to hold historic Fleadh Cheoil
Derry has succeeded in its bid to host Fleadh Cheoil na hÉireann 2013, bringing it to Northern Ireland for the first time. Derry won out over competition from Sligo and Ennis to host the event. Fleadh Cheoil na hÉireann is a ten-day event embracing all aspects of Irish traditions including music, song, dance and an Gaeilge. The event is expected to generate an income of up to €40m for the region. For more on this breaking news item, please click RTE.

Standing room only for Rev. Paisley's farewell service
More than 3,000 people gathered to hear the Rev. Ian Paisley preach at Martyrs' Memorial Church in Belfast. The service marked the official end of his six decades of full-time ministry. Now known as Lord Bannside, speaking before the service, he said: "I am exceedingly happy that I've had the privilege of being the preacher here for 65 years, and that's a long time. Although he is leaving full-time ministry, Friday night's sermon was not expected to be his final time in a pulpit. He is likely to accept occasional invitations to preach in Northern Ireland and abroad. For more details, please click BBC.
Photo Credit & Related Story: Daily Mail/Charle McQuillan/Pacemaker

War of Independence exhibition to be held in Limerick
The Irish Volunteer Commemorative Organisation has announced an exhibition, lecture and display over 2 days on Saturday and Sunday, March 3rd and 4th, 2012. The event opens each morning at 10:00 am and ends at 6:00 pm. The event will take place at the Best Western Perys Hotel (Formerly Glentworth Hotel), Glentworth Street, LimerickCity. An exhibition of Irish Volunteer items from 1913 to 1923 will be on display and they will have members on hand to answer any questions from the general public. For more details, please click Irish World.
Photo Credit: Irish Volunteers Organization

Former high-flier to take road less traveled
He was once a high-flying businessman with a multi-million euro empire. But Chris O'Hara from Artane, Co Dublin, came crashing down to earth with a bang when his companies went to the wall three years ago. He's now taking the road less travelled and packing up his 2002 Chevy Van for a road trip through Canada, the US and Alaska in April - while living off a paltry €5 a day. Speaking at the Holiday World Show at the RDS in Dublin, Chris said "I'm leaving on April 26 this year and our first stop is Toronto. I'll have a BBC cameraman called Gareth McGuire who'll film my travels for a fly-on-the-wall TV documentary called 'One Man and His Van'. We're hopeful of making a pit stop at the 'Ellen' show in the US." For more details, please click Irish Independent.

A special day calls for a special dress
The market for communion wear in Ireland is said to be worth around €57 million, according to a survey last June and it represents about 50 per cent of children's wear sales in January and February for Irish retailer Arnotts. Rites of passage such as Communions have recently been marked in Ireland by sartorial excess but the trend for frothy frocks may be on the wane with dresses by Nicki McFarlane growing in popularity. She's the designer who made the dresses for Kate middleton's bridesmaids last year. For more details, please click Irish Times.

Empress of Austria found in Meath kennel
Long feared lost, an important painting of Empress Elisabeth of Austria - on horseback in Ireland - has been found behind a wardrobe in kennels in Co Meath. The oil painting, in a frame decorated with scrolling shamrock, depicts Elisabeth of Austria, wife of the Hapsburg Emperor Franz Joseph I, seated on a bay mare called Domino while hunting in Co Meath. It was commissioned by the empress and sent as a thank you gift to the Ward Union Hunt following her visits to Ireland in 1879 and 1880. Now the oil painting, by Wilhelm Richter - a well-known 19th century Austrian portrait painter - is being donated by the Ward Union Hunt to the Royal Dublin Society on "indefinite loan".For more details, please click Irish Times.
Photo Credit: Blog of Charles Sántha - Voice for Children

The Mound of Down?
Never heard of it? If not, that is probably because it has been hidden from public view by trees and gorse for decades. But work is now under way to expose this fortification which could be about 1,000 years old. Tim Campbell, director of the St Patrick Centre in Downpatrick, said it was one of the largest megalithic hill forts in western Europe. "We have forgotten about it as it has been overgrown with trees," he said. "It was the seat of the high kings when they moved from the Navan area of Armagh eastwards. "It is a very important site and perhaps in the very reason Down is called Down, Down from Dun - the big fort." For more details, please click BBC.

Dubliners a capital group now 50 years
The legendary Dubliners chose the setting of their native city’s premier cathedral to celebrate their 50th anniversary last night. The first of two shows at Christ Church Cathedral, which conclude tonight, was an occasion for celebration and reminiscences for this most storied of Irish folk bands. It is a short distance as the crow flies from O’Donoghue’s in Merrion Row where the band first got together in 1962, but, as they reflected in the two sold-out shows, they have come a long way. Their concerts are the hottest tickets of this year’s Temple Bar Tradfest with fans coming from as far away as Australia for the event. For more details, please click Irish Times.
Photo Credit & More Details: Temple Bar Trad Fest News

Inside Ryanair
Ryanair’s story is remarkable. Set up in 1985 by Tony Ryan, the airline’s first route ferried very small numbers from Waterford to London Gatwick. A year later, it started flying from Dublin to London with its Ir£99 return less than half the lowest ticket price offered by British Airways and Aer Lingus, which had monopolised the route. Passenger numbers grew, as did the airline, but before Ryanair’s third birthday, it had accumulated losses of Ir£20 million. Then a junior executive named Michael O’Leary visited Southwest Airlines, the US low-fares carrier, and the game changed forever. Having witnessed first-hand the airline revolution sweeping across the American Bible Belt, O’Leary came home and, with evangelical zeal, set about resurrecting Ryanair. For more details, please click Irish Times.
Photo Credit Dara Mac Dónaill

January 27
Regional round up from Antrim to Wicklow
All the news that probably won't make the national headlines: 100th family member welcomed in Dublin; Hotel for horses to make its debut in Tyrone; and Archaeological dig to find forgotten cross with explicit carvings in Wicklow. To read these news items and many others, please click County News.

