Father Francis Markey, 81, an elderly Irish priest based in Indiana, was released from jail on bail on Tuesday pending an extradition hearing later this week.

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.”

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

Irish brain surgeons were operating in the eighth century in a remote area of Ireland. That's according to stunning evidence discovered at an ancient grave in County Donegal.

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

Sometimes when you get chatting to a person who has emigrated from Ireland, you can catch a glimpse of the country’s own evolution over the last thirty or so years. That’s very much the case with Buncrana, County Donegal man Turlough McConnell, whose writing and music took him first to Dublin and then on to New York.

Meet the Irish American Princess. She’s Catholic, she’s wealthy, she’s popular – and she’s way out of your league.

Sarah Jessica Parker, who has five-month-old twin daughters, Loretta and Tabitha, with her Irish-American actor husband Matthew Broderick, loves everything about being a mother, especially the less glamorous jobs.

Three Irish surgeons have revealed that they are being paid a whopping $350,000 to do nothing. The three orthopedic consultants at Letterkenny General Hospital in County Donegal have revealed that the Irish Health Service is paying them to “sit around doing nothing” while operating theaters are empty.

WITH VIDEO: Tens of thousands of people are traveling to the Knock shrine in Ireland this weekend for a predicted apparition by the Virgin Mary. There is such strong belief in her appearance that people are even placing bets at Irish bookmakers.

This week's stories from around the counties: Violence among women up in recession, government helps teenagers deal with depression, but teenage drinking on the rise, and Sligo hoteliers need help as tourist numbers down...

An Irish politician has claimed that he is taking a stand for the traditional Irish farmer who wants to have a pint on his way home.

Fine Gael leader Enda Kenny is risking an internal party spilt over controversial plans to abolish the Seanad, Ireland’s non-elected second house of Parliament, if he is returned to power in the next general election. Kenny stunned TDs (members of the lower house, the Dail), and particularly senators when he made the announcement in front of 1,300 party members at the annual Fine Gael presidential

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

The name Connolly is derived from several different roots. In Connaught and Monaghan it derives from the Gaelic O'Coingeallaigh. Both are anglicized to Connolly although the spelling form Connelly is often found in Galway.

These three names and others of a similar sound such as Donnellan and Donlon are sometimes confused, as spelling variations have occurred among emigrant families. They are, however, totally distinct, and indeed both the McDonnells and O'Donnells are made up of several distinct septs. The main branch of the O'Donnells, based in Donegal, is the most eminent of the Gaelic families, leading back to Niall of the Nine Hostages, but owing their name to one Domhnaill.

In “Turning Green,” an American-born teenager growing up in Ireland finds a novel way to finance his return to the freedom of New York -- by selling soft core girlie mags on the black market to the local men queuing up to buy them. The new film stars Academy Award winner Timothy Hutton and Colm Meaney, and features the debut of Irish newcomer Donal Gallery. We talk to the film’s writer and its young breakout star.

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

I was in Galway speaking at a media conference, and the anger that welled up when the discussion turned to what has happened to Ireland in the past 12 months was palpable.

Someone special in your life? Then it's time to take advantage of the super cheap fares to Ireland and check out the Emerald Isle. We've done the hard work, now the romance is up to you! Here's Irish Central's Top 10 romantic places to go in Ireland.

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

A Donegal storeowner and cigarette company Philip Morris are filing suit against the Irish government at the High Court on Tuesday against the administration's ban on cigarette displays in stores.

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

Donegal Town woke to excitement yesterday morning as the word spread that one of the world’s most famous actresses, “Sex in the City” star Sarah Jessica Parker, was in town.

Hundreds of people are flocking to a rural shrine in Donegal amidst reports of a weeping statue of Mary and flashing crosses in the night sky.

Welcome to Ireland’s revitalized North and Northwest! Even the hip Lonely Planet Bluelist proclaims Northern Ireland as the hot new destination, and cites Belfast as one of the top cities on the rise.

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

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

Lightweight Danny “Little Mac” McDermott (8-1-1) has been added to the "Island Warriors: Latin Fury 12” undercard at the WaMu theater in

He’s American and Korean, but U.S. Army Sergeant Seamus O’Fianghusa considers himself an Irishman through and through. As the fluent Gaelic speaker prepares for a deployment to Afghanistan, he talks about his love for all things Irish.

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

Philip Deignan became the first Irish man to win a stage in a major professional cycling race since Stephen Roche won a stage in the 1992 Tour de

As Irish associations and societies across the country dwindle in numbers due to lack of immigration and other factors, a number of organizations in New York are taking measures to ensure their longevity. The Irish American Center in Mineola, Long Island, is no exception. President May O’Boyle Deegan, 48, whose parents are from Co. Donegal, said that the center is worried about its future.

The name Haughey is another Gaelic name, in this case deriving from the Irish O'hEachaidh. The clan were prominent in both Donegal and Armagh. The name has been anglicized in several forms in different areas and is now found as Haughey, Haffey, Hoy and Hoey.

In the aftermath of the major bomb alert in Donegal Town on Friday a spokesman for the Irish Defenses Forces confirmed that the device was, in fact, armed and viable.

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

An important new tool in tracing your Irish family history has been released in Ireland. The National Library has released a searchable online database for the April 1911 family census for the entire 32 counties.

Seven Irish technology startup companies traveled to Silicon Valley last month for a high powered weeklong trade mission, meeting with more than 40 U.S. entrepreneurs, technologists, advisors and potential investors.

Two of Donegal’s most prominent councilors are working on a proposal to erect a memorial to Lord Louis Mountbatten, who was killed by the IRA thirty years ago this

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.”

An Irish crew accidentally hauled in the world's largest fish - the ocean sunfish - off the coast of Donegal. The crew of the MFV Northern Celt from Greencastle, Co Donegal, caught the giant sunfish while fishing at Stanton Bank, around 25 miles north west of Malin Head.

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

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?

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.

Sarah Jessica Parker has cancelled her annual Irish summer holiday. It’s become an annual rite of summer for superstar Parker and her Irish-American hubby Matthew Broderick: a visit to the remote west of Ireland, Kilcar, County Donegal, to be exact, where the family enjoys some quiet down time in the cottage they purchased in 2002.

Famous Irish singer Daniel O’Donnell is in the midst of a North American tour and, if the latest photos are anything to go by, he looks in great form.

It was a love affair the world thought would never end — but what was once a feast is becoming a famine. No, not that famine. But all too true, the Irish appetite for potatoes is in a free-fall, according to just-released farm reports. And no matter how you slice them, boil them, bake them, mash them, or French fry them — the legendary spuds are duds with their onetime best customers.

The stark reality of what faces Ireland was felt this week with the closure of a Gaelic language school in Donegal as several students were exposed to the swine flu virus and Ireland's first swine flu fatality.

Cahir O'Doherty talks to Brendan McCarthy and John McDonnall, the Irish writer and producer behind the new film Wake Wood, and the Dublin-based production Company Fantastic Films, their all-Irish film company devoted to tales of horror and the supernatural.