Back home in Kerry to prepare for her wedding, and praying it won’t be a wet one. A waterlogged April Drew reports on a never-ending Irish problem: the incessant rain.

When it rains it pours for the Irish. The country is facing a multi-million euro clean-up bill after some of the worst flooding in living memory.

Travel to Ireland is on a downward curve this year. Tourism Ireland reports that “the first 10 months of 2009 have proven to be a very tough period for tourism to the island of Ireland, and for tourism worldwide.”

Bill Murray is making the media rounds promoting the new animation film “Fantastic Mr. Fox,” and last week he made his way to Ireland.

Dublin was brought to a standstill today as up to 70,000 people took to the streets as part of a national day of protest. The Irish Congress of Trade Unions (ICTU) organized eight rallies across

The Irish have made their mark on Manhattan for centuries, building the skyscrapers, policing the streets and eventually running city hall. That’s why when you visit the Big Apple you won’t be short of fascinating historical sites of enduring importance to the Irish.

Enda Walsh is securing his reputation as the most provocative Irish playwright of his generation. In his new play “The New Electric Ballroom”, now playing at St. Ann’s Warehouse in Brooklyn, he has written his best work yet.

More than 50,000 starfish have been found dead after being washed ashore at a beautiful beach on the western coast of Ireland. The thousands of starfish formed a bizarre carpet at Lissadell beach in County Sligo on the Western Irish coast. So far, no one has been able to determine why the starfish died.

There’s never been a shortage of mystical visionaries in Ireland, or of dramatic, life-changing apparitions for them to gawk at. Some claim to have witnessed the sun dance, the clouds part and the entire Holy Family appear, others simply claim to have seen a holy statue move its head.

Niall O'Dowd: Somewhere in Australia there's an Irish lad called Rowan McCormick who broke Maureen Dowd's heart. When she went back in the early 1970s to visit her homestead in County Clare, hard by the majestic Cliffs of Moher, she met him and fell madly in love.

The Irish city of Cork has made the Top 10 list of must-see cities in the world. Cork - often referred to as the "real capital" by Corkonians, won a spot in the World's Top 10 for its youthful energy, sophistication and great restaurants.

Research carried out by University College Cork has revealed that turmeric, the spice used to make curries, contains molecules that can kill esophageal cancer cells.

BNY Mellon has been given the green light to setup a new banking service business in Ireland.

A new book by an American author is claiming that Eamon De Valera was so afraid of losing his life during the 1916 Rising that he turned informant for the British.

Tom Brady has been talking up his Irish heritage ahead of leading his New England Patriots out against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Wembley in London this Sunday.

Did you know that Dublin has more gay men and women per capita than San Francisco? Or that in recent years Ireland’s become a go-to destination for gay and lesbian travelers? Recent banner attractions for the GLTB visitor have included the Bingham Cup – sometimes referred to as the gay Rugby World Cup – which was held in Dublin in 2008.

It looks as if the chickens are coming home to roost in overvalued properties all over Ireland. An Irish judge has revealed that property values in Ireland have plunged by 80 percent in some areas.

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

As my sophomore year of high school began in 1960, the country was buzzing with the coming election. An Irish American was running for president! My Irish relatives rallied to the call and even my Italian family members supported the candidate. He might be Irish but he was Catholic

Ireland is the perfect place to take a Spa Resort vacation. Offering five star luxury and legendary hospitality you’ll renew your mind and body in one of the most ancient and venerable countries in the world. What are you waiting for? Here’s a list of 10 Essential Irish Spas and Getaways.

Ireland's inland waterways, with that magical chemistry of water, nature and fresh air, are a beautiful way to see the country. Unlike sailing on the sea, the scenery is constantly changing and there is so much to see that you might just spend all your vacation on board!

This week's stories from around the counties: Crosses in the sky; Nurse slaps patient; Canceled operations; Woman chooses prison; Poor Irish broadband

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

Slideshow / The Top 10 Natural Wonders of Ireland / Click here Ireland - like the U.S. - has some seriously stunning natural

Writer J. Courtney Sullivan on the Virgin Mary, her debut novel and fighting the good fight.

Ireland's foremost writer of fiction, William Trevor, talks about his latest work, ‘Love and Summer.'

Recommended Leo Tolstoy famously said that all great literature is one of two stories: a man goes on a journey, or a stranger comes to town. William Trevor’s latest novel is thus great literature two times over. The Cork-born Irish master, author of fourteen novels and twelve short story collections, came forth this September with Love and Summer, which focuses on the small town of Rathmoye and its inhabitants, tracing over the stories, true or warped with time or completely imagined, that they

  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

O'Donoghue is one of the most popular names in Ireland. It is prevalent throughout Counties Galway, Cavan, Kerry and Cork. O'Donoghues, Donohoes, Donohue, Dunphys and Donoges are descendants of O Donnchadha, a personal name that has been Anglicized into Donogh.