Photo Credit: Fingal Independent

Water costs more than beer in Dublin pubs?
As much as that might seem unbelievable, it's true! A new survey of over 100 Dublin pubs has found that mineral water cost €9.44 per litre on average compared with €7.92 a litre for stout and €8.71 for brand-name beers. Soft drinks cost even more, with cola costing €13.45 per litre - the most expensive drink in the survey conducted by Fine Gael Senator Catherine Noone. "This survey shows it's actually more expensive to spend your night sipping on water or soft drinks instead of beer or stout. How can this make sense?" she said. How indeed. For more on this news item, please click Irish Independent.
Photo Cedit: ABC News/Terry Williams/The Image Bank/Getty Images

Because she's worth it
Cheryl Cole has chosen an Irish teenager to join her in the latest L’Oréal TV ad campaign and to speak the immortal words: "Because I’m worth it." Kellie Anne Purtell, from Leixlip, Co Kildare, follows the likes of Beyoncé and Eva Longoria in uttering the catchphrase. Kellie caught the eye of judges when she posted a photo on L’Oréal’s facebook campaign page. The 17 year old was one of 50 selected for the final audition in London. "I’m a massive Cheryl fan so it was amazing. I couldn’t believe she picked me' said Kelllie. For more details, please click Irish Examiner.
Photo Credit, more pics & related story: Mail UK

Dreamliner makes its Dublin debut
The Boeing 787 Dreamliner made its Irish debut at the Dublin airport Thursday as part of the “Dream Tour,” showcasing the new spacious aircraft across the globe. The plane was on view today to coincide with the 14th Annual European Airfinance Conference in Dublin. The Dreamliner breaks new ground in a number of areas, making the aircraft more environmentally efficient, quieter, and more comfortable for passengers especially on longer flights.One of the major goals of the new model is to bring people back to the joy of flying, said Michele Lodl, a representative for Boeing. For more details, and video clip, please click Irish Times.
Photo Credit: Brenda Fitzsimons
More Photos: Journal Ireland

Fionnula Flanagan to receive Lifetime Achievement IFTA
Trained at the Abbey Theatre in Dublin and the Old Vic in London, Flanagan began her career as a lauded theatrical performer. She made her feature film debut in 1967 alongside Milo O’Shea and TP McKenna in Ulysses. She has since featured in a long list of films including The Others, The Divine Secrets of the Ya Ya Sisterhood, Some Mother’s Son and Waking Ned Devine. She is also in with a chance of taking home a second IFTA this year – she is nominated for Best Supporting Actress (Film) for her role in The Guard. For more details, please click Journal Ireland.

Galway Marathon Man aims to break his own record
The only man on the planet to run seven marathons in less than seven days on the seven continents is aiming to go one better by smashing the five-day barrier. Richard Donovan starts his epic quest in the extremes of Antarctica, running the first 26 mile leg in -20C temperatures at the Russian Novo science base next Wednesday. The 45-year-old father of one is doing the endurance challenge on a shoestring budget out of his own pocket to raise awareness of the humanitarian crisis in the Horn of Africa. His record stands at five days, 10 hours and eight minutes - 130h:08m. "It's been very hard to figure a way of knocking off the half day," he said. For more details,please click Irish Independent.

How U2's cover 'Boy' rocked the world of skating
He's the 'Boy' that U2 made famous with the album of the same name. But cover star Peter Rowen grew up to be a teenage skateboarder. He and his elder brother Clive were part of the gang of pioneering skaters that sprung up around an iconic skate shop in Dublin. The craze kicked off in the mid-1980s when 'Back To The Future' introduced skateboarding to a wider audience -- but the formative Irish scene relied heavily on imports and innovation. Now the explosion in Irish skateboarding, and Mr Rowen's part in it, is recalled in a new documentary called 'Hill Street'. For more details, please click Irish Independent.

Holy mackerel - a fish farm?
Many people might think they had been given a fishy story when told a lorryload of mackerel had overturned in a field. Butthis picture shows there was no codding. The scores of mackerel overturned into a field at Derryboy Road near Crossgar earlier on Wednesday. The result is a lot of upset fish sellers; and a lot of very contented farm cats. While most of the mackerel have been removed, a large gap remains in the hedge over which the lorry spilled its contents. To read this news item on line and to watch the news clip, please click BBC.
Photo Credit & Related Story: Belfast Telegraph/Louise Finn

Central Bank issues €10 coin to honour artist Jack B Yeats
The silver proof collector's coin features a portrait of Yeats overlooking a sketch of a horse and was designed by Michael Guilfoyle. Catriona Yeats, grand-niece of the artist, said that the design was "impressive and striking" in its simplicity. The coins, which have an issue limit of 12,000 units, are available to the public at a cost of €46 and can be purchased directly from the Central Bank of Ireland on Dame Street, Dublin. To read this news item online, please click Irish Herald.
Photo Credit & Related Story: Journal Ireland/Jason Clarke Photography

Rare white blackbird regular visitor to Dublin garden
A rare, all-white blackbird has been spotted in a Dublin garden. Robin Cannon from Ballinteer, who photographed the bird on Tuesday, said the bird had been a regular visitor to his back garden Mr Cannon said he appeared "most mornings for the past three or four months". BirdWatch Ireland, which has seen the photographs, described the bird as "very unusual". It says the blackbird could be either an albino or leucistic, which is a genetic mutation that prevents pigments from being deposited normally in its feathers. Leucistic birds can appear all white but retain normal coloured eyes, unlike true albinos whose eyes are pink.For more on this news item and more pics, please click RTE.

January 26
From professor to president to professor
It is a long tradition of the National University of Ireland to confer an honorary degree on the President after his or her inauguration. “Today’s conferring is almost a family event, and all the happier for that” said NUI chancellor Dr Maurice Manning, who conferred the honorary degree of Doctor of Laws (LLD) on Michael D. The introductory citation was read by Dr Jim Browne, vice-chancellor of the NUI and president of NUI Galway. “The presidency of Michael D Higgins may well reverse the adage of campaigning in poetry but governing in prose. Already, he is asserting the true value of rhetoric, purposefully and forthrightly deployed, evincing the defining quality of this truly extraordinary man – integrity.” For more details, please click Irish Times.
Photo Credit & Related Story: Bryan O'Brien

University of Ulster to confer honorary degrees
The University of Ulster is to give honorary doctorates to US Open Golf Champion Rory McIlroy and Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson. Actor Sir Ian McKellen and Snow Patrol lead singer Gary Lightbody are also set to be honoured. Sir Alex is to receive the Honorary Degree of Doctor of Science (DSc) in recognition of his services to football. Rory McIlroy will be awarded for his contribution to golf. He will receive the Honorary Degree of Doctor of Science (DSc). He follows in the footsteps of fellow golfer Graeme McDowell who received an honorary degree last year after winning the 2010 US Open Championship. For more details, please click BBC.
Photo Credit & Related Story: Belfast Telegrah (Last year's award ceremony)

