Dara McBride: Bono is a wonderful musician and a great world citizen — but can anyone really make any sense of his latest column in the Sunday New York Times? It's all about the fall of the Berlin Wall and its impact on this "singer," who is of course Bono. He even catches himself writing about himself in the third person — but I don't know if it works. It all gets kind of weird.

A furious row has broken out over U2's mini-gig in Germany Thursday night as part of the MTV European Music Awards. U2 - who brought on Jay-Z as their surprise guest - played a free gig at Berlin's Brandenburg Gate.

The "Get On Your Boots" rockers will play in front of Berlin’s iconic Brandenburg Gate as part of the MTV European Music Awards (EMAs) on November 5, as a prelude to the city’s "Fall of the Wall" celebrations.

U2 has confirmed its tour dates for 2010. The fantastic foursome will kick off the 2010 tour on June 6 in Anaheim, California.

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

Story / Ireland draws France in World Cup playoff / Click here Giovanni Trapattoni has pointed to his team's resilience against Italy as a benchmark of their strength and determination as they now face

Rumor has it that legendary Irish rock band U2 is planning to wrap up their epic tour with a surprise gig at Croke Park in Dublin.

Roman Polanski recently finished filming a movie called “The Ghost,” starring Pierce Brosnan, Ewan McGregor and Kim Cattrall. Polanski was finishing post-production on “The Ghost” when he traveled to Zurich over the weekend, where his unexpected arrest took place.

  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

The name Fahy is O'Fathaigh in Gaelic, and probably originates from the word fothadh which means base or foundation. Another rarer English version of the name is Vahey and occasionally Fay, which has a different root except for occasional instances in Galway.

Dublin has been voted the friendliest city in Europe in a new poll of top tourist attractions. The Irish capital scooped the top spot ahead of

Not only was Michael Fassebender’s portrayal of Bobby Sands mesmerizing in last year’s Camera D’or winning film “Hunger,” his physical transformation for the role was equally impressive. However, as he recently revealed, the weight wasn’t the only thing he lost.

Tony Mowbray’s Celtic side passed their first serious examination of the domestic season with a 1-0 win over Hibernian at Easter Road on Sunday.

Seven Irish technology startup companies traveled to Silicon Valley last month for a high powered weeklong trade mission, meeting with more than 40 U.S. entrepreneurs, technologists, advisors and potential investors.

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.

Irish actor Michael Fassbender had to brush up on his German for his role as a British film critic turned spy in Quentin Tarantino’s “Inglourious Basterds.”

WBA Super Bantamweight Champ Bernard Dunne will make the first defense of his World title at The O2, Dublin on Saturday, September 26th when he faces number one rated contender Poonsawat Kratingdaenggym on the Hunky Dorys World Title Fight Night. Dunne will return to the scene of his sensational World title win in March when he took the title from

Hall of fame trainer Emanuel Steward says that Irish middleweight Andy Lee (18-1) is ready for his fight against Anthony Shuler (20-6-1) on Friday night, but that the Limerick fighter’s opponent will provide a much tougher challenge than most people think.

The second part of our annual summer feature on the questions U.S. naturalization candidates can be asked during a citizenship interview, as provided by the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service. Here are the last 50, with acceptable answers. For more information on naturalization, visit www.uscis.gov.

Bill Clinton has declared that his favorite golf course is Ballybunion in County Kerry. The former U.S. president nominated the famous links course as his favorite in the world in the 50th anniversary issue of Golf magazine.

Ya gotta love Gary Lightbody, the frontman with Snow Patrol, who's currently "resting" after a go-kart accident in Germany. Instead of hiring a lawyer and suing some poor schmuck, the 33-year-old picked himself up, dusted himself down and took a swipe at himself for being an idiot.

Northern Ireland golf sensation Rory McIlroy makes his US PGA Championship debut this week in Minnesota. Nothing if not ambitious, the 20-year-old says he hopes he gets a chance to go head-to-head with Tiger Woods.

Ireland’s International Rose of Tralee Festival will celebrate its Golden Jubilee 50th anniversary this year when the renowned event kicks off on August 21. 50 Roses from all different walks of life will travel from around the world to compete at the festival.

Andy Lee (18-1) will fight Jose Humberto Corral (18-13) in a ten round fight on Friday August 21 at the Horseshoe Casino in Hammond, Indiana.

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.

