A popular Irish Catholic priest has quit the priesthood to spend his life with a woman. Fr. Sean McKenna, 51, received a standing ovation from his local parishioners in Derry when he made the announcement. The congregation wept and cheered when McKenna said he was leaving the priesthood, having embarked on a "loving, beautiful and life-giving relationship."

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

The great review in The New York Times on Monday for "The New Electric Ballroom," the new play by Irish playwright Enda Walsh, further reinforces the remarkable story of Irish success in New York in recent years.

Andy Lee's (19-1) preparations for his fight against France's Affif Belghecham (19-3-1) on November 14 at the University Arena in Limerick are going to plan in New York.

Bridget English: On the bus ride back we drove through lush countryside and towns like Monaghan and Omagh. These towns, though smaller than Derry, seemed equally appealing. While there is much beauty to be found in Southern countryside, the North feels unspoiled, ripe with possibility and well worth a visit.

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.

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

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

Five swine flu victims have died in the Irish Republic since cases of the illness emerged in May.

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.

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.

Ireland’s gorgeous landscape and mild year-round temperatures make it the perfect location for a hike or stroll. The quiet country roads of Ireland are perfect for casual walkers, while the mountains and forests provide great trails for extreme hikers.

He might be one of the most famous people ever "Born in the USA" but Bruce Springsteen is Irish! A new book has discovered that Springsteen has Irish roots through his paternal grandmother Martha O'Hagan. She married Springsteen's grandfather, Anthony Springsteen, who was of Dutch ancestry, in 1899. And it turns out that Martha's grandmother, Ann Garrity, hailed from County Westmeath.

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

Bob Arum told IrishCentral that he has hopes that John Duddy and Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. will meet in a big fight in New York around St. Patrick's Day.

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The new Miss Ireland Laura Patterson has revealed that she’s received a lot of flack from snobs who look down on her job at a major grocery store in Northern Ireland.

Middleweight John Duddy was in upbeat form at a press conference in midtown Manhattan, New York on Thursday, ahead of his Madison Square Garden bout against Michi Munoz on October 10.

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.

Irish winger Paddy McCourt has finally shown the Celtic fans what he can do with two breathtaking goals inside a week.

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 fitting that the 1969 Nobel Prize for literature went to the Irish playwright and novelist Samuel Beckett. After all, in works such as "Waiting for Godot" and "Endgame," Beckett alternated between tragedy and comedy, drama and farce. The same could be said about 1969.

  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

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There is a deep sense of foreboding about the future of Northern Ireland as the new economic envoy from the U.S., Declan Kelly, ends his first round of meetings with the leaders of the government there. Overnight violence in Lurgan where three men were jailed Thursday for dissident IRA activities was just the latest in a series of violent incidents that have undermined the work of the peace process.

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 little bit of local knowledge goes a long way - and with this in mind, we at Irish Central have prepared a brief guide to vacationing in Ireland.

Fears that dissident IRA groups are mounting a new offensive in Northern Ireland were being expressed after two serious incident this week.

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.

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

John Duddy (26-1) will fight Michi Munoz (21-3) in a 10 round fight at the WaMu Theater at Madison Square Garden on October 10.

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 boxer John Duddy has just broken thousands of Irish hearts! He's finally marrying long-time sweetheart Grainne Coll in Derry. The two were married at a small ceremony in the Beech Hill hotel in the Waterside.

John Duddy and Irish Ropes settled their dispute last week, and the Derry middleweight will return to the ring on October 10 at Madison Square Garden.

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 boxing promoter Brian Peters has put the offer on the table for Andy Lee and John Duddy to face-off in a prestigious boxing event at the University of Limerick Sports Arena on November 28 to be aired on RTE.

The recently discovered mass grave of Irish railroad workers in Pennsylvania — at first believed to have been victims of a cholera outbreak — has taken a far-darker turn: Investigators at the site, known as Duffy's Cut, told IrishCentral that at least two of the skulls they have unearthed were found to have had blunt-force trauma inflicted on them at the time of death.

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.

A unionist political party leader is calling on Northern Ireland’s police to investigate the circumstances surrounding a recently published photo showing Deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness holding a pistol in Derry in 1972.

Irish man collects $7.8m in mega British lottery win Derry man Seamus Duffy, 49, has scooped

The Carlin name is found in County Limerick, where they held a family seat in ancient times, as well as in the counties of Meath, Derry, Cavan, Monaghan and Tyrone. The name is derived from the original Gaelic forms, O Caireallain and O Cearbhallain.

Bits and bobs from newspapers across Ireland's 32 counties, North and South.

The bodies of 57 Irish immigrants who were left for dead in an unmarked mass grave outside Philadelphia may finally be buried in Ireland. “We hope to find every piece of these men's history, recover it and return them home," said Lutheran pastor Frank Watson working on the mass grave known as Duffy's Cut. Watson has been working with his brother William and a team of archeologists at Duffy's Cut in Malvern, PA, to try and discover what happened to the men in 1832.

The name Caulfield is one about which much confusion arises. A name of several origins, few patronymics have acquired so many anglicized versions, the more common being MacCaul and MacCawell. Other variations include MacCall, MacHall, MacCarvill, MacCowhill, Callwell, Howell, Campbell and Gaffney.

On November 2, 1759, a veritable riot broke out along several blocks of lower Manhattan. The target of the torch-bearing crowds was a man deemed to be a “rogue” and informer named George Spencer. Spencer survived the crowds’ wrath, though he was banged up with bruises and

Dublin lightweight Steve Ormond (5-0, 1 KO) beat Puerto Rican Israel Suarez (1-2) by unanimous decision in a six round fight outdoors at Plattduetsche Park Restaurant, Franklin Square, Long Island on Saturday afternoon.