Irish golfer Padraig Harrington has slammed the French team for the way they celebrated after Thierry Henry's hand ball helped them win their World Cup clash with Ireland.

Ireland’s chances of qualifying for the World Cup in South Africa were dealt a cruel blow when an unlucky Sean St. Ledger own goal gave France a 1-0 win at Croke Park in Dublin on Saturday night.

Ireland’s chances of qualifying for the World Cup in South Africa were dealt a cruel blow when an unlucky Sean St. Ledger own goal gave France a 1-0 win at Croke Park in Dublin on Saturday night.

Central defender Richard Dunne is in defiant mood ahead of Ireland’s crunch clash against France in the World Cup Playoff this Saturday in Croke Park.

Two Irish barmen have been accused of killing a customer by serving him too much alcohol.

A special Mass was held in Thurles Sunday to celebrate the 125th anniversary of the Gaelic Athletic Association.

In New York last week part of a Maynooth College expo, Tyrone football manager Mickey Harte took time out from his busy schedule to sit down with Eugene Kyne to discuss his team, his future, his favorite players and other aspects of his legendary career.

Think you know everything about the Emerald Isle? Think again! Here are 10 facts that just might throw you for a loop.

Donal Og Cusack, the brave hurling star who has ushered in a new era in Irish sports by publically announcing he is gay this week, has told the press that his mother has stopped attending his Cork hurling matches because of the stress of hearing homophobic abuse shouted at her son from the terraces.

'It's time Queens had an Irish football field.' Good news for Irish sports players and fans as New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg backs planned pitch for Queens.

Irish sports star Donal Og Cusack has been overwhelmed by messages of support after revealing he was gay. GAA fans across the globe have rallied round Cusack while top GAA players have applauded him for his honesty and bravery.

The Irish Minister for Foreign Affairs, Micheal Martin, is meeting with members of Congress in Washington Wednesday and promises to highlight the plight of the Irish undocumented in the U.S. Martin, who arrived in Washington Wednesday for a four-day visit, is expected to discuss the issue of the estimated 50,000 undocumented Irish with members of both Houses of Congress later today.

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

There are only two teams left in the New York Senior football County Championship: Down and Cork. Eugene Kyne preview the game and wonders what team will popping the champagne this Sunday in the 125th anniversary year of the GAA in Ireland and the 95th year of football in the Big Apple.

Niall O'Dowd: Croke Park – All-Ireland football final day in Dublin is the centerpiece of the sporting year, the moment when Irish from all over the world tune in to see the ancient athletic contest that was celebrating its 125th anniversary on Sunday.

The All Ireland Final between Cork and Kerry on September 20, 2008 will be a game based on evening up the scores and avenging tough defeats For Cork, though they overcame Kerry in this year’s Munster Final, this team has not reached the Holy Grail of taking the Same Maguire cup Leeside yet, and the closest they came was in 2007 when they were sent home sour-pussed after a ten point defeat to none other than Kerry.

Kerry have been handed a massive boost ahead of Sunday’s All-Ireland final derby date with Cork after both Colm “Gooch” Cooper and Paul Galvin were cleared to play after recent injury scares.

Four football players from Mayo were sent home from the U.S. earlier this summer after damaging an apartment they were staying in, and leaving a Boston GAA team to foot the hefty bill.

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.

The GAA is facing new calls to use video referees at crunch ties. The calls come in the wake of the hotly-contested final between Tipperary and Kilkenny at Croke Park. Veteran Tipperary goalkeeper Brendan Cummins said he had urged the referee to use the big screen before he awarded the fateful penalty which turned the game for the Cats.

Kilkenny made it four-in-a-row when they beat Tipperary by 2-22 to 0-23 to win the Liam McCarhty cup at Croke Park on Sunday.

Eugene Kyne with the match reports from all the action at Gaelic Park in the Bronx

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

In tough recession times both here and overseas, Ireland’s tourism may have slowed down, but HeritageIsland.com is providing travelers with guides and discounts to some of Ireland’s best historic and cultural spots.

Saturday 7:30 p.m.: SF Leitrim vs.

Dublin played like a team that was mourning the departure of U2 today as they rolled over and died against Kerry. The final score at Croke Park was 1-24 to 1-07. But the score belies the fact that there have been some memorable tussles between the two great GAA teams over the years.