Kingdom takes centre stage in tourism campaign
Some famous landmarks in the Kingdom feature prominently in Tourism Ireland’s new global advertising campaign ‘Jump into Ireland’ with the clear message being: come along, get involved and have the craic. The lively television ads — which have an estimated audience of 200m potential visitors worldwide — convey a strong spirit of joie de vivre. Footage includes a group of young people cycling through the picture postcard Gap of Dunloe in Killarney, against a spectacular mountain backdrop. Pub scenes, meanwhile, are reflected in images from Teddy O’Sullivan’s hostelry in Kilmackillogue, near Kenmare, and Dick Mack’s in Dingle. For more details, please click Irish Examiner.
Photo Credit: Trip Advisor

Bram Stoker's birthplace for sale
Fifteen, Marino Crescent, Fairview, Dublin 3, is a house with a past looking for a buyer to bite. As the birthplace of Bram Stoker, author of Gothic novel Dracula – one of the most popular books of the last century, spawning numerous plays and over 200 films – it has a darkly magnetic attraction. Yet there is no plaque commemorating the writer on the front of the Georgian terraced property. An attempt to hang one in the 1980s was foiled by the present owner’s father: at the time, a newspaper headline screamed “No Fangs Said Keegan”. For more details, please click Irish Times.
Photo Credit: Getty Images

Dublin begins its term as 'City of Science'
Dublin has been officially named European City of Science 2012 at a ceremony in the capital today. More than 160 science related events will take place during the year, including a major international science conference in July. Government Chief Scientific Adviser Prof Patrick Cunningham said Ireland was claiming its place in the world of scientific research. Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation Richard Bruton said dramatic improvements had been made in publicly funded research over the past decade. For more details, please click RTE.

Comber spuds join elite European food group
Comber early potatoes have been granted protected geographical indication(PGI) status under European law. The potatoes are prized for their distinctive earthy, nutty flavour and characteristic soft smooth skin. The granting of PGI status means the new season Comber potato joins an elite group of high quality European products, including Parma ham, Champagne wine and Stilton cheese. Lough Neagh eels have already gained PGI status. For more details, please click BBC.
Photo Credit & Related Story: Belfast Telegraph

Australia grants citizenship to more than 1,300 Irish emigrants
More than 1,300 Irish people - the equivalent of the population of Durrow, Co Laois - have been granted Australian citizenship over the past 12 months. However, rather than saying a final farewell to Ireland, some are expected to return home in the years to come. There has been a dramatic rise in the number of Irish seeking Australian citizenship, with figures up more than 50pc in the past decade. In 2001, 852 people applied to become citizens Down Under; by last year this had risen to 1,302. Some 203 of them will take part in special citizenship ceremonies to be held today as part of celebrations marking Australia Day. For more details, please click Irish Independent.
Photo Credit & Related Story: ABC1

Good restaurants thriving
Restaurants offering good quality and value are thriving despite the recession but most of the mainstream pubs are doomed unless they change their approach, food writer John McKenna said yesterday as he launched the latest edition of the Bridgestone Guides . He said Irish people wanted to spend their money on Irish things in Ireland. “The restaurants here are not just surviving; they are thriving. You wouldn’t believe the amount of people who have told me, when I was doing the research for the books, that they actually had their best ever year in business.” For more details, please click Irish Times.
Photo Credit & Related Story: Bryan O'Brien/The Irish Times

Music legend Paul Brady to headline Ballincollig festival
Brady is among several high-profile national and international artists who have agreed to headline The White Horse’s third annual Winter Music Festival in Ballincollig this weekend. The festival opens tonight, with celebrated Irish traditional music duo Paddy and Kevin Glackin, and Caoimhín O’Raghallaigh and Brendan Begley. Meteor Ireland Music Award winner and two times Choice Music Prize nominee Cathy Davey will bring the festival to a close on Sunday. For more details, please click Irish Examiner.
Photo Credit & Related Story: FuZion

January 25
Two Irish movies make Oscar short list
The Shore, written, directed and produced by Terry George, is one of the movies selected in the best short film category. Starring Ciaran Hinds, the film is about a man who emigrated to America 25 years ago to escape the Troubles and is now bringing his daughter back to meet his childhood friends. Competing with The Shoreis Pentecost, which was produced and directed by Peter McDonald and Eimear O'Kane. It tells the story of an altar boy torn between serving at Mass and playing football. Astonishingly, The Shore and Pentecost have been chosen from 107 entries for the final shortlist of five. For more details please click BBC.
Related Story: RTE/Irish among the Oscar nominations

Derry back in running for 2013 Fleadh
That's because the Ulster Council of Comhaltas reversed its decision not to support the city's bid as a contender to stage the music and cultural festival. The final decision on which city will host the 2013 event will take place in Dublin at the weekend. If Derry is selected it will be the first occasion the Fleadh has been held north of the border. Foyle Assembly Member Mark H Durkan welcomed the reversal. "..if the city is ultimately chosen, the organisers will have a great opportunity to highlight the event to many people who may not have experienced it before." For more details, please click Belfast Telegraph.

A history of Ireland in 100 objects: The Waterford Charter Roll
In the 100 years after the Anglo-Norman invasion, more new towns were established in Ireland than at any other period before or since. Many, such as Athlone, Kilkenny and Kildare, developed round castles. The existing Hiberno-Norse cities of Cork, Wexford and Limerick were rejuvenated, while Henry II declared Waterford and Dublin royal ports, personal possessions of the monarch. The balance between urban and rural Ireland shifted, with the towns becoming centres of an increasingly efficient governing bureaucracy of mayors, judges and tax collectors. These urban centres were also rivals, however. For more on this feature article, please click Irish Times.
Image Credit: Waterford Museum of Treasures

NI student entertains Graham Norton's guests
Hollywood stars Zach Braff, musician Taio Cruz and comedian Frank Skinner were baffled and entertained by a NI student on Friday's Graham Norton Show. Costume interpretation student Aileen Faller took on the dreaded red-chair challenge in front of Graham Norton's illustrious guests. But it seems only NI native Kenneth Branagh and Dublin-born Norton had no trouble understanding Aileen's accent. Aileen told BBC Radio Ulster's Talkback that she was still "on a high" from her appearance on the programme. "People say I must have been nervous, but I wasn't at all because I thought I wasn't going to go on the chair," she said. For more details and to watch the clip, plrase click BBC.

