Authentic Ireland or the tourist haunts? Every year more and more discerning travelers to Ireland are opting to visit the real country, rather than just climbing aboard the endless bus trails with the tourist hordes and never actually meeting a local.

To get started with your own literary tour of Ireland here’s a list of the 10 top annual Irish literary festivals to check out. Pick any one of them and in no time you’ll be completely absorbed by Irish culture and craic.

New York hosts Galway for the second year in a row in the annual FBD League final in Gaelic Park this Sunday. While Galway had a relatively easy time last year, this year’s contest takes on extra meaning, with Galway employing a new manager a month ago in the form of Joe Kernan.

Down won the New York Senior Football title at Gaelic Park in the Bronx on Sunday when they overcame the dogged challenge of a a never-say-die Cork team.

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.

Newly crowned All-Ireland champions Kerry dominate the nominations for the 2009 Vodafone football all-stars with 12 of their team in the running for this year’s awards, while Kilkenny hurling legend Henry Shefflin is in the running for a ninth all-star honor like fellow Cats hero DJ Carey .

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.

The Moran clan have produced some very interesting folk. The anglicized "Moran" can be traced to multiple distinct Irish names, and though commonly linked to County Mayo, forms of the name originated throughout middle Ireland in Counties Leitrim, Galway, Kildare, Offaly, and more. Moran is so heavily anglicized - from the French "Morrin" to the Irish "Moran" - that exact knowledge of each Moran's lineage may be hard to trace.

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 weekend at the NY GAA, Offaly, Roscommon, Cork and Down came out on top.

Analysis: A disputed penalty, a man sent off and the best All-Ireland hurling final in decades ended with Kilkenny beating Tipperary 2-22 to 0-23 points. It means that Kilkenny has now won four All-Irelands in a row, the greatest since a similar Cork run in the 1940s.

Offaly continued their dominance by capturing their third consecutive hurling title, while the ladies of Na Fianna won the Sean Faherty New York Championship and Rangers captured the Junior Title on a busy day at Gaelic Park in the Bronx

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.

Eugne Kyne with the breakdown on all the games played in the Bronx last weekend.

Eugene Kyne gives his predictions to this upcoming weekend's hurling and football fixtures from the Bronx, as well as outlining upcoming schedule changes made by the NY GAA.

Eugene Kyne with the lowdown from last weekend's games at Gaelic Park in the Bronx.

Ian Worpole talks to Frankie Gavin about a lifetime playing the fiddle and and a new beginning with a great band.

Meath are through to the final qualifying round after a handy win over Roscommon in Meath on Saturday evening. However, It was the end of the road for Galway and Wicklow as they went down to Donegal and Kildare respectively.

Eugene Kyne with the lowdown on this weekend's upcoming senior and intermediate football and senior hurling fixtures from the Bronx.

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.

Eugene Kyne with the lowdown on last weekend's action in the Bronx, where the Four Provinces, Leitrim, Cavan and Tyrone all emerged victorious.

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.

Cathal Dervan's recap of the past weekend's GAA action from Ireland, covering wins by Dublin, Tipperary, Kerry, Down, Derry and Galway.

Eugene Kyne gives the skinny on the upcoming senior football and senior hurling matches from the Bronx, as well as an intermediate football match between St. Raymond's and Roscommon.

The young Irishman who was killed in fall in New York was supposed to return to Ireland today. Irish teacher Brian Forde, 22, was killed after falling from the roof of a hostel on 107th street in Manhattan.

Results from Ireland's GAA (Gaelic football and hurling) games this weekend.

On Monday, June 29, Rita Keane of Caherlistrane, County Galway passed away at age 86 in a Galway hospital. Before leaving this earth, however, the pair left a rich legacy for others to emulate and to keep the songs of Ireland inhabited by generations of singers who they touched with their own authentic voices and styles.

Eugene Kyne gives the lowdown on the upcoming football action from the Bronx between New Jersey/Kilkenny and Offaly, Cork and Tyrone, Roscommon and Brooklyn/Long Island, and the John Joe McGovern Final between Rangers and St. Barnabas, the first junior final of the season.

Eugene Kyne highlights the past week's senior hurling and junior and intermediate football action from Gaelic Park, as well as the results from the Dennis McHugh under-8 Gaelic Football Tournament in Rockland.

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.

Eugene Kyne gives his predictions for the upcoming weekend's football and hurling fixtures from the Bronx.

Dublin, Galway and Antrim take honors in Sunday's GAA games. Dublin in massive win over Westmeath...

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.

Irish Voice GAA analyst Eugene Kyne with his take on the upcoming football and hurling fixtures from the Bronx.

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.

Kilkenny lived up to all the hype and clichés that surround them as they produced a sensational comeback to deny a marvelous Galway effort in a compelling clash in Tullamore on Sunday.

Eugene Kyne gives the skinny on this weekend's upcoming football and hurling fixtures in the Bronx.

A summer of work and fun in New York isn’t going as planned this year for a number of Irish J-1 visa holders, who are finding it difficult to secure jobs and accommodation.

An Irish couple living in Wisconsin was killed and their three children were injured in a car accident on Sunday, June 14 in Iowa while on vacation.

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

Eugene Kyne breaks down the senior football league final between Leitrim and Down, as well as the first camogie and hurling matches of the season in the Bronx.

Eugene Kyne with the lowdown on this weekend's fixtures at Gaelic park in the Bronx.

Maggie Revis, native to Putnam Valley, New York, took to the stage in Belgium this past winter for her debut as the female lead dancer in Michael Flatley’s "The Lord of the Dance." Born into a family of competitve dancers, Maggie began her dance career at the age of three and secured her first win at the Mid-Atlantic American Oireachtas (Regional) Dance Competition in Philadelphia by the age of six.

Sunday saw six games in the Senior Football Championship, with Derry, Cork and Galway among the winners. Derry edged a battling Ulster quarter-final with Monaghan to kick off with a win, while in Munster Cork were much too good for Waterford, but it was a tighter affair as Limerick edged Tipperary. Galway were big victors in London in the Connacht quarter-final, while the Leinster first round saw Kildare get the better of Offaly and Wicklow just see off Longford.

A tribute to Paddy Reynolds, a fine musician and an even finer man.

The Irish community this week paid tribute to a man who poured his heart and soul into his community in his adopted home of New York, yet constantly shied away from gratitude and recognition.

After a brief sojourn in America, the 2009 Football Championship returns home this weekend, with the Ulster and Leinster competitions starting on Sunday afternoon.