The Irish have made their mark on Manhattan for centuries, building the skyscrapers, policing the streets and eventually running city hall. That’s why when you visit the Big Apple you won’t be short of fascinating historical sites of enduring importance to the Irish.

It’s the concert of the year. On Thursday October 29 at 8 p.m. the Cross Border Orchestra of Ireland (CBOI), a group composed of musicians aged between 12 and 24, will perform at the prestigious Avery Fisher Hall at Lincoln Center in Manhattan.

Kelleher exists also as Keliher, Kellaher, Kelliher, etc. The modern forms of the name are derived from the Irish name O Ceileachair, from ceileachar, which means "uxorious," or "excessively fond of one's wife."

SLIDESHOW / IRISH SIDE OF ELLIS ISLAND / CLICK HERE The outside world is a scary place. Especially when outside is New York

In August of this year, Grosse Ile, Canada’s Ellis Island, will celebrate the 100th anniversary of the unveiling of one of the largest Celtic crosses in the world to commemorate the thousands of Irish immigrants whose final resting place was the Canadian island.

My Aunt Kathleen is the family genealogist. She literally wrote the book on our Irish American family. Yet, she hadn't been able to find any record of my grandfather's entry from Ireland into the U.S. We had a good idea that he had come through Ellis Island - but there was no sign of him in their records. There was no difficulty finding my grandfather's brother, Rodger, who passed through Ellis Island in May 1913. We knew my grandfather's name, obviously, we knew what year he was born, where he was from and we had a pretty good idea what year he immigrated. So why didn't he turn up on the Ellis Island records ( www.ellisisland.org)?

This Sunday, the Irish around the world will remember the country's greatest ever catastrophe - The Great Irish Famine, “An Gorta Mor.”

Justin Timberlake came over all Irish on Saturday Night Live last night in a skit where he played Irish immigrant Cornelius Timberlake landing at Ellis Island. His thick-brogued "Cornelius Timberlake" said, "I dream of a day when my great-great-grandson will bring sexy back."

President Barack Obama today nominated Steelers boss and American Ireland co-founder Dan Rooney as his Ambassador to Ireland

Fifty years ago, one of the most infamous characters in American history finally met a fitting fate. After years of abusing political enemies, Senator Joe McCarthy shriveled under the glare of a hot light he himself switched on. But according to an explosive new book, Senator Pat McCarran, the son of Irish immigrants, may in fact have had a greater impact on American political life than McCarthy.

Dan Milner has been plying the Irish and folk music scene of New York City for decades, and acquired a well-earned reputation for his store of knowledge about countless folk songs and the times that created them. He comes from that folk singing tradition where delivery and articulation are critical to imparting the most colorful details contained in a song or the nuance that drives it home as a great ballad of the people. Through committed interpreters and vocalists like Milner, the songs of the people that depict our history are like buried treasure to be reclaimed over and over again with an audience that appreciates that folk song tradition.

Irish photographer John Minihan's portraits of the famous, including Samuel Beckett, Edna O'Brien, and Francis Bacon, have established him as one of the finest portrait photographers of his generation. This week the Taoiseach (Irish Prime Minister) Brian Cowen will open a new exhibition of Minihan's work chronicling the golden years of America's most elderly Irish immigrants at the Irish Arts Center in Manhattan. CAHIR O'DOHERTY talks to the celebrated portrait artist about his legendary work.

Acclaimed historian Edward T. O'Donnell goes from the Ice Age to Michael Phelan (The Father of American Billiards) in his breezy history "1001 Things Everyone Should Know About Irish American History." O'Donnell, professor of American History at Holy Cross College, covers topics ranging from Ireland Before 1850, Religion, Sports, and Coming to America.

Annie Moore, the first immigrant to arrive at Ellis Island, has finally found a final resting place after years of uncertainty.

On October 11, Moore's grave was memorialized at Calvary Cemetery in Woodside, Queens, after years of going unmarked. A statue of Annie Moore commemorates the teenager's January 1, 1892 arrival at Ellis Island when she became the first recorded immigrant to set foot on the Island.

Readers Forum : Letters

Dear editor

In your excellent editorial: Isle of Hope, Isle of Tears (December 2007/January 2008), you write: "And so we dedicate this issue to a country where dreams can still come true.

And as we pay tribute to those on our Business 100 list we put forth the hope that today's immigrants, Irish and otherwise, who languish on the sidelines waiting for proper documentation, will eventually get through the process and have a shot at keeping the American dream alive."

I would like to pay tribute to the story of some of those pre-Ellis Island and pre-Business 100 List Irish immigrants who responded to the opportunity of this country and successfully took a shot at the American dream and built this country.

THERE are times in your life in America when a sense of awe grips as you realize the sense of power this country can project. Such was the combined sense Ciaran Staunton, Kelly Fincham and myself, had as we slipped into the West Wing of the White House on a cold gloomy Friday afternoon last week.

We are the senior officials of the Irish Lobby for Immigration Reform (ILIR), and we were there to meet Ed Gillespie, proud son of an Irish father from Donegal and President Geroge W.

CONGRESSMAN James Walsh, who has served in Congress for 20 years, announced last Thursday that he would not seek re-election in November.Walsh, 60, spoke to the Irish Voice on Tuesday about his decision, his involvement in the Irish peace process and his future plans. "I have loads of time on my hands now to talk," he laughed during a phone call.

Irish eye on hollywood

Tom Deignan

The Irish and boxing are longtime Hollywood staples, from John Wayne as the reluctant slugger in The Quiet Man right up to Russell Crowe in Cinderella Man and Hilary Swank in Million Dollar Baby. In December, a Cork-born writer-director and quirky American actor are going to take their shot at the genre with Strength and Honor.

Buzz on the film is solid.

Hibernia : A Window On the Past

This book is lovingly dedicated to my son, Max George, whose great-grand-father Edward Conway immigrated to America in 1900 at the age of 18. Arriving at Ellis Island from Ballina, Ireland, he had two dollars in his pocket and listed his occupation as "laborer."

This area is reserved for Irish Circle members.

O'Muimhneachain is the old Irish form of the name Moynihan. The name originally came from the province of Munster and actually means "Munster man." Today different branches of the clan are still to be found in Munster, mainly in West Cork and Kerry, where the name is among the most popular in the county, and has been that way since the 17th century.