Irish vessel built to service offshore wind farms launched
The innovative 20-metre aluminium catamaran, developed and built by Arklow Marine Services cost £1.7 million (€2.04m). The project created 10 jobs during the build and fit-out process and a second vessel is under construction. Arklow Marine Services core business is the design and construction of aluminium and steel boats such as passenger ferries and trawlers. However, the need for new generation vessels for off-shore wind farms arose from the awarding of nine off-shore wind farm sites in British coastal waters. The company undertook the project when it secured a contract with British firm Gardline Shipping. For more details, please click Irish Examiner.

Helping Ulster drivers to plug in
More than 40 public charge points for electric cars will be placed in car parks in six participating council areas by the end of March, with rapid charge points located on the roadside of a number of main routes. This will make the region one of the best plugged in the British Isles, Roads Minister Danny Kennedy said. Mr Kennedy acknowledged that electric car ownership was not yet common in Northern Ireland and said it was important that government encourage people to choose the eco-friendly mode of transport. For more details, please click Belfast Telegraph.
Photo Credit: Gavan Kelly

Asian food big business in Northern Ireland
At the start of the Chinese year, business owners in Northern Ireland are hoping the economic climate wont be as unpredictable as the year of the Dragon has come to symbolise. In a difficult economic climate, Chinese restaurant and take-away businesses have been faring relatively well. In fact, it is performing so well as a sector that Musgrave Marketplace, who run cash and carry stores across Northern Ireland have begun to try and cash in on it. A few aisles in a number of stores are now dedicated to Chinese products, and Asian Business Development manager Tommy Yeung says they have worked hard on the products and the look of the place. For more details, please click BBC.

Peters qualifies at European Skating Championships
Irish skater Clara Peters has qualified from the preliminary round of the short programme at the European Figure Skating Championships and will skate in the next phase of the event on Friday. Skating second of the 22 competitors, the 20-year-old Dubliner's routine, set to Rachmaninoff's 'Rhapsody On A Theme of Paganini', went perfectly. She included two double axels, difficult spins and footwork to score 69.92 points - a new personal best - and finish in eighth. To read this news item in full, please click RTE.

Heineken Cup: Leinster receive top billing
Heineken Cup champions Leinster will continue the defence of their title on Saturday, April 7th when they take on the Cardiff Blues in a quarter-final at the Aviva stadium (5.45pm). The all-Irish clash between Munster and Ulster at Thomond Park is the early kick-off on Sunday, April 8th (1.45pm). ERC confirmed the dates, times and television scheduling for the quarter-finals this morning. While Munster will have been relieved to avoid a Good Friday date for their clash with Ulster, and another controversy surrounding pub opening regulations in the city, there had been suggestions the northern province would be unhappy at playing on Easter Sunday, particularly with an early afternoon kick-off. For more details, please click Irish Times.
Photo Credit: INPHO/Dan Sheridan/2011 Journal Ireland story

January 24
If you're Irish, you might have fair skin and freckle's...
...and you might also have something else: Haemochromatosis. Known as the Celtic Curse, it is a genetic disorder seen mainly in people of Celtic origin which causes those affected by it to absorb excessive amounts of iron into the blood. If left untreated, this may lead to organ damage or even failure. For more details, please click Irish Times.
Photo Credit: Beauty Tips/For illustration purposes only
ED. NOTE: We are making an exception to our usual line-up of positive stories because there is vital information in this article which may be of importance to our readers.

How to get creative with shredded €1.4.billion
Dublin artist Frank Buckley has built a house out of decommissioned euro notes from the Central Bank’s mint, €1.4 billion all told, which is slightly more than the amount unsecured bondholders in the former Anglo Irish Bank are to receive this week. While originally built as a gallery to house his series of mixed-media artwork Expressions of Recession, the house quickly drew attention for its own sake. Now Buckley hopes he will inspire visitors to question the status quo, namely the state of the euro. For more details, please click Irish Times.
Photo Credit: Brenda Fitzsimons

Ireland homes affordable again
That's according to a new study of house prices in 325 English speaking cities throughout the world which shows prices in Ireland are now back within reach of workers. The Demographia International Housing Affordability Survey found housing in Waterford to be the most affordable followed by Galway, Cork, Dublin and finally Limerick. This makes Dublin more affordable than Limerick, despite higher prices in the capital. For more on this news item, please click Breaking News Ireland.
Photo Credit & Related Story: Irish Times
ED. NOTE: To read the report. please click Demographia

A star is born?
An advertisement on MovieExtras.ie’s Facebook page is appealing for “help in finding a new born for the film Byzantium” directed by Jordan which will star Saoirse Ronan; the baby is to play the part of Ronan’s character just as she is born. As a result, the casting agents are looking for “a really small baby… ideally under the weight of 7 pounds 9 ounces”. Parents will have to be quick to apply though – the scene is being shot this Friday in Dublin. They are advised to email support@movieextras.ie with the baby’s date of birth, photo and guardian’s contact details. The notice jokes: “PS No acting experience required " For more details, please click Journal Ireland.

Northern Lights over Northern Ireland
On 19 January, a massive amount of matter and radiation was blasted out of the sun towards the Earth. There's no need to panic however, the main effect of this Coronal Mass Ejection (CME) was a spectacular display of the Aurora Borealis or Northern Lights over northern parts of Ireland and the UK. Dedicated sky watcher Martin McKenna, from Maghera, spent 48 hours chasing the Aurora around the Antrim coastline and eventually captured these amazing images; To view the slide show, please click BBC.
Photo Credit: Martin McKenna/Night Sky Hunter

In Pictures: Snow Patrol play Belfast's Odyssey Arena
Snow Patrol kicked off their three night slot at the Odyssey last night With a sixth studio album released in November Snow Patrol's extensive back catalogue of material makes it more difficult to draw up a play-list for gigs. Guitarist Nathan Connolly said:"There are the songs we have to play, the singles that we know will win the crowd over, though they're not always the songs we want to do," he said. "But we're really excited about playing the new stuff from Fallen Empires. It's only when we do live shows that we discover what songs the audience connect with. For more details and to view the photos. please click Belfast Telegraph.
Photo Credit: David Fitzgerald
Related story & more pics: Irish Times

First humpback whale of 2012 spotted off the Wexford coast
A group of whale-watchers had left Duncannon harbour to catch a glimpse of a pod of fin whales reported to be in the area – but spotted the humpback swimming amongst the pod. Speaking from the boat, skipper Martin Colfers said the crew were “thrilled” to have spotted the humpback. “The humpback is amongst the pod of about five to six fin whales three miles south of Hook Head,” he said. “There are lots of seals and birds about too so it’s an ocean of activity here”. The whales were spotted three miles south of Hook Head Lighthouse. For more details, please click Journal Ireland.

