Rosie Hackett was a trade unionist and a participant in the 1916 Easter Rising. Her name is one of the final 17 suggestions for the new bridge crossing the River Liffey at Marlborough Street in Dublin.

It's a Hollywood star in its own right, and as luck would have it 'The Quiet Man' has just been sold to a fan of the film.

In a unique twist of fate, the direct descendants of the two people most responsible for bringing the Transatlantic Cable to Valentia Island will unite for the launch of an International Transatlantic Cable Heritage project.

Ring of Cork Festival showcases community spirit for the Gathering

The first Kennedy Leadership Forum is due to take place in New Ross over the June bank-holiday weekend, ahead of the JFK50 events on June 22.
 
The Kennedy Leadership Forum is a symposium event in honor of one of the world’s greatest leaders, President John F. Kennedy. According to Chair of the JFK50 Cllr. Michael Sheehan the event is to honor the memory of JFK and explore what it means to be a leader in the contemporary world. “President John F. Kennedy is remembered in heroic terms, and also, as someone who dealt with the complexities of the Cold War, Civil Rights and the Cuban Missile Crisis, among others, he is viewed as a man who defined what is was to be a leader.”
 
Commenting at the launch Michael said, “I am delighted to finalise the panel list for the Kennedy Leadership Forum. The Inaugural forum which I hope will be a lasting legacy of the Kennedy 50 year brings together leaders from all walks of life. There has never been a more important time to discuss the quality or lack there of, leadership in our society.
 
“I'm hoping that anyone who is interested in our future will make an effort to attend some panels and I commend Boston College Dublin with the organizers for putting this exciting programme together.”
 
On Friday May 31 the forum will examiner leadership in sport Nickey Brennan, former GAA President along with Kilkenny Hurler Damien Richardson the former manager and TV soccer pundit will discuss ‘what makes a good sporting leader.’
 
On Saturday June 1st from 10am to noon the topic of youth leadership will be at the fore. Maurice Devlin, Jean Monnet Professor and Director of the Centre will join John Buckley, Youth Engagement Officer from Spun out for Youth Research and Development, NUIM and Michael Barron, Director, BeLonG To. This session is aimed at young people and those who parent them and work with them. The panel will discuss developing Ireland’s youth debates circle around the need for strong role models, for support, opportunity and for leadership.
 
On Saturday afternoon ‘Leadership in Culture and in Business’ will be discussed by Cathal Goan, former Director General of RTE and Professor of Media, University of Notre Dame, Louis de Paor, Poet, translator, documentary maker and head of Irish Studies, NUI Galway, Nora Casey Newstalk & Harmonia Publishing, Declan Kearney, Head of Communications and Corporate Affairs, Aer Lingus and broadcaster and rugby pundit George Hook.
 
Closing the weekend of leadership discussion will be leaders in the community. Caitriona Fottrell, Irish Head of the American Ireland Funds and Deirdre Garvey, Chief Executive Officer, The Wheel, will join Matt English CEO Special Olympics Ireland.  This session will discuss the incredible network of community, not for profit and voluntary organizations that span a wide array of fields in Ireland and focus on the skills needed to motivate and lead people in the community, as opposed to profit.
 
Commenting on the details of the forum at the launch Mike Cronin of Boston College said, “The Kennedy Leadership Forum in New Ross offers a fantastic opportunity for people to come together and reflect in what it means to be a leader in today's world. A great range of speakers, who are themselves leaders in their fields, will discuss what marks out a leader and the qualities that are required to make a difference now, in the ways that President Kennedy did half a century ago.”
 
The Leadership Forum will take place at St. Michael’s Theatre in New Ross from May 31 to June 2. The forum talks have a ticket price of €5.00 and the youth Leadership event is free of charge. For further details on the event see JFK50Ireland.com and for tickets see www.stmichaelsnewross.com
 
The Kennedy Leadership Forum will take place ahead of the towns planned celebrations for the JFK50, which will take place on June 22 marking the memory and visit of President John F. Kennedy to his ancestral hometown.
 
