Emmy award winning actor Brendan Gleeson has confessed he was deeply worried about playing Winston Churchill in the HBO film “Into the Storm” that won him the award.

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.

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 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame turns 25 this year, and past inductees like U2 will perform at Madison Square Garden in New York City to celebrate.

HBO has announced that it has renewed its Emmy-winning series “In Treatment” for a third season.

Lindsay Lohan's father Michael is set on doing a Sopranos-type intervention on his troubled daughter for her alleged addiction to prescription drugs. The Sopranos series from Irish favorite Brendan Gleeson takes home the Emmy

Gabriel Byrne may have missed out on an Emmy win for his starring role in “In Treatment,” but the Irish still shone on Emmy night with Irish favorite Brendan Gleeson taking home the globe.

The countdown has begun for the 61st Emmys which take place in Los Angeles Sunday night and the Irish are well up there this year. Story / 'In Treatment star Gabriel Byrne finally embraces therapy / Click here

Hollywood cliques have been around for decades. But it’s time for the Rats, Brats and Frat boys to move over – because here comes the Pat Pack.

Reports emanating from Ireland last week suggesting that Irish promoter Brian Peters was hoping to put an Andy Lee/John Duddy fight together for November seem more speculative than definitive.

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.

Golden Globe winner and Emmy-nominated for his role as a therapist in "In Treatment," Gabriel Byrne recently opened up about how preparing for his role in the hit HBO series changed his opinion about therapy.

The Toronto Film festival, which takes place from September 10-20, will see a plethora to top Irish acting talent in attendance as Hollywood's top Irish stars are slated to turn up to support their respective movies.

The tragic story of "Irish Billy Collins" and the brutal fight which ended his career is being retold in a new documentary on HBO. "Assault in the Ring," will debut August 1 and focuses on the scandal which many consider boxing's darkest hour. The undefeated Irish Billy Collins was a rising star in 1983 when he stepped into the ring in Madison Square Garden on June 16 to fight veteran welterweight Luis Resto.

Senator Edward Kennedy was featured on a remarkable documentary on HBO this week entitled “Teddy In His Own Words,” which is well worth watching either in repeat or on HBO Rewind.

Nominations for the 61st annual Primetime Emmy Awards have been announced, and Irish and Irish-American names alike are dominating the list. As expected Irish actor Gabriel Byrne, along with his fellow “In Treatment” stars Dianne Wiest and Hope Davis, is nominated for an Emmy.

'Entourage' star Jeremy Piven is looking for an Irish wife! Piven - who plays mega agent Ari Gold in the hit HBO show - says he's fed up being single. "Maybe I should go to Ireland and see if I can do better away from Hollywood," he says.

The season six premiere of HBO’s hit series “Entourage,” which aired on Sunday night, was officially dedicated to star Kevin Connolly’s Irish-American mother, Eileen.

Vampires are so hot right now. We’ve got teenagers (and plenty of adults) swooning over “Twilight” vampire Edward Cullen (played by Robert Pattinson), while the older crowd is going nuts for HBO’s hit vampire series “True Blood.” So what does all this buzz about vampires have to do with Irishness? A lot, actually.

Irish actor Conleth Hill, the star of Woody Allen’s new film “Whatever Works,” is probably the least flashy actor you could hope to meet. But behind his low-key style, Hill has enjoyed an acting career that already outshines almost every rival of his generation.

The new movie "The Hangover" is inspiring a look back at the worst party-fueled moments of some of Hollywood's Irish stars.

With break-out Irish stars such as Saoirse Ronan and Elaine Cassidy popping on to the TV and movie scene, it looks as if the lack of Irish women in Hollywood is soon to be a thing of the past.

There’s been some great film industry news for Northern Ireland’s economy recently. Universal Pictures is bringing a major fairytale comedy to Belfast, and now it’s been announced that “Star Wars” actress Natalie Portman and “Pineapple Express” actor James Franco have booked their flights to Belfast and will star in the production.

Irish star Brendan Gleeson has been receiving rave reviews for his portrayal of British WWII prime minister Winston Churchill in HBO's "Into the Storm," directed by fellow Irish man Thaddeus O’Sullivan. The film, which is a sequel to the top-rated "The Gathering Storm" premiers tonight at 9pm EST and stars Gleeson as Churchill in the thick of World War I. Reuters said Gleeson's performance carries the film while Canada's Globe and Mail lauded Gleeson for "a rousing yet deeply personal performance."

It’s been 10 years now since HBO took a chance on a little drama called “The Sopranos” and changed the face of television. Few could gave guessed its success. But nobody would have predicted: that the Irish would come to dominate critically acclaimed drama all over the cable landscape.

Hollywood heavyweights Christopher Walken and Val Kilmer have joined the cast of  upcoming film "The Irishman" which will tell the true story of the life of infamous Irish-American mobster

Irish actor and “In Treatment” star Gabriel Byrne has revealed was physically abused by Catholic priests as a child, but he doesn’t blame them – he blames their celibacy.

HBO is set to film a new fantasy television series in Northern Ireland. The show will be the largest-scale production ever filmed there.

White, elderly audience members and expensive tickets have killed theater. At least, this is Irish actor Gabriel Byrne’s take on the state of the theater industry.

Irish leading man and Brooklyn, N.Y. resident Gabriel Byrne, 59, talks drink, depression

Gabriel Byrne is ready to hit the road this fall with an Irish soprano in an effort to promote Irish classical music.  The Sunday Tribune reports that Byrne, a recent

From Colin Farrell to Jonathan Rhys Meyers, Hollywood has introduced us to some of the sexiest stars alive – and they just happen to be Irish and Irish American.