McIlroy to tee it up with Woods
Rory McIlroy has been paired with Tiger Woods and Luke Donald in the marquee grouping for the first two rounds of this week’s Abu Dhabi championship. All three players will be making their first appearances of the season at the high-profile event in the desert state. Woods, who will start his 16th season in the professional ranks, has declared he is the fittest he has been in around a decade as he seeks to get back to his world-beating best. Besides McIlroy, there will be seven other Irish players in the field with Darren Clarke, Graeme McDowell, Pádraig Harrington, Michael Hoey, Shane Lowry, Peter Lawrie and Damien McGrane. For more details, please click Irish Times.
Photo Credit: Ross Kinnaird/Getty Images

Cricket Ireland launch Test status plan
Joining the Test ranks has been the long-term ambition of Irish cricket for some time but today's announcements represent a new level of commitment to that goal and will give the International Cricket Council plenty to ponder. Cricket Ireland chief executive Warren Deutrom unveiled the organisation's vision at the Croke Park Hotel in Dublin, including plans to double the contracted player pool to 23, establish a first-class domestic structure for the first time and increase commercial funding behind the sport to fund extensive grassroots programmes. For more details, please click RTE.

January 23
Celibacy in priesthood 'soon to be a thing of the past'
That's according to missionary priest Fr. Shay Cullen who has earned three Nobel Peace Prize nominations during his 40 years fighting to save small children from abuse on the streets of the city Olongapo in the Philippines. "Celibacy is only a practice mostly to keep property out of the hands of married couples," he said. "It's more sort of a business type of arrangement. "All of the other Christian churches manage very well and many Anglicans who were married and had family and children and came over to the Catholics and were warmly accepted. "Now we have many married priests in the Catholic Church and it is working, so why not? For more details, please click Irish Independent.
Photo Credit & Related Story: Columbian Missionaries

Year of the Dragon may breathe fire into Irish tourism
The Year of the Dragon is expected to coincide with an upsurge in Chinese visitor numbers to Ireland. However, judging by the huge numbers who turned out to mark their new year yesterday, they have already arrived. The Year of the Dragon was counted in with great fanfare at 4pm yesterday to coincide with midnight in China at a packed Dublin’s Temple Bar Market Square. The dragon is the king of the animal kingdom and represents power, appropriately given China’s continuing economic and politic resurgence. The easing of visa restrictions, with a British visa now qualifying for Chinese people to visit Ireland, and the opening of new routes with Emirates Airways into China has made Ireland an easier destination to get to. For more details, please click Irish Times.
Photo Credit & Related Story: Journal Ireland

Designers put on show for the exporters
With the RDS providing the shop window, some of Ireland's best and brightest displayed their latest creations at an exclusive show last night. Model and broadcaster Sonia Reynolds, who directed and produced the inaugural Showcase Fashion 2012, said it was aimed at driving exports from the Irish fashion sector. The event displayed about 250 pieces from 60 designers including John Rocha, Paul Costello, Tim Ryan, Joanne Hynes, Roisín Gartland, Eilis Boyle and Louise Kennedy. Also featured was the work of up and coming designers such as Heather Finn, Susannagh Grogan and Jennifer Rothwell. For more details, please click Irish Examiner.
Photo Credit: Showcase Ireland

Students compete to have doodle on Google Ireland homepage
Google is asking people to vote for their favourite doodle of the search engine logo from a shortlist of 75 drawn by primary and secondary school students across Ireland. Almost 2000 children entered the competition to see their picture displayed on the Google Ireland homepage. The theme for entries this year was “I wish…”. John Herlihy, the head of Google Ireland, said he was “blown away” by the pictures. “It is fantastic to see such creativity and passion in Ireland’s youth,” he said. Vote for your favourite drawing on the Doodle4Google site here: Google Doodle.
But be quick. Voting closes at midnight on 6 February. For more details, please click Journal Ireland.

Moycullen team win First Lego League contest
Mindstorming, mechanics and mini-sumo robot battles marked the atmosphere at the first Lego League contest in Galway at the weekend, when a local team secured the Irish national title. Moycullen club Termin8tors secured the coveted championship, and a trip to the European finals in Germany, against stiff competition from 23 other teams from around the island. The contest for nine- to 16-year-olds involves several elements, including programming an autonomous robot to score points on a playing surface and undertaking a project. For more details, please click Irish Times.
Photo Credit & related Details: Andrew Downes/Silicon Republic

Cashless parking system rolls out in Northern Ireland
After the success of an initial trial in Belfast, Transport Minister Danny Kennedy has announced that the scheme will now be extended to Londonderry, Newry, Lisburn and Omagh The cashless scheme involves a short phone call at the start and end of a parking session. Payment is taken on either a credit or debit card at the end of the month. It avoids the problem of motorists not having change or having to guess how long they will be parked for. For more details, please click Belfast Telegraph.
Photo Credit & Related Details: Parkmobile

GAA fans get chance to wear heart on sleeve
Diehard GAA fans will be able to proudly support their counties anytime, anywhere using the 'Love Your County' range. Football and hurling fans will be able to eat, drink, sleep, shower and even hit the sack with Sam Maguire and Liam McCarthy. The iconic championship trophies are being replicated in miniature sterling silver pendants and charms that can be worn around the neck or as bracelets. The collection also includes charms, pendants and dog tags depicting official county colour jerseys, miniature footballs, hurleys and football boots. For more details, please click Irish Independent.
Photo Credit: GAA

Portadown woman breaks records in Atlantic Ocean row
Kate Richardson was among a five-woman crew to row across the ocean in the fastest time ever recorded. She is also the first woman from Ireland to row across the Atlantic Ocean. The University of Ulster graduate was joined by Julia Immonen, Debbie Beadle, Helen Leigh and Katie Pattison-Hart. The five women, who started in La Gomera in the Canary Islands 45 days ago, arrived in Barbados at 05:13 GMT on Saturday. They came fifth overall in the Atlantic Challenge, a journey described on its website as "the world's toughest rowing race". For more details, please click BBC.
Photo Credit & Related Details: Row for Freedom

