Ireland's second string had to hang on for dear life as the American Eagles threatened an upset in Houston on Saturday night before the visitors ran out 15-12 winners in the first test of the North American tour.

England's failure to beat Ireland since 1985 remained intact at Wembley last week when they had to rely on a Frank Lampard goal to cancel out Shane Long’s opener at the home of football.

Ireland has been ranked as the 20th best place to give birth, ahead of the United States, which came in at 30th.

In a survey conducted by Dublin radio station Phantom FM, Whipping Boy’s second album, Heartworm, was voted the best Irish album of all time ahead of big names such as U2, Van Morrison, Damien Rice and Thin Lizzy.

If Democratic candidate Christine Quinn had run against Rudy Giuliani in 1992, she would have "kicked his ass," she joked, during a panel discussion on Monday night.

A short film “I Beat Mike Tyson” released on Vimeo, chronicles the story of famed Irish boxer Kevin McBride and how he beat world champion Mike Tyson.

While there’s still a few days to go before the big showdown, Notre Dame University’s Fighting Irish have already claimed a small victory over Alabama’s Crimson Tide, with a little help from South Korean pop phenom Psy.

Ireland’s Finance Minister Michael Noonan is laughing all the way to the European Central Bank after a surprise upturn in his treasury’s tax take.