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 kidnapped Irish Catholic priest, Fr Michael Sinnott, has been released without injury in the Philippines. Arriving at Manila Airport, the 79-year-old Wexford priest even tried to make light of his experience. "Because I am a bit old and I found hiking a bit difficult at times, I think that they'd be glad to kidnap a younger man the next time," he said.

Niall O'Dowd: Steven Spielberg's trip to Ireland was a "life-changing experience" for the Oscar-winning director. Spielberg was transformed by his summer visit to Ireland, which included literally "hanging over the edge" of the Cliffs of Moher.

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

Eoin Colfer has made his name – and his fortune – writing the best-selling “Artemis Fowl” series for young adults. He could have played it safe and stuck with his winning formula but instead he’s decided to write a new episode of “The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy,” Douglas Adams’ revered sci-fi satire.

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 thirtieth anniversary of the publication of the original 'Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy' was marked by the publication of Irish author Eoin Colfer's sequel 'And Another Thing -- Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Part 6 of 3' Monday.

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

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

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.

New York local politics will get a major Irish boost on Tuesday when Deirdre Feerick, a second-generation Irish American, squares off against two other Irish-American candidates in the September 15 Democratic primary election in Queens to succeed well known Council Member Eric Gioia who has endorsed her.

The shortlist for the 2009 Man Booker Prize was announced today, and surprisingly, no Irish-written novels were included.

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.”

No family has dominated American politics more in this century than the Kennedys, a clan which influenced the shaping of a nation to a degree rarely matched.

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

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

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.

Brivant Medical, a company that speicalizes in medical devices and products, has been acquired by Lake Region Medical, Ltd., which is a subsidiary of MInnesota-based Lake Region Medical.

The talent, skill and heart displayed by 25 lads from Ireland last weekend earned the New York Irish soccer team a place in the semifinals of the prestigious Copa soccer tournament this coming Saturday.

A little piece of Irish America has docked at Penns Landing in Philadelphia. The Irish navy vessel LE Eithne (the LE stands for Long Eireann, or "Irish ship") arrived in the City of Brotherly Love this

News bits from each of the 32 counties in Ireland.

A prospective corporate client who wanted to book Susan Boyle for a performance was told that for just three songs lasting about four minutes each, the total cost would be an astounding £115,000 ($186,000). That means Susan’s angelic singing voice is so in demand that the singer is charging over $14,000 per minute. Clearly Susan’s wealth and star power is rising, and this only makes her a greater catch for some lucky man out there.

When you think "Irish America" you think Catholicism in the U.S., JFK , St. Patrick's Day parades and Irish pride. But Irish-American ties run deeper than one might expect on first glance.

Kevin Doyle is back in the Premier league after signing with Mick McCarthy's Wolves in a deal worth $10.6 million dollars.

How does one try and visit all of Ireland in just two weeks? By cramming in as much as possible and hardly stopping to sleep! One American girl's first-time sprint around Ireland.

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.

The Irish Kennedys are descended from Dunchaun, the brother of the mighty King Brian Boru. The name comes from his father Ceann Eidig, meaning "helmet head." Appropriately, the arms of the Kennedys have three helmets.

There’s the legendary John McCormack, there’s Ronan Tynan, Finbar Wright and Anthony Kearns of the Irish Tenors, and now there’s David O’Leary.

To be sure, in terms of bizarre place names, Ireland can’t match its British neighbor: It’s hard to compete with, say, Butt Hole Road, Crapstone, Ugley, East Breast, and Penistone. But...

The modern Ryan families of Ireland derive from two separate roots. The main one is from Maelruain, a 9th century chieftain whose descendants took the name O’Maelruain.

Colm Toibin's new book, "Brooklyn" is certain to mark the celebrated Irish writer's transition from critic's favorite to international bestselling author

The names O'Byrne and O'Beirne (or Byrne and Beirne), often regarded as variants of the same root, are, in fact, totally different. O'Byrne is derived from the Gaelic O'Broin meaning "descended from Bran", the 11th century King of Leinster. The O'Byrnes were chieftains of what is now County Kildare until the Norman invasion when they were driven from their lands into the mountains of County Wicklow.

