News from the 32: Antrim, Armagh, Carlow, Cavan, Clare, Cork, Derry, Donegal, Down, Dublin, Fermanagh, Galway, Kerry, Kildare, Kilkenny, Laois, Leitrim, Limerick, Longford, Louth, Mayo, Meath, Monaghan, Offaly, Roscommon, Sligo, Tipperary, Tyrone, Waterford, Westmeath, Wexford, Wicklow

  Introduction Ireland is an island on the western fringe of Europe between latitude 51 1/2 and 55 1/2 degrees north, and longitude 5 1/2 to 10 1/2 degrees west. Its greatest length, from Malin Head in the north to Mizen Head in the south, is 486 km and its greatest width from east to west is approximately 275

For a quick easy snack (or if you make a lot of them it turns into a meal), what about some wonderful Irish smoked salmon on top of a potato pancake, or a boxty, as we Irish call it?

Irish and Irish-Americans alike tend to be immensely proud of their surnames. But which last names win in the battle of Irishness? Here are the top 10 most popular Irish last names.

The name Caulfield is one about which much confusion arises. A name of several origins, few patronymics have acquired so many anglicized versions, the more common being MacCaul and MacCawell. Other variations include MacCall, MacHall, MacCarvill, MacCowhill, Callwell, Howell, Campbell and Gaffney.

The best off-beat stories in the world of sport are the ones you can’t make up, and this is one of them. On Sunday afternoon the Mayo footballer Conor Mortimer scored a crucial goal in his team’s Connacht football final win over Galway in Salthill.

Sunday saw six games in the Senior Football Championship, with Derry, Cork and Galway among the winners. Derry edged a battling Ulster quarter-final with Monaghan to kick off with a win, while in Munster Cork were much too good for Waterford, but it was a tighter affair as Limerick edged Tipperary. Galway were big victors in London in the Connacht quarter-final, while the Leinster first round saw Kildare get the better of Offaly and Wicklow just see off Longford.

Though the game was one-sided, this fixture strengthens the relationship between the GAA communities in Ireland and the United States

GAELIC Park in the Bronx was packed on Sunday with over 2,500 supporters from Leitrim cheering their side on in the Connacht championship against New York. Those present said it was like old times at the venerable venue, where such crowds and indeed much larger numbers were no exception in the good old days.

Incredible to think that an All-Ireland final was played in New York in 1947 when Cavan played Kerry at the old Polo Grounds before 35,000 spectators.

Both Cleary, or Clery, O'Cleary, O'Clery, and Clarke, one of the most common surnames in England, Ireland and Scotland, are anglicized versions of the same Irish name - O Cleirigh, meaning "grandson of the scribe." The ancient name derives from Cleireach of Connacht, who was born in 820 A.D.

The Hartnett name appears in many forms: Harney, O'Harney, Hartney, Harnedy, Haherny and more. The surname is derived from the Irish O hAthaire, which is thought to be derived from the Gaelic word athardha, meaning paternal. The ancient Hartnetts resided in Connacht (the region of Ireland comprised of Galway, Mayo, Leitrim, Roscommon and Sligo).

Success is a good word to define the O'Toole family, as translating the word "tuathal" into English literally means prosperous. The origin of the O'Toole name comes from a tenth-century king of Leinster, and the O'Tooles grew to be one of the dominant groups in the county. Initially, they settled in Kildare, but later fled to Wicklow to avoid the Normans.

O'Hara is an anglicized phonetic rendering of the Irish translation O hEaghra, and is one of the few Irish families to have consistently kept the 'O' before the name. The clan, of a distinguished origin, is descended from Eaghra (pronounced Ara), chief of Luighne (modern Leyny) in County Sligo.

The O'Connor name, with its varied spellings, doesn't spring from a common source. The name arose in five areas of Ireland: Connacht, Kerry, Derry, Offaly, and Clare and split into six distinct septs, five of which are still in existence.

McDonagh is one of the rarer surnames of Ireland, but exists also as MacDonagh, MacDonough, Donogh, and Donagh. The modern forms of the name are derived from Mac Donnchadha, which originates from the first name Donnchadh, a compound of "donn" meaning brown, plus "cath," a battle. Often translated as "brown one," Donnchadh was a popular first name in ancient times.