Heineken Cup: Twickenham road map set to be enthralling
The season is set to run and run. After securing three of the eight quarter-finalists for the first time ever, there was little chance of the Irish teams avoiding each other at some stage. But after yesterday’s semi-final draw, at least an all-Irish quarter-final between Munster and Ulster guarantees one team in the semi-finals, and with Leinster in the other half of the draw, there remains the possibility of an all-Irish final at Twickenham on May 19th. For more details, please click Irish Times.
Photo Credit: Zimbio

January 22
President to visit Irish in London
President Michael D. Higgins who was himself an emigrant to Britain during the 1960s, will visit Irish community and cultural groups in London late next month in his first official overseas visit. While final plans are still being made, it is believed that the centrepiece will be a visit to the Irish Cultural Centre, which recently received news that the Irish government is to support its bid to buy its Hammersmith home with £550,000 (€660,000).For more details, please click Irish Times.
Photo Credit & Related Story: Into the Woods

Right royal night out for Martin in London
NI's Deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness, resplendent in black tie, looked the picture of contentment in St James’s Palace, London. Along with 200 guests, McGuinness and First Minister Peter Robinson were on the Mall for Tourism Ireland’s launch of Northern Ireland’s heavily funded 2012 campaign. The highlight of the event was a concert by Van Morrison. Robinson told the crowd, : “You are probably aware that the venue was Martin’s choice. I hope that this will be the start of a journey for Martin around royal palaces.” For more details, please click Irish Times.
Photo Credit & Related Story: Telegraph UK

Grandson recalls the 'fighting spirit' of Seán Lemass
Speaking in the Dáil chamber at a seminar for former Oireachtas members, on the theme 'Ireland and Europe – 50 Years-A-Growing', grandson Sean Haughey gave a revealing insight into the professional and personal life of his grandfather who was taoiseach from 1959 to 1966. He also produced a copy of the July 1963 issue of Time magazine which featured Lemass on the cover, with a headline proclaiming “a new spirit in the ould sod”. For more details, please click Irish Times.
Photo Credit: Brenda Fitzsimons

Avoca: still a family-run affair
Irish family-run business Avoca has now expanded to 1,500 shops globally but owners are keen to retain the homemade feel of the store. Avoca has grown from humble beginnings over 30 years ago when solicitor Donald Pratt and his wife Hilary stepped in to save the fate of an 18th-century woollen mill. Now their four children are all equal partner directors and are involved in the day-to-day running of the business. One of them - Simon - is now driving the store's retail development and the company has unveiled plans to open a new base at Malahide Castle in the summer. For more details, please click Irish Herald.
Photo Credit: Avoca

But is it art?
How does one artist end up with an exhibition at the Irish Museum of Modern Art while another, with what might look like very similar work, fails to make the grade? How come popular doesn’t always mean good? And in an art world where anything goes, what makes some artists go further and faster than others? With RTÉ looking for Ireland’s most-loved painting, ahead of a documentary on the subject to be screened in April, it’s a good time to ask whether it is possible to tell a good artist from a weak one any more. Ask anyone in the art world and they’ll give you the same answer: artists decide what art is. For more details, please click Irish Times.

The red hot rising stars of Irish fashion
Meet the new Irish fashion pack – the schoolgirl who is a top model, the fashion industry maven making connections worldwide, the super-cool stylist, a designer who tells stories through her clothes and another with a hotline to Lady Gaga. The latter is Sorchaa O’Raghallaigh from Birr, Co Offaly who sprang to fame when Lady Gaga wore one of her creations on The Graham Norton Show. Since then she has continued to make pieces for the singer. For more details, please click Irish Times.

Donegal drivers most likely to be 'good samaritans...
...but drivers from Kildare and Meath are least likely to stop and help. That's according to a new survey by AA Ireland which asked 12,300 drivers whether they’d pull over to help someone who visibly needed help or simply keep driving. There was a clear gender divide in whether people would stop. Fifty five per cent of men said they would stop and help a female motorist while just 4 per cent of women said they would do the same for a lone male driver. For more details, please click Journal Ireland.
Photo Credit: World Players of Handball Message Board/For illustration purposes only

Heineken Cup: Stunning victory for Munster over Northampton
Munster’s pure will to win against any odds in the Heineken Cup was to the fore as they scored a stunning victory over Northampton to make it six from six in Pool One . Simon Zebo announced himself on the European stage with a stunning hat-trick which marked a perfect end to the week for the winger after he was invited to train with Declan Kidney’s Six Nations squad. For more details, please click Irish Times.
Photo Credit: David Jones/PA

Boxing: Dubliner Egan claims semi-final berth
Kenneth Egan booked his ticket into his 12th consecutive Elite Senior Championships semi-final with a third-round stoppage of fellow Dubliner Michael Frayne at the National Stadium on Saturday. The Neilstown BC southpaw was 24-9 up when Frayne - who took two counts in the first - took a third standing count 12 seconds from the final bell and the bout was stopped. For more details, please click RTE.

January 21
Tears, laughter and all that jazz
As mourners streamed into the church yesterday morning, they were greeted by the sound of saxophonist Richie Buckley softly playing Gershwin's 'Someone to Watch over Me'. The funeral of 'Sunday Independent' editor Aengus Fanning, who died last Tuesday after battling cancer, was never going to be a conventional send-off, nor a short one. And so in the packed Church of St Joseph in Glasthule, Co Dublin, the grief of his family, friends and colleagues was mingled with laughter at stories and fond reminiscences, and applause for the jazz band playing beside the altar. For more details, please click Irish Independent.
Photo Credit & Related Story: Irish Independent

Ireland's mid-west needs to recapture its tourism ‘mojo’
In the 1960s and 70s, Ireland’s Mid-West region was recognised as an international benchmark for tourism innovation with a Brendan O’Regan-led Shannon Development inventing everything from duty-free shopping to medieval banquets and from Irish coffee to the folk village recreations. Of course, things were somewhat easier then. The compulsory stopover for transatlantic airlines meant that most US visitors disembarked at Shannon Airport where, armed with the then mighty dollar, they immediately found Irish prices much to their liking. For more details, please click Irish Examiner.
Photo Credit: Historic Banquets

