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THE Donegal man who lived without money for three years is planning to expand his project and live with others in a money-free community.

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.

Stripe, a new payment platform developed by Limerick Collison brothers, will debut in Ireland before continuing to the rest of Europe. The executives were in Dublin last week and made their announcement at a Wayra event organized by Telefonica.

Friday last saw the launch of the first annual ‘Ablevision Ireland International Film Festival’ and ‘The Rory Staunton Memorial Award’ in Drogheda. Over 20 films were entered into a competition on the theme of disability and integration. 6 of these were short listed and these came from the UK, Boston and Ireland. The winning entry was from S.O.S Kilkenny for the film ‘Earn It.’

A new Irish start-up business, Irish Food Tours, is building a network of food tourism holidays around the whole island of Ireland, north and south. Started by Donegal Town chef Zack Gallagher and his business partner Wendy Kavanagh from Kildare, the guests on these culinary tours will learn the story behind the vast array of Irish artisan food products.

New figures show one in seven people on the dole in Ireland has never worked.

World Bank figures reveal that Nigerian migrants send $653 million (€500) back home from Ireland each year.

The price of the humble Irish potato has rocketed by 85 per cent – thanks to a dreadful winter.

ANTRIM

An upcoming biopic of Brian Boru will be the biggest movie ever made in Ireland.

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.

The latest census figures from the Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Branch show that Catholics in Northern Ireland are more likely to be unemployed or living in overcrowded conditions with worse health than Protestants.

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.

Graeme McDowell is happy to commit to Ireland by playing at golf’s World Cup in Australia this winter – and wants Rory McIlroy to do likewise.

SEE PHOTOS - click here - Top places to see in Ireland