IrishCentral 2012 - b5cc3275d518416eacb61d676e8d84d1

Irish emigration levels reached highest level in a decade in 2012 (IrishCentral)

Sun, 28 Apr 2013 05:15:07 PDT

By: IRISHCENTRAL STAFF WRITERS

An estimated 63,000 people left Ireland in 2012, the highest level of emigration in almost a decade.

Irish Canadian author Anakana Schofield wins the 2012 Amazon.ca First Novel Award for 'Malarky' (IrishCentral)

Fri, 26 Apr 2013 11:49:48 PDT

By: JANE WALSH

Irish-Canadian author Anakana Schofield is the proud recipient of the Amazon.ca First Novel Award for “Malarky”.

‘You Are Never Alone’ Galway campaign highlights 600 suicides in Ireland in 2012 (IrishCentral)

Fri, 22 Mar 2013 05:04:27 PDT

By: AMANDA DRISCOLL

Y.A.N.A, a Galway campaign in support of prevention against suicide has said that the number of suicides registered in Ireland has increased to over 600 in 2012, a rise of 7 percent from the previous year, with experts estimating that up to a 1000 people will have committed suicide in 2013.

Irish newspapers saw declining circulation in second half of 2012 (IrishCentral)

Mon, 25 Feb 2013 05:17:46 PST

By: IrishCentral Staff Writers

Irish newspapers are falling in circulation.

Irish house price fall in 2012 was second fastest in Europe but small signs of recovery (IrishCentral)

Fri, 15 Feb 2013 05:24:26 PST

By: PATRICK COUNIHAN

Irish house prices fell in value at the second-fastest rate in Europe last year – and five times faster than the European Union average.

2012 Rose of Tralee Nicola McEvoy to visit Ulster in search of new entrants (IrishCentral)

Tue, 12 Feb 2013 05:32:02 PST

By: JANE WALSH

The Roses are gathering in Tralee next August and the 2012 Rose of Tralee, Nicola McEvoy, is heading north to spend a week issuing invitations to the people of Ulster to join in the celebrations in Kerry.

RNLI lifeboats rescued 1,041 people in 2012, increase from 2011 (IrishCentral)

Fri, 25 Jan 2013 05:31:18 PST

The RNLI at workThe Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) had another successful year involving the rescues of 1,041 people around Ireland in 2012 This is an increase in the amount of people rescued during 2011, despite a decrease in the actual number of calloutsRTE News reports that the RNLI provides search and rescue service from the coast to 100 nautical miles off shore, 24 hours a day, seven days a week 95 percent of its crew members are volunteers READ MORE

With 2012 behind us, Irish Jersey looks forward to the St. Patrick’s Day season (IrishCentral)

Tue, 08 Jan 2013 05:30:57 PST

Union County St Patrick’s Day ParadeHappy New Year from Irish New Jersey!After making it through a tough twelve months we set our sights on a fresh, hopeful new year and a bright and busy St Patrick’s Season which starts in no timeHoney Badger and I rang in the Irish New Year (7 p READ MORE

The Best Irish food finds of 2012 - from trout caviar to black pudding (IrishCentral)

Mon, 07 Jan 2013 05:30:52 PST

Fresh Irish vegetables2012 was a great year for Irish Food! People all over the country have been taking what was originally a hobby or pastime and have been creating new small food businesses with some wonderful results These new food producers are evident at the many farmers markets, country markets and food festivals all over Ireland, north and south of the borderExisting small food companies, with assistance from their County Enterprise Boards, have been expanding their business, employing people and gaining more recognition for their products at a growing number of Irish Food Awards ceremoniesRestaurants are changing their attitude and are getting away from the one-stop-shop attitude of commercial purchasing READ MORE

Irish women spent $4 million on ‘Fifty Shades of Grey’ books in 2012 (IrishCentral)

Mon, 07 Jan 2013 04:56:43 PST

By: KERRY O'SHEA

E.L. James, whose own husband is Irish, was the queen of the Irish book market in 2012. Her worldwide smash hit sexy trilogy ‘Fifty Shades of Grey’ sold an approximate $4 million in Ireland, making her the highest earning writer in the Irish market for the year.

Guinness Storehouse in Dublin sees record-breaking amount of visitors in 2012 - VIDEO (IrishCentral)

Thu, 03 Jan 2013 06:06:01 PST

By: KERRY O'SHEA

The Guinness Storehouse in Dublin had a record-setting year in 2012 that saw 1,087,209 guests visit the location.

Almost 1,000 civil partnerships celebrated in Ireland during 2012 (IrishCentral)

Thu, 03 Jan 2013 05:26:44 PST

By: KERRY O'SHEA

The Journal.ie reports that nearly 2,000 people have entered into civil partnerships since they first became legal in Ireland in April 2011. In 2012, 965 civil partnerships took place, with every county in Ireland hosting at least one.