The town recently announced the stage line-up for celebrations in New Ross for ‘The Homecoming’ on June 22, this features Wexford ambassador, journalist, presenter and former RTE newsreader Anne Doyle who will take to the stage on New Ross Quayside and welcome visitors to Wexford as well as introduce the formidable line-up, which will include the critically acclaimed award winning author and Wexford ambassador Colm Toibin who will recite from the stage.  George Hook, well-known broadcaster, TV critic and Kennedy fan will assist Anne.
 
International singer and Wexford ambassador Michael Londra and world-renowned dancer, musician and performer Michael Flatley, who will narrate the journey and significance of the Emigrant Flame before it’s symbolic lighting on the quayside, evoking the spirit and inspiration of the Kennedys and the entire Irish emigrant family. American Grammy award winning singer and songwriter Judy Collins will also entertain visitors from the stage; Extreme Rhythm, the most highly acclaimed percussion group in Europe and World pipe band champions, New Ross and District Pipe Band will also entertain the special guests and viewing public.
 
For further details on all of the events taking place throughout the year for the JFK50 see www.jfk50ireland.com.

With The Gathering in progress, these ten cats can’t wait to visit Ireland and see all that it has to offer.

Music, literature and especially history were the focus of a full day of activities at St. John Fisher College on Sunday May 19, 2013, recalling the Irish famine years known as The Great Hunger.

A collection of nearly 900 artifacts from the late Bronze Age and medieval age were recovered from the UK and will be returned to Ireland. The treasures will be on display at the National Museum of Ireland from Tuesday, May 21, 2013. Treasure hunters using metal detectors are thought to be behind the illegal removal of the artifacts between 2009 and 2012.

Scientists have identified the pathogen that caused the potato blight of 1845, one of the factors which led to the countries devastating Great Hunger, killing one million people.

Thousands of victims of Ireland’s Great Hunger remain buried under Staten Island’s modern structures in unmarked mass graves. Now, over 160 years later, the remains of some of those victims will be re-interred in a Memorial Green, part of the multi-million Supreme Court complex, in St. George.

Cork woman Mary Elmes is the first Irish person honored as “Righteous Among Nations” for her work saving Jewish children from the Nazi gas chambers during World War II.

A shortlist of names for the latest bridge across Dublin's River Liffey has been revealed, reports the Irish Independent.

Notorious Australian outlaw Ned Kelly is being honored at a Tipperary event as part of the Gathering festival in Ireland.

The Irish have a way with words, especially when they mean the opposite of what they say. Here are our top ten little lies examples:

It's a holiday weekend and you don't want to travel. Where can you go for a wide variety of great entertainment, unlimited free carnival rides, kids entertainment, free parking, athletic exhibitions, theatre, dance and animal exhibitions for one low admission price. Throw in shopping, food and refreshments and you have Gaelic Park Irish Festival on Memorial Day Weekend May 24-27. It all takes place nearby at 6119 W. 147th Street, Oak Forest.

The larger majority of Irish people living in the U.K. are less likely to identify themselves as British, according to 2011 census data.

A new book details the contribution of the Irish aces involved in the Allied flying services World War One.

Mother Dolores Hart commanded a $5,000 dollar a week salary as a working screen actress in 1963. But then she did something we don't usually associate with Hollywood starlets, she gave up her movie career to become a Benedictine nun instead.

Irish production company Sónta Films have signed a deal with First Run Distribution to screen their award winning film ‘Men At Lunch’ in the U.S.

On the first weekend in May a sea of gold and green jerseys descended upon the Big Apple, as Gaelic Park hosted New York versus Leitrim. But when the dust has settled, bar stools emptied, and flights returned, those left behind might ponder what kind of place Leitrim is?

The National 1798 Rebellion Centre will be officially re-launched to much fanfare in the town of Enniscorthy on May 24. The Centre will host free celebratory activities during ‘Rebellion Weekend’ on May 25 and 26 with offerings for the family including a Druid Chef, traditional pike drilling and food foraging amongst some of the activities to mark the occasion.
 