Dingle film fest offers €5,000 prize for Irish language short
Festival organisers say that they want to encourage script-writing in Ireland's native language – an appropriate aim for a festival based in the heart of the Daingean Gaeltacht. Applications are available to download from DingleFilmFestival.com - and the closing date is 17 February. Five proposals will be chosen from the applications and the writers/film-makers will be invited attend the festival as special guests. For more details, please click Journal Ireland.
Photo Credit & Related Story: Culchie.ie

Partying with the President
It started more than 50 years ago with just 40 homeless people gathering in a night shelter. However, last night more than 400 people attended 'Eric's Party', the annual shindig organised by the Dublin Lions Club for the homeless and those living alone. It is named in honour of Eric Webb, the Lions Club member who had the idea for the first gathering back in 1960. Despite arriving midway through dinner, partygoers nonetheless gave President Michael D Higgins a rousing welcome as he walked into the Irish Life Centre on Abbey Street. For more details, please click Irish Independent.
Photo Credit & Related Story: Alan Betson/Irish Times

Facebook eyeing big Irish expansion?
Business news agency Bloomberg reports that Facebook is considering a significant expansion of its Irish operations ahead of a possible flotation. The Bloomberg report quoted "three people with knowledge of the matter" as saying that Facebook was looking to more than double the size of its European headquarters in Dublin as it prepares for a possible $10 billion initial public offering. For more details, please click RTE.
Photo Credit & related Story: Business/Photocall Ireland

BBC Radio to honour The Dubliners
It has been announced that The Dubliners will be honoured with a Lifetime Achievement Award at the BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards in Manchester next month. American Pie singer Don McLean will also receive a Liftetime Achievement Award at the ceremony, which takes place at the Lowry Theatre, Salford Quays on February 8. Radio presenter Mike Harding announced the honourees on his BBC Radio 2 show on Wednesday night. For more details. please click RTE.
Photo Credit: Getty Images

Cork quads celebrating 10th
This weekend, Kellie, Katie, Shauna and Amy Murphy from Riverstick, Co Cork, celebrate their 10th birthday and they will be joined by parents Pat and Brenda to celebrate the momentous occasion at the local national school. "I can’t believe they are 10," said Brenda. "The past 10 years have gone by so quickly. I find it is amazing to think I am the mother of quads." It was even less believable a decade ago when she learned she was carrying more than one child. For more details, please click Irish Examiner.
Photo Credit: Evening Echo

Honour for man who helped to grow Irish forestry
A man as strong and old as some of the trees he’s planted was honoured yesterday for his remarkable service to Irish forestry over 70 years. Michael McNamara, the country’s oldest forester, who turns 100 in July, was presented with a specially struck medal by the Society of Irish Foresters, which he helped found. Mr McNamara, who led the afforestation of Ireland and fought for the rights of forestry workers, began his career with the Irish Forest Service in 1935. For more details, please click Irish Examiner.
Photo Credit: Forestry Service

Heineken Cup: Historic Connacht win secures Ulster quarter final
Harlequins missed a great opportunity to clinch a place in the quarter-finals of the Heineken Cup as they fell to a shock defeat by Connacht. Victory in Galway would have been enough for Conor O'Shea's Quins because leaders Toulouse were beaten by Gloucester. Harlequins winger Sam Smith squeezed over for an early try but three Niall O'Connor penalties put Connacht ahead. Quins' defeat in Pool 6 also guarantees Ulster's passage from Pool 4. For more details, please click BBC.
Photo Credit & Related Story: RTE

January 20
Rare oul footage shows Dubliners 'well ahead of MTV'
Rarely seen archive material tracing the history of The Dubliners is to be screened by the Irish Film Institute later this month. With the group celebrating a half century this year, the material will include a pop video the trad band filmed for the BBC's 'Top Of the Pops' in 1967 when single 'Seven Drunken Nights' broke into the UK charts. Shot around Dublin, the anarchic promo features the late Luke Kelly and pals in a cart moving at breakneck speed down Dublin's Strawberry Beds. For more details, please click Irish Independent.

"Bon Vivant" Bacon painting may fetch €21m
A female nude painted by artist Francis Bacon in 1963 will lead Christie's London auction of post-war and contemporary art on February 14th, where it is expected to fetch around €21 million. Portrait of Henrietta Moraes depicts Bacon's friend and former lover of Lucian Freud in a large, vibrant work which Francis Outred, head of post-war and contemporary art in Europe, called "one of the most seductive and sexually charged paintings I have ever encountered by Bacon". For more details, please click Irish Times.

The most watched programmes in Ireland last year
It seems that good, old-fashioned family-friendly entertainment remains popular with Irish television viewers, with the Late Late Toy Show and the Eurovision Song Contest being the most watched shows of last year. The Toy Show secured an average viewership of 1,528,000 viewers last December – making it not only the most watched programme of 2011 but also the most watched programme in Ireland for 17 years. Meanwhile, The Eurovision Song Contest was the second-most watched programme. For more details, please click Journal Ireland.
Photo Credit & Related Story: RTE

Reverse-bid auction “our only chance to sell our home”
A couple in Co Offaly have said that negative equity forced them to get creative when selling their home. Linda and David Gibb are trying to sell their five-bedroom home in Clara through a reverse auction on a website. Last Friday, TheJournal.ie reported on the efforts of a house owner in Mulligar, Co Westmeath to sell his house in a similar manner. The Gibbs set up their website, BackwardsBid.com, last September. They are offering auction credits for €30 a go and are keeping the auction open until December 2012. For more details, please click Journal Ireland.

US surgery goes well for Dublin tot
A US medical team has succeeded in “growing” the oesophagus of a Dublin toddler twin who spent Christmas in an induced coma. Elie Madden spent 38 days in the coma as part of the surgical procedure after she was flown to Boston in November in the Government jet. Her mother, Esti Madden, said yesterday her daughter was over the most critical part of her treatment, but still faced three more operations. "It has been a big success, and it is great to see that she is back with us again, although she is still heavily sedated." For more details, please click Irish Times.

Little Aimee thriving against all odds
She was so small when she was born that her daddy was able to fit his wedding band over her wrist and slide it all the way up her arm. However, tiny Aimee Laura Hennessy - who was born a fortnight ago at 24 weeks - is the talk of Limerick's maternity hospital, where her parents are watching her grow and gain strength each day. Born to Nicola and John Hennessy from Kilmallock, Co Limerick, on January 6 - 16 weeks before she was expected - their first child weighed in at 1lb 5oz. For more details, please click Irish Independent.