Brave Pakistani student wins 2012 Tipperary International Peace Award (IrishCentral)

Wed, 02 Jan 2013 04:07:46 PST

By: CATHY HAYES

Malala Yousafzai, the 14-year-old schoolgirl who was shot in the head because of her human rights work in Pakistan, has received the 2012 Tipperary International Peace Award.

The IrishCentral bloopers reel of 2012 – check out our outtakes around New York – VIDEO (IrishCentral)

Wed, 02 Jan 2013 02:59:19 PST

By: DARREN REDMOND

In 2012 IrishCentral took to the streets of New York to get the public's views on various topics, from the Presidential Election, to gay marriage to why people like Irish folks so much. The results were enlightening, entertaining, sometimes shocking but many of the bloopers were just plain funny.

The top 12 Irish dance videos of 2012 - VIDEOS (IrishCentral)

Tue, 01 Jan 2013 04:15:30 PST

Prodijig, winners of Sky1's "Got to Dance," claim the No 1 spot on our list Last year's most popular Irish dance videos were innovative and surprising, and just when we thought Irish dance couldn't get that much more exciting, 2012 packed a wallop with dubstep-inspired step dancing, "Got to Dance" champs and One Direction treble reelsBased solely on pageviews attributed to individual Irish dancing videos uploaded to YouTube in the last year, these are the top 12 Irish dance videos of 2012:1 READ MORE

One Direction looks back on 2012, named MTV’s ‘Artist of the Year’ (IrishCentral)

Mon, 31 Dec 2012 03:58:37 PST

By: BUZZ BRADY

It’s no doubt that 2012 was the year of the boyband, with Irish-British production One Direction coming out on top.

2012 North American Irish Dance Championships ~ Dance Dramas - Part 4 (IrishCentral)

Thu, 19 Jul 2012 06:45:58 PDT

Watters School of Irish Dance"Chicago" Dance DramaPhoto: Watters School of Irish Dance North American Irish Dancing Championships - Dance Drama Review - Part 4When it was time for the third entry in the 2012 North American Irish Dance Championships Irish dance drama competition to come on stage, I could hear mumblings of, "It's the Watters team!" Being from the Southern region of the United States, I am familiar with the Florida-based Watters School of Irish Dance, and had seen one of their dance dramas a few years back at the Southern Regional Irish Dancing Championships I had no idea of the following the school has garnered for its amazing dance drama group even from outside of the Southern Region The music was fabulous and the dancing was a wonderful mix of Irish dance steps and "Swing" steps like The Charleston and The Lindy The theme of the dance drama was fittingly "Chicago" READ MORE

2012 North American Irish Dance Championships - Dance Drama Review -part 3 (IrishCentral)

Wed, 18 Jul 2012 06:15:59 PDT

McGing Irish Dancers dance dramaPhoto: Christine Carey Steele, TCRGNorth American Irish Dancing Championships - Dance Drama Review - Part 3The final Irish Dance Drama entry of the evening for the 2012 North American Irish Dance Championships was the McGing Irish Dancers from Ohio Now, I do have to confess feeling just horrible at this point in the evening I was standing there gushing enthusiastically about the Watters School 's performance with a friend, and who should be standing not a foot from my right elbow? Christine Carey Steele, TCRG from McGing Irish Dancers and choreographer of the McGing Irish Dancers Dance Drama! A slightly awkward moment that could have turned out to be a great faux pas on my part turned out to be a lovely turn of events There was little-to-no room to even stand in the crowded ballroom, so I politely offered for her to crowd-in next to me and get a better view of the stage READ MORE

2012 North American Irish Dance Championships - Dance Drama Review- Part 2 (IrishCentral)

Tue, 17 Jul 2012 06:45:55 PDT

Dillon Moore Academy Dance DramaPhoto: Dillon Moore AcademyNorth American Irish Dancing Championships 2012 Dance Drama Reviews - Part 2The second Irish dance drama performance on stage at the 2012 North American Irish Dance Championships was the Dillon Moore Academy of Irish Dance from the San Francisco area of California I was totally enthralled with this performance from the beginning The Dillon Moore Academy of Irish Dance had recreated some of the famous works of art housed at the National Gallery of Ireland The frames had painted backdrops of the five works of art chosen for this Dance Drama READ MORE

2012 North American Irish Dance Championships - Dance Drama Review Part 1 (IrishCentral)

Mon, 16 Jul 2012 06:03:42 PDT

Erickson Academy Dance DramaThe Fairy RingPhoto: Becky HusseyI had the great honor of reviewing the Dance Dramas at the 2012 North American Irish Dance Championships The Hyatt Regency hall was beyond-packed when I showed up with paper and pen in hand The dance dramas were performed just before awards, and yes, people were there in anticipation of the solo and ceili awards from the day, but the buzz about the dance dramas was palpable Everyone had their favorites READ MORE