The GAA insists the new turf in Croke Park will be in excellent condition, but it still has to face judges from the six counties involved in this weekend's All-Ireland football quarterfinals. The ultimate verdict on the turf will be made by the players from Cork, Donegal, Kildare, Tyrone, Dublin and Kerry in the three-match program tomorrow and Monday.

U2's packed concert schedule has been thrown into chaos after a protest by residents outside Croke Park in Dublin where the Irish band played their three homecoming gigs. Angry residents blocked access to the team of trucks waiting to ferry 56 tonnes of sound and video gear to the group's next two dates in the Swedish city of Gothenburg.

U2 returned to their hometown in a blaze of glory on Friday night to open the first of three gigs at GAA headquarters in Croke Park, Dublin.

Looking to save money on your vacation this year? Heritage Island is here to help!

The best off-beat stories in the world of sport are the ones you can’t make up, and this is one of them. On Sunday afternoon the Mayo footballer Conor Mortimer scored a crucial goal in his team’s Connacht football final win over Galway in Salthill.

The body of a young Irishman was discovered in the alleyway of the hostel he was staying in on 107th Street in Manhattan on Friday morning after what police believe was an accidental fall.

Not content with cheating the Irish taxman out of millions of euro each year, U2 are now responsible for a major embarrassment for the GAA.

News bits from each of the 32 counties in Ireland.

The new culture minister for Northern Ireland is a man with a very limited view of Irish culture. He will not attend Catholic mass as it is against his religion and his knowledge of sports in the six counties is confined to lacrosse and squash. He is unfamiliar with the Irish language and did not know that one of his county's teams - Tyrone - are the all-Ireland GAA champions!

Cathal Dervan highlights the recent transfer news regarding departures and arrivals of some of Ireland's best footballers, the result of the British and Irish Lions' third test against South Africa and the past week's Gaelic action from Ireland.

Irish President Mary McAleese today paid tribute to the volunteer community at the heart of the GAA. McAleese was speaking at a garden party hosted at Áras an Uachtaráin today to mark the 125th anniversary of the Gaelic Athletic Association. "From Derry to Dingle, from Dublin to Dubai, from San Francisco to Hong Kong day after day, week after week, an army of volunteers cares for this organization and keeps it full of effort and imagination," she said.

A major row has broken out in Ireland over U2's upcoming shows. The band - who made an explosive start to their world tour in

Hurling is the red-headed step-child of the GAA. Or so says Larry McCann, who brought a team of hurlers to play an exhibition game at the Connecticut Festival on Sunday. Hurling requires skill and training, and the GAA has neglected it.

Irish America holds the key to a united Ireland. That's according to Sinn Fein president Gerry Adams, who was speaking at the annual Sinn Fein forum in San Francisco on Saturday. Social media will form a crucial part of Sinn Fein's outreach. The new PR campaign will use Twitter and YouTube to virtually unite major American cities on St. Patrick's Day in calling for a "united Ireland.

The Irish Network is an Irish networking group for professionals in New York. Ninety per cent of its members are Irish rather than Irish American, and while they’re not necessarily fresh-off-the-boat, many of them are new to the States.

The recession has affected all walks of American life and sport is just one of the many victims. Fewer fans are willing to pay top dollar and sponsors are hard to find. But the global nature of the recession is boosting the fortunes of one particular sport: New York’s Gaelic Athletic Association. The storied 95-year-old amateur football league is experiencing a revival as laid-off footballers have fled Ireland for America.

Eugene Kyne's recap of the week's senior football and hurling matches, the John Brady Cup final and the first GAA Minor Board title for Brooklyn.

Joe and Anne O’Connell, the Irish parents of three who were killed in a road accident on June 14 , were buried at Killury Cemetery in County Kerry today.

Eugene Kyne highlights this week's senior football league action from the Bronx between Tyrone and Donegal, Down and Four Provinces, and Leitrim and Sligo.

The scrapping of inter-county players’ grants now looks inevitable after the Minister for Sport, Martin Cullen, admitted that he is unable to stump up the €3.5 million to keep the scheme afloat.

An Irish couple died when their van crashed last weekend near Maquoketa in Iowa. Their three children were injured in the accident.

The thousands of concert-goers expected at Dublin’s Croke Park for U2’s concerts on July 24, 25 and 27 has caused the stadium to heighten security and go forth with plans to shut down its GAA museum for the three dates.

GAA players in Rockland County will soon have the pleasure of training and competing in a state of the art football pitch in 2010.