Frank McCourt was born in Brooklyn on August 19, 1930, the eldest son of seven children. His father

Author and raconteur Frank McCourt, in his autobiography, “has examined his ferocious childhood, walked around it, relived it, and with skill and care and generosity of heart, transformed it into a triumphant work of art,” writes Pete Hamill.

IRELAND is set to become the first country to have full pre-clearance facilities for travelers wishing to visit the U.S. U.S. Secretary for the

Best-selling author Cecelia Ahern, 28, the daughter of former Prime Minister Bertie Ahern, is expecting her first child. The beautiful writer and her partner,Dave Keoghan, an actor and former Olympic hopeful in hurdling, are thrilled with the news and hope to welcome their first child in December.

Andy Lee (18-1) beat Oleg’s Fedotovs (10-6) by unanimous decision last Saturday night on the undercard of the Wladimir Klitschko/Ruslan Chagaev heavyweight title fight at the Gelatins Arena in Gelsenkirchen, Germany.

10 surprising facts about Ireland - guarantee you've never heard 'em before!

PRESIDENT Mary McAleese and Taoiseach (Prime Minister) Brian Cowen led a string of tributes to the memory of the three young doctors, all friends and one a former Riverdance star, who are missing feared dead in the Air France trans-Atlantic disaster. McAleese said, “My thoughts and prayers, and the thoughts of everyone, are with the Irish families and the families of everyone on board at this very difficult time.”

A young Riverdance star is among the three Irish women presumed dead in the Air France airbus A330 disaster. The Irish dancing star, a qualified doctor, was returning from vacation with her two Irish friends and another friend from Britain.

Three Irish people were on board the Air France plane which disappeared over the Atlantic overnight. The plane is feared to have crashed in the Atlantic with 228 people aboard after losing power in a massive thunderstorm high above the ocean. The flight left Rio de Janiero at 5pm EST yesterday and was due to arrive into Paris at 4.15am EST.

Lightweight Oisin Fagan stopped Assen Vassilev in the fifth round of their fight at the Royal Theatre in Castlebar, CO. Mayo last Saturday night.

Here's one for all the Rory Gallagher fans out there. The Rory Gallagher International Tribute Festival takes place in Gallagher's hometown of Ballyshannon,

"Angela's Ashes" author Frank McCourt is facing a life-and-death battle with cancer, IrishCentral.com can reveal. Sources say that McCourt was hospitalized recently in New York for treatment. McCourt, who born in New York to Irish immigrant parents, shot to fame on the release of his memoir "Angela's Ashes."

Luka Bloom returns to the U.S. in a few weeks to support his new CD, “Eleven Songs.”

The Tummy Tub, a bucket-shaped baby bath, is taking Ireland by storm.

With first Holy Communion season upon us, recession-hit Irish Catholic parents are struggling to cover costs for Communion outfits and celebrations.

Michael O'Leary, boss of Irish airline Ryanair, has said that swine flu would only affect "people in slums." Here are some other outrageous Michael O'Leary moments.

“Second sucks. I don’t believe in second. Second ain’t good enough. I know it sounds crazy but if you settle for second in this game you won’t survive." So says Derek Ryan, the Irish trainer of Musket Man, one of the fancied horses in the 2009 Kentucky Derby.

Manchester City gave their all against Hamburg on Thursday night, but it was not enough as they crashed out of the Uefa Cup 4-3 on aggregate.

Tony Award winner John Glover is now staring on Broadway with John Goodman and Nathan Lane Samuel Beckett’s masterpiece “Waiting for Godot”

A camp in County Louth this summer offers students a new kind of holiday: a combination of Irish dance and adventure activites

After an all-day downpour on Saturday, a sustained period of glorious sunshine greeted Philadelphia today, as the World Irish Dancing Championship drew to a close. The sunshine brought a fitting end to what has been an incredibly successful week.

Stephen Ireland has been keeping busy during his international exile with trips to the tattoo parlor.

After an all-day downpour on Saturday, a sustained period of glorious sunshine greeted Philadelphia today, as the World Irish Dancing Championship drew to a close. The sunshine brought a fitting end to what has been an incredibly successful week.

Manchester City’s hopes of UEFA Cup success suffered a dent in Germany as they succumbed 3-1 to Hamburg.

  Entry Name School Rank 7 Connor Carlton Glendarragh : Midlands, England 1 27 Eamon Kitching Conway-Lally :