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).

Thousands of children were abused by Catholic priests in Ireland over a 30-year period, a shocking report on clerical sex abuse is set to reveal. Archbishop of Dublin Diarmuid Martin warned that a massive investigation of Dublin will find children were subjected to horrific attacks between 1975 and 2004. He warned that the full horror of years of physical, sexual and psychological torture has not been recognized.

He would be 49 now, close to Barack Obama in age and sharing this moment with him. Maybe he'd be in elective politics, perhaps as Hillary's replacement in the Senate. Or he might even have been thinking to run for the job his father once held. We will never know.

“I come from Wexford, where small noses are looked upon with suspicion,” deadpanned Pierce Turner as he began a truly memorable show at Joe’s Pub in New York City on

Mary Ann O'Brien, founder of Lily O'Briens Irish chocolatier, scours the globe for the perfect ingredients for her chocolate. The organic beans from Ecuador, the cocoa beans from the Ivory Coast and the dark chocolate beans from Costa Rica are just some of the magic used to create the Lily O’Brien’s collections. The international flavors in Lily O'Briens chocolates are what makes them so delectable.

There are lists and there are lists! Some lists tell you who the richest people in the U.S. are and some lists tell you who the richest people in Ireland are. We've done some serious research and now we can reveal the list of the richest global Irish! We're gambling that you'll be as surprised as we were with the results!

The Man Booker Prize is a literary prize awarded to the best original work written in English by a citizen of either the Commonwealth or the Republic of Ireland. Four Irish writers have won the award since its inception in 1969, including two writers in the past five years.

The Kennedy political dynasty can trace their Irish roots to Dunganstown in Wexford. Patrick Kennedy, the great-grandfather of John, Bobby and Teddy, left Ireland in 1848 to escape the grinding poverty and make a life for himself. Patrick probably left for the same reason so many millions of Irish left; to escape the grinding poverty and seek a better life for himself in the “New World.”

About a decade ago, you could have counted the number of really good Irish music festivals with one hand. But in the past couple of years the number of music festivals in Ireland has exploded. And it’s not just the tastes of indie and rock fans that have been catered for – although these are indeed spoiled for choice - all kinds of genres now have festivals in

Once you have found the information on where your ancestor came from in Ireland, you can start looking at the Irish records. If you want to carry out your own research, Irish records are slowly becoming available online or by CD-ROM.

"I DESIRE to live and work in Ireland as an Irishman I believe I am eligible to obtain Irish citizenship and an Irish passport because of my family. I have a great aunt born in Co Wexford who raised my mother after the death of my natural mother in childbirth..."

"I DESIRE to live and work in Ireland as an Irishman. I believe I am eligible to obtain Irish citizenship and an Irish passport because of my family. I have a great aunt born in Co.

Seeing William Trevor's name on Claire Keegan's U.S. debut story collection "Antarctica" may raise a few eyebrows.

THE Irish have been raising hell on Manhattan's West Side for well over a century since that was where many of them landed or worked after emigrating from Ireland.

Even my own father first settled there from his native Co. Clare with his brother and sisters thanks to a sponsoring uncle who had an established cooperage business in Hell's Kitchen, as it was charmingly referred to before the current wave of gentrification attempts to whitewash the area.

OUR old friend and Wexford native Pierce Turner, who divides his time between New York and the auld sod these days, will return to Joe's Pub this December.

The singer songwriter has had his songs covered by greats like Christy Moore, and he has had some of his tunes grace the soundtrack to the ultra hip HBO show The Wire, which used a huge chunk of his killer cover version of "Dirty Old Town".

Oscar nominated director and screenwriter Jim Sheridan went so far as to say seeing Turner live gave him the strength and inspiration to make the Oscar winning My Left Foot.