New bilingual directional signage planned for Dingle
The National Roads Authority has made the decision to to erect new, bilingual, directional signage to the Kerry tourist town. The signs will now read Dingle-Daingean Ui Chuis. Dingle publican Fergus O’Flaherty, chairman of a lobby group that conducted an extensive campaign for a bilingual name, welcomed the decision. "It’s a massive step in the right direction," he said. "At this stage, most of what we had been seeking in relation to signage and maps has been granted...". For more details, please click Irish Examiner.
Photo Credit & Related Story: The Kerryman

Swan song for curlews but resurgence of woodpeckers?
Previously common farmland birds such as the corncrake, curlew and yellowhammer are now perilously close to extinction in Ireland, according to the Atlas Project - four-year study of the island’s bird populations. And while there is also an alarming fall-off in summer migrants such as the cuckoo, the same study shows a sharp rise in buzzard numbers and the re-emergence of woodpeckers after centuries of absence. The Atlas project is the most comprehensive survey of bird life undertaken on these islands in more than two decades.For more details, please click Irish Times.
Photo Credit & Related Story: Bird Watch Ireland

Rory bags shot of year as Caroline edges to Grand Slam win
Golfer Rory McIlroy and his tennis player girlfriend Caroline Wozniacki are clearly good for each other. The US Open champ’s six-iron on the 10th hole on the final day of that tournament has been voted the European Tour Shot of the Year for 2011. And Caroline today edged closer to retaining top spot in the Australian Open in Melbourne by beating her Romanian rival. And she revealed that she is being aided in her bid to win her first Grand Slam by her boyfriend who is giving her tips on mental toughness. For more details, please click Irish Independent.

January 19
Queen presents medal to Tipperary soldier
Lance Corporal James White from Cappawhite, Co Tipperary, was presented with the Military Cross by Queen Elizabth II for his multiple acts of bravery while on tour in Afghanistan. A member of the Parachute Regiment, James joined the army in 2005. His father Pat White said his son always wanted to be a soldier. "He tried to join the Irish army, but failed on the medical because he had asthma as a child, but he quickly grew out of that. He worked here for a bit before moving to England and joined the army." For more details, please click Irish Independent.

Three Irish hotels make TripAdvisor's top 25 in world
And two of those are in the top 10, according to the TripAdvisor Travellers' Choice Hotel results. Contributors to the website say the best place to stay in Ireland is Castlewood House in Dingle, Co Kerry. The guesthouse, which is run by Brian and Helen Heaton, was also ranked the second best in Europe, and sixth best in the world. Loch Lein country house in Killarney, Co Kerry, and Strandhill Lodge and Suites hotel in Co Sligo were the other two Irish hotels in the top 25. For more details, please click Trip Advisor.
Photo Credit: Guest Review

Kerry restaurant reels in seafood restaurant of the year award
QC’s Bar, Restaurant and Townhouse in the heart of Caherciveen, on the Ring of Kerry, has been named the Bord Iascaigh Mhara Seafood Restaurant of the Year 2012, beating a wealth of top class seafood outlets for the honour. The year is going well for QC’s. Its new rooms were hailed at the Bridgestone Design of the Year Awards this month and it received a recommendation from Georgina Campbell as a great short break destination. For more details, please click Irish Examiner.
Photo Credit & More Details: QC's

Irish jewellery to sparkle in Harrods
Cork-based PR guru Vikki Shorten, 32, has clinched a deal with exclusive London store Harrods to stock her exciting collection of VSL jewellery from next month. Vikki launched the collection of about 40 pieces two years ago, and expanded into Beverly Hills last year. It includes designer bracelets, cuffs, silver gloves, stack bracelets and earrings. However, it is her striking Swarovski crystal-encrusted cuffs and gloves, which boast 200 distinctive crystals embedded individually in silver casings, which have attracted the attention of several A-list style trend-setters. For more details, please click Irish Examiner.
Photo Credit: VSL Jewelry

Huge historic cannon found
The two huge cannon were discovered during the excavation of the parade ground at the former Ebrington Barracks, which will open on St Valentine’s Day as Derry’s second major outdoor arena. Both weapons dwarf the other famous historic cannon in the city which were used during the Siege of Derry and now sit on the city walls across the river. Alan Armstrong, Ebrington development director with regeneration company Ilex, said the cannons could be displayed in the city’s Maritime Museum. For more details, please click Belfast Telegraph.
Photo Credit: Lorcan Doherty

Swans leaving earlier than usual
Whooper swans normally arrive in Ireland in October and leave in spring; but they are now departing earlier in the season to return to Iceland; and while the plight of the polar bear at the North Pole is well documented, as are effects on crops due to increasing droughts in sub-Saharan Africa, the impact of climate change on Irish plants and wildlife is less apparent. What’s clear from Irish studies into the local impact of climate change is the effect here is less dramatic than somewhere like the polar ice caps but still very real. For more details, please click Irish Times.

NI's Strangford Lough generator given environmental all-clear
Generating electricity from two massive underwater "propellers", the SeaGen was lowered into place in 2008. It was bolted to the seabed in one of the world's fastest tidal currents. However, questions were asked from the start over the environmental impact such a device could have. Now, following a comprehensive study which shows no adverse effects surrounding the device, the world's first tidal current energy turbine has been given an environmental all-clear by a group of scientists. For more details, please click BBC.
Photo Credit & Related Story: Alternative Energy News

Bids flowed in for €1.5m house on Lough Derg
Featuring many period details as well as its own dock, boat house and a landing pad for helicopters; six buyers – one Irish, three from the UK, one from the US and one from the UAE – competed for the restored country house on 17 acres by Lough Derg in Nenagh, Co. Tipperary. All parties were invited to submit bids over the reserve and, after competitive bidding, the property was sold to the American. For more details, please click Irish Times.

Watch: Irish silent films from the early 1900s
The film awards season is officially underway, with the hit contemporary silent film The Artist scooping four prizes at the Critics’ Choice Awards this week. Meanwhile, a more historical collection of silent films made about Ireland is available online having been released by the Irish Film and TV Research Online project. Nine silent films made in Ireland and America between 1910 and 1915 are available to view via the project’s website. For more details, please click Journal Ireland.