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.

United States Supreme Court Justice John Roberts and Maryland Governor Martin O’Malley were among the distinguished guests at the Irish Voice’s Irish Legal 100 reception held last Wednesday evening, November 11, at the Washington, D.C. residence of the Irish Ambassador to the U.S. Michael Collins.

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

Andy Lee's (20-1) beat France's Affif Belghecham (19-4-1) on points at the University Arena in Limerick on Saturday night.

There are few countries that celebrate a cozier, put-your-feet-up Christmas than Ireland. With its family-oriented culture and the legendary friendliness of its people, spending the holidays in Ireland is one of the most rewarding decisions you could ever make.

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

Research conducted by the convenience Stores and Newsagents Association (CSNA) has shown that the number of people driving off without paying for their gas has tripled.

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

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.

Daniel Day-Lewis looks like he’s enjoying his leading male role in the upcoming film “Nine,” and what red-blooded male could blame him?

Meet IrishCentral’s latest winner of a free trip to Ireland: Susan Condon. Condon, who is a Lieutenant Commander in the U.S. Coast Guard, will travel to the Emerald Isle over the Thanksgiving holiday to visit her father, John Shanahan, who lives in Drogheda, County Louth.

An overweight Irish woman, fed up with her full figure, lost weight and then came to a New York plastic surgeon to put the finishing touches on her new self.

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

Andy Lee (19-1) will fight France's Affif Belghecham (19-3-1) on November 14 at the University Arena in Limerick.

The names Fitzgerald, Fitzpatrick and others with the prefix "Fitz" are numerous in Ireland. The name-form, however, is Norman and most of the families arrived in Ireland during the 12th century. The Normans, who were French in origin, conquered many parts of Ireland but gradually adopted the Gaelic language and customs and to a great extent assimilated with the native population, becoming more Irish than the Irish themselves.

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.

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.

An unmistakably Irish memorial service was held in upper Manhattan on Tuesday night when the life and work of the incomparable Frank McCourt, the Pulitzer Prize-winning Irish-American writer, was commemorated in story and song.

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

A brave-hearted Irish couple have signed up to help the rescue effort in Samoa. Galway couple John Clancy and Madeleine Rabbit, who moved to Samoa just a few weeks ago, are now working with the rescue effort there after the devastating tsunami and earthquake.

It is 30 years to the day since Pope John Paul II visited Ireland in a three-day visit that brought the country to a standstill. Nearly 3 million people turned out to welcome the Pontiff at five venues; Dublin, Drogheda, Galway, Limerick and Knock. The numbers were phenomenal when you consider that the population of the Republic was 3,368,217 in 1979.

The Irish Technology Leadership Group (ITLG) is to bring a number of Technology CEOs to Belfast on October 20-21 for an intensive review of 12 Irish companies from all over the island of Ireland.

  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

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

The ancient O'Maille or O'Malley name is said to be derived from the Gaelic words "maille" meaning gentle or smooth, and "maglios" meaning chieftain, which is fitting as the O'Malleys were once the chieftains of the baronies of Murrisk and Burrishoole in County Mayo.

The Reidy family surname (also Reedy, Riedy, Reid, and O'Reidy) is an Anglicized version of the Gaelic name Riada. The family was part of the Dalcassian sept and in early Gaelic times lived in the southwest of Ireland, in the Munster counties of Clare and Kerry.

Ireland's Roy Keane has once again reminded us why he's such a loss to Irish soccer.  With Ireland on the brink of the 2010 playoffs, the outspoken Cork man has again taken on the suits in charge of the

Moloney is derived from the Gaelic O Maoldhomnaigh, meaning a descendant or a servant of the church. The name is often spelled Maloney but the O'Moloney (or O'Maloney) form of the name is only rarely found. The family was originally associated with the area around Tulla, County Clare but is now commonly found in Limerick and Tipperary.

Keough, Keogh, Kehoe, O'Hoey, Hoy, Haughy, Haugh and MacKeogh are all derivatives of the Irish surname Mac Eochaidh. The clan originated in Leinster, and the name is common in County Wexford, and in the Munster counties of Limerick and Tipperary, where the Irish spelling is MagCeoch or MacCeoch. In medieval times the MacKeoghs from Leinster moved from Kildare to Wicklow and then down to Wexford.

"Will you hold my hand?" asked Lauren Murphy as she braced herself to greet her husband's mourners. Lauren was speaking to Paddy Moloney, founder of the Chieftains, the Grammy award winning musical ambassadors of Ireland.

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.

Sinn Fein president Gerry Adams is starring in a new documentary about the famous Che Guevara portrait.

Irish middleweight Andy Lee (19-1) defeated Anthony Shuler (20-7-1) by TKO in the eighth round at the Horseshoe Casino in Hammond, Indiana on Friday night.

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.

Cardinal Sean Brady, the head of the Catholic Church in Ireland, has spoken out strongly against same-sex civil partnerships. His criticism in a sermon in Limerick came just weeks after the government published its Civil Partnership Bill which will give gay couples in Ireland similar legal status to married people for the first time.

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

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.

Hall of fame trainer Emanuel Steward says that Irish middleweight Andy Lee (18-1) is ready for his fight against Anthony Shuler (20-6-1) on Friday night, but that the Limerick fighter’s opponent will provide a much tougher challenge than most people think.

Giovanni Trapattoni has revealed his fear that the great expectations surrounding Stephen Ireland’s international return could be the very thing keeping the Manchester City star away from the national team.

Featuring 21 Irish playwrights, 12 venues and 375 artists over five weeks from September 1 to October 4, the second New York Irish Theatre Festival has doubled in size since its inaugural year in 2008.

The latest news from around the country

Outraged Irish Catholics are fuming after the Virgin-in-a-Tree was vandalized at St. Mary's Church in Rathkeale, County Limerick, last weekend.

Middleweight Andy Lee (18-1) has a new opponent for his August 21 fight at the Horseshoe Casino in Hammond, Indiana. Out is Jose Humberto Corral (18-13), and the man stepping into the breach is Anthony Shuler (20-6-1).

Republic of Ireland soccer manager Giovanni Trappatoni has named his team ahead of the friendly international against Australia at Thomond Park in Limerick on Wednesday night.

Declan Kidney has called a 37 man squad for a training camp to be held in Limerick from August 16-19.

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.