The Centre was officially opened in 1998, during bi-centenary commemorations, to illustrate the significance of the 1798 Rebellion. According to the centre Manager Jacqui Hynes the exhibition was in need of upgrade and this brand new exhibition tells the story of the 1798 Rebellion in a vivid and exciting way, with the audience being taken on a journey by General Lake, John Shehan who is ‘The Croppy Boy’, the United Irishman leader Anthony Perry, and the dreaded ‘Tom The Devil’. Visitors will learn, in gruesome detail, how some 20,000 insurgents faced the might of 10,000 well-trained and well-armed Crown Forces in an exciting new audiovisual display.
 
According to Jacqui Hynes, Manager of the 1798 Centre, “The brand new re-development has increased appeal to a wider tourist audience. The project was funded by Wexford Local Development to the value €178,000 and supported by Wexford County Council & Enniscorthy Town Council.”
 
Jacqui says “The vision for this project was to re-develop our tourist attraction, to ensure the visitor offering is fresh, innovative, informative yet fun, accessible to all, and in a position to positively attract visitors to our town, county and region. We also upgraded and enhanced our existing displays and the way the story of the 1798 Rebellion is told.”
 
The 1798 Rebellion is accepted as the beginning of a long road to democracy and independence in Ireland, and insights to life during the period will be available for everyone to get involved in at the free Rebellion Weekend during May 25 and 26. Re-enactors and characters from the brand new audio-visual tour will roam the grounds of the 1798 Centre looking for talented pikemen and women, and telling their tales of life and their strategy for the upcoming battle.  The blacksmith will be on hand showcasing the techniques of making pikes and weapons and scores of traditional music plus food foraging for Rebellion food and tasters of food of the period will also be on offer along with cookery demonstrations of food from the time by the Druid Chef Rory Morohan.
 
Primary school children are invited to take part in pikeman training, and by the end of the weekend a 350 person strong force of pikemen will have learned the skills of battle in the 1700’s and the blacksmith will also have shown them how to keep their pike in tip top condition and ready for battle.
 
Commenting on the free Rebellion Weekend Jacqui said, “We are delighted to be able to offer free family activities during the Rebellion Weekend.  It is a great opportunity to learn about a pivotal moment in Ireland’s history through action and engagement, and kids will have the opportunity to become a pikeman or woman for the day and really get in insight to what life was like in 1798.”
 
For further details and to keep up to date with the events of the Rebellion Weekend visit the Facebook page. 

The Connemara country house and sporting lodge, the Delphi Lodge, is taking responsibility for its part in Famine deaths by participating in the annual commemorative famine walk. During the Famine, Delphi Lodge turned away hundreds of people who later perished from hunger, cold and disease.

Carrick on Shannon in County Leitrim is celebrating a year full of activities as 2013 marks the 400th anniversary since King James 1st granted the town charter.

Dubin designer Rachel Kerr has come up with a unique way to celebrate this year’s Bloomsday which takes place on Sunday 16 June.

The European strand of the Global Diaspora Forum took place in Killiney, Dublin, on the 14th and 15th of May this year and was attended by 200 delegates from around the world. The two-day programme included seven themed workshops with contributions from a wide range of leaders on diaspora matters.

Forget about hotels or bed and breakfasts. Treat yourself like real royalty during your next vacation to Ireland and stay at one of these historic castles.

August 2013 will see the 40th Kilkenny Arts Festival bring an exciting mix of Irish and International music, theatre, dance, craft, visual arts, literature and more to the medieval city located in the South-East of  Ireland.  Ireland’s oldest multi-disciplinary festival  is celebrating an unrivalled legacy which has seen some of the biggest names and most exciting newcomers in the arts from around the world flock to Kilkenny. 

The Irish Hospice Foundation (IHF) is offering the public a unique opportunity to be part of an exciting book it is producing to mark The Gathering.