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.”

Taoiseach (Prime Minister) Brian Cowen has urged workers to embrace reform of the public service rather than viewing it as a threat. He made it clear that a shake-up of the system has to happen in order to make dramatic savings to reduce the country's debt.

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

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.

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...

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

Her features are unmistakably Irish, but Nassau County, L.I. District Attorney Kathleen Rice, 44, first visited

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

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.

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

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

"Being a theatre critic and not a music critic, you must have strayed into the Gaiety by mistake last Monday night, possibly looking for the rear entrance to Neary’s pub, but you certainly arrived with the word “prejudice” burned into your furrowed brow."

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.

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?

The second person to die from swine flu in Ireland was an Allied Irish Bank (AIB) employee who had no underlying medical condition before catching the H1N1 virus.

Two amazing new revelations about Lord Louis Mountbatten have emerged as the 30th anniversary approaches of his death at Mullaghmore, Co. Sligo.

The British Government has declassified secret files from its Ministry of Defense which have revealed a top-secret investigation into two sightings of UFOs in Ireland in 1993 and 1996. The UFO reports are part of a three-year project to release Britain's classified UFO files.

FAQ / Symptoms, how it spreads, what you should do / Click here Ireland is on full alert for swine flu after a second person has died from the disease. The man - who has not been identified - did not have any underlying medical

The tiny coastal village of Easkey, County Sligo has “gone gay” today in hosting what is thought to be the smallest gay pride event in the world.

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 Irish Government is on the brink of collapse after two Sligo/Leitrim politicians resigned from the Government. Fianna Fail representatives Eamon Scanlan and Jimmy Devins both resigned in protest after cancer services in Sligo were axed.

The Irish government designated May 17, 2009 as the first National Famine Memorial Day. On that day, Irish people throughout the world remembered and honored the victims of Ireland’s Great Hunger

There nothing like a good buttie sandwich, and there is no better place to get one than in Ireland.

IN FOCUS: JESSICA SWEENEY. Occupation: Associate research manager at the Keller Fay Group, a word of mouth marketing research and consulting company located in New Brunswick, New Jersey.

These celebs weren't born in Ireland, but that doesn't mean they can't call it home! From Jeremy Irons somewhat infamous pink castle, to Sarah Jessica Parker's Donegal cottage, these stars lay their heads in the Emerald Isle as often as they can.

Around 200 Irish women gathered together at Lissadell beach in County Sligo on Monday to take a “dip in the nip” for charity.

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.

Irish Americans have reacted with shock and outrage at the revelations of the Ryan report which has detailed the extent of the abuse of Ireland's children which took place in Church-run institutions. They all agreed that a collar should not protect anyone from prosecution.

Irish Americans have reacted with shock and outrage at the revelations of the Ryan report which has detailed the extent of the abuse of Ireland's children which took place in Church-run institutions. They all agreed that a collar should not protect anyone from prosecution.

The National Archives of Ireland digitized online 1911 Irish census has added five more counties to its collection. Joining Antrim, Down, Dublin and Kerry are Cork, Donegal, Galway, Offaly and Wexford.

Down, Leitrim And Sligo all won on a hot weekend in the City!

Ireland, with 3,000 miles of open Atlantic to the West, offers some of the best surf conditions in the world. Sea Fever, a documentary, covers the history of Irish surfing from the early 1960s to the present.

Sebastian Barry was surprisingly cheerful while writing “The Secret Scripture,” the moving and tragic tale of a socially rejected beautiful young woman who has been trapped in an Irish mental institution up to her 100th birthday. “Failure as a writer is irrelevant, because the actual doing of it is essentially joyful,” the 53-year-old writer, who lives in County Wicklow, told IrishCentral during a recent interview at the Web site’s offices. “Hard to explain that with such a dark story, but in fact I was very happy writing that book.”

One of the most common names in Ireland, the Murphy clan has distinguished itself in every field. Among them were an Army chaplain, poet, war hero, police commissioner, and mistress. The name Murphy, the most common and widespread name in Ireland, is a derivation of the Gaelic personal name of Murchadh or Murragh, which gave rise to the different versions MacMurchadh (son of Murchadh) and O'Murchadh (descendant of Murchadh).

Being a small island nation, Ireland is watersports mad. Whether it's scuba diving, canoeing or kiteboarding, there are oceans of water sports on offer in Ireland.

Competition 25 Girls 16 - 17 results Entry Name School Rank 143 Gabriella Wood Petri : New York, USA 1 41

Competition 8 Boys 13 - 14 results Entry Name School Rank 43 Caolan McKeating-Lynch Mulvenna : Belfast, Ireland 1 2 Shane Duigman Hession :

Competition 8 Boys 13 - 14 results Entry Name School Rank 43 Caolan McKeating-Lynch Mulvenna : Belfast, Ireland 1 2 Shane Duigman Hession :

  Entry Name School Rank 151 Shauna Ryan Uí Nualláin : Luimneach, Éire 1 135 Mellisa McCarthy Harney : Walpole,

Entry Name School Rank 4 Shannon Bradley Doherty : Belfast, Ireland 1 94 Amy-Mae Dolan McConomy : Derry, Ireland 2 99 Ciara O'Sullivan Sheehan-Murphy : Kerry, Ireland 3 16 Anna Sulger Pender-Keady : Connecticut, USA 4 27 Kelly Donegan Sylvan Kelly : Mayo, Ireland 5 138 Olivia Murray Mona Ni Rodaigh :

Entry Name School Rank 46 Jordan McCormick" href="/topics?topic=Jordan+McCormick">Jordan McCormick Lambe : Mayo, Ireland"

Fifty-seven boys from all corners of the globe quickly become acquainted in the small space backstage at the Kimmel Center in Philadelphia. Today they will dance like they’ve never danced before.

An Irish company has been charged with procuring aircraft parts and exporting them to Iran, the

How one Coca-Cola ad gave one Irish America magazine reader a very pleasant surprise.

The first surfer on record in Ireland was Joe Roddy, an industrious 14-year-old in County Louth who hit the waves on a paddle board he made from a work book manual. Today there are 50,000 surfers in Ireland, which has become a popular destination for the world’s surfing community.

It’s often said that the Irish are adept story tellers. Little wonder then that the Irish in America have proven themselves to be among the most accomplished journalists in the country.

Take a week out to trace St. Patrick’s footsteps and explore Ireland’s Christian tradition. You might not be able to drive the snakes out of the country, but you can at least learn about the man, the myth and Ireland’s religious past.

When people think surfing, they think Hawaii; they think hot sunny weather, clear oceans and tropical surroundings. Believe it or not, surfers who know their stuff have discovered some of the best surf in none other than the Emerald Isle. Ireland’s not just green fields – it’s also home to some epic waves.