Niall O'Dowd: Croke Park – All-Ireland football final day in Dublin is the centerpiece of the sporting year, the moment when Irish from all over the world tune in to see the ancient athletic contest that was celebrating its 125th anniversary on Sunday.

Although not a relative, a County Cork priest has spent more than half of his time in the U.S. very much a part of the lives of the Kennedy family. Father Gerry Creedon, a 65-year-old export from Inchigeela, County Cork, first encountered America’s most beloved political family over 23 years ago while doing God’s work.

An Irishman on his honeymoon in Laos has died in a rafting accident. Irish hotel manager Michael O’Sullivan, 39, from Blackpool, County Cork, was swept away in the Nam Song river while on a river tubing trip with his wife, Ilana James.

Manchester City star Stephen Ireland says he won't play for Ireland while Giovanni Trapattoni is in

Michael Jackson’s older brother Jermaine made a pit stop in Dublin on Friday en route from Vienna to appear on the “Late Late Show,” where he revealed to host Ryan Tubridy that Ireland was Michael’s “getaway” place to escape from all the madness in his ultimately tragic life.

The Barony of Kinalmeaky, County Cork, has one of the highest concentrations of the name Harrington, the Irish family name not to be confused with the English Harrington. Although some Harringtons living in Ireland undoubtedly come from English heritage, the Irish name in Gaelic was originally O hIongardail, which became anglicized as O'Hungerdell and then Harrington.

We here at IrishCentral took on the painstaking job of staring at countless images of attractive Irish men and women to determine the 10 hottest. And now here they are: the Hottest 10 Out of Ireland – enjoy!

It is quite an image... Maureen Dowd, scourge of every president since Poppy Bush and, arguably, the most powerful journalist in America thanks to her must-read column in The New York Times, talking of the road not taken, living a quiet life as a barkeep's wife back in Clare. Maybe that image isn’t so fanciful, though.

Rose McGowan has revealed that part of her elbow had to be taken out after she suffered from nerve damage after performing stunts for her upcoming film “Red Sonja.”

Recently I took a ramble into New York City on a Saturday afternoon to take a look and listen at a session at Lillie’s, an Irish Victorian bar and restaurant named for the colorful and well traveled actress and socialite Lillie Langtry who bridged the 19th and 20th centuries.

Dinosaurs were the only things on the mind of four-year-old Patrick Dillon as he waited patiently with his parents, sister and grandfather for the door of his new school to open at 8 a.m. on Tuesday, September 8.

Hollywood cliques have been around for decades. But it’s time for the Rats, Brats and Frat boys to move over – because here comes the Pat Pack.

The first wife of sex fiend and accused kidnapper Phillip Garrido, an Irish American named Christine Murphy, has come forward with details of her disturbed marriage with the criminal.

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

WITH VIDEO: The Irish priest at Teddy Kennedy’s side as he died says “Teddy wanted to go, he went in peace and it was beautiful.” Monsignor Patrick Tarrant, a native of Cork who has been a priest for 56 years, was called to the Kennedy home on Tuesday evening from the nearby Our Lady of Victory Parish.

A carefully constructed model of a Dingle currach sits proudly on Rose Kennedy’s piano in the family’s Massachusetts home in Hyannisport. Ted liked to use it to “assure future generations of Kennedys that the Irish truly did discover America, after all.”

Stephen Ireland won’t be in the Ireland squad for next week’s crunch World Cup qualifier in Cyprus or the Limerick friendly with South Africa despite impressing the watching Giovanni Trapattoni as Manchester City beat Wolves last Saturday.

Why have certain Irish names, like Cornelius and Bridget, practically vanished over the past century and others, like Sean and Aoife, have taken such firm root in Ireland? This is what a new RTE documentary entitled “One Hundred Years of Names” set out to investigate, and the answers are fascinating.

American cycling champion Lance Armstrong is signing off for the year in Ireland. Armstrong - who is racing in the three-day Tour of Ireland - has decided to make the Irish race his last official race for the year.

No, the double Olympic Gold medalist from Jamaica who broke the 100m and 200m records this week does not trace his great-grandfather to Ballyvorney in County Cork, but the man who helped guide his career is agent Ricky Simms, who hails from County Donegal.

The price of the average house in Ireland is set to drop by nearly 50 percent from their eye-popping peaks. New figures from Ulster Bank show that housing prices have already dropped by 35 percent and another 10 percent is expected through the end of 2010.