Natasha Richardson’s family and close friends said farewell to the beautiful and talented actress, wife, mother, daughter and sister today at a small, private funeral service in upstate New York

NEW YORK — Actress Natasha Richardson has died, IrishCentral has learned

There are lists and there are lists! Some lists tell you who the richest people in the U.S. are and some lists tell you who the richest people in Ireland are. We've done some serious research and now we can reveal the list of the richest global Irish! We're gambling that you'll be as surprised as we were with the results!

Ciaran Hinds has appeared in many movies and plays over the years, yet he remains on the periphery of Hollywood stardom – it would seem by choice. Following a critically-lauded role as the Devil in Conor McPherson’s “The Seafarer,” Hinds' latest movie, “Race to Witch Mountain,” in which he plays a UFO investigator, was released this month.

Dear MTN, My name is Taylor and I have a huge problem. My family lives in NY and my parents are big fans of your column. I am presently going to school out of state.

We're about ready to don our annual dollop of green paint, so it is time to rate the good and bad of another Irish year. Irish Comeback Story of the Year: No question, Mickey Rourke in "The Wrestler," a brilliant performance by the one time IRA supporter who reached down into the depths and brought forth an acting performance for the

Martin Scorsese just can't get enough of the Irish! Just as the legendary director of "Raging Bull" and "Taxi Driver" is wrapping up his next movie (based on a novel by Irish-American best seller Dennis Lehane), word is that Scorsese's next project will explore the Irish and their role in the creation of New Jersey's gambling mecca Atlantic City. Best known for exploring the Italian-American underworld, Scorsese has been involved in numerous Irish projects in recent years. There was the epic "Gangs of New York" in 2004, starring Daniel Day-Lewis and Liam Neeson, which explored the Famine-era Irish and how they transformed 19th century New York.

The Seafarer is the booze-soaked new play opening on Broadway by Irish playwright Conor McPherson. CAHIR O'DOHERTY speaks to one of its stars, Conleth Hill.

THE devil, they say, is in the details.

OUR old friend and Wexford native Pierce Turner, who divides his time between New York and the auld sod these days, will return to Joe's Pub this December.

The singer songwriter has had his songs covered by greats like Christy Moore, and he has had some of his tunes grace the soundtrack to the ultra hip HBO show The Wire, which used a huge chunk of his killer cover version of "Dirty Old Town".

Oscar nominated director and screenwriter Jim Sheridan went so far as to say seeing Turner live gave him the strength and inspiration to make the Oscar winning My Left Foot.

Gabriel Byrne has won critical plaudits and a whole new set of adoring fans thanks to his starring role on the HBO therapy series "In Treatment," which ends its successful first season run this week.

It's certainly been hard work for Byrne filming the five nights a week series, in which his psychiatrist character Dr. Paul Weston is in every scene, so he's probably glad of the break.

Immigrant rights have become one of the largest civil rights issues of our era, with the undocumented playing the moving targets. In The Visitor, the latest film from award-winning Irish American actor/director Thomas McCarthy, the filmmaker explores both sides of an explosive national debate. CAHIR O'DOHERTY speaks to McCarthy about the film.

THE movie event of the summer - at least in our eyes - won't see the light of day in several Irish cities.

Sex and the City - The Movie opens here on May 30, but one of Ireland's biggest cineplex chains, IMC, says it will not distribute the film. It's not because of moral outrage over, say, Samantha's sexy antics, but rather a dispute with a British company that's handling the distribution.

Endgame

By Samuel Beckett

Starring John Tuturro, Elaine Stritch

Playing at the Brooklyn Academy of Art

Reviewed by Cahir O'Doherty

IT all comes down to this in the end - you and your own mortality. And the irony is that even if you're surrounded you'll be on your own.

If that sounds bleak, well it is, but it can be strangely funny too.

Michael Patrick King is the Irish American writer and director of Sex and the City: The Movie, the sure to be blockbuster that finally arrives in theaters on Friday. He talks to CAHIR O'DOHERTY about his Irish background, bringing the iconic series to the big screen, and the enduring importance of love and friendship.

MICHAEL Patrick King didn't start at the top.

Mark Wahlberg grew up in a tough Irish American suburb of Boston and has the war stories to prove it. But his early years dropping out of high school and getting into trouble are long behind him and now he's one of the highest paid screen actors in the world. CAHIR O'DOHERTY reports from the press launch of his new film, The Happening.

Actor Barry McGovern is regarded as Ireland's finest interpreter of Samuel Beckett's works. This month he'll perform his hit one-man show I'll Go On at New York's Lincoln Center Festival as part of Gate/Beckett, a program of three Beckett works also featuring Liam Neeson and Ralph Fiennes. CAHIR O'DOHERTY talks to McGovern about the show and the famous company he's keeping.

The movie event of the year for fans of Sex and the City finally arrives this week. APRIL DREW spoke to some Irish fans of the show to get their thoughts.GIRLS far and wide have finally found an excuse to wear their horrendously expensive pair of Manolo Blahniks, a sexy cocktail dress and sport the most fabulous bag in town while confidently strutting their stuff on their way to the much anticipated Sex and the City: The Movie which hits theaters this Friday.

THOUGH a proposed November 6 fight in Westbury, Long Island is off, undefeated Derry native John Duddy (25-0, 17 KOs) is slated to fight Michi Munoz (21-2, 14 KOs) at the Roseland Ballroom on either November 13 or November 21.

"The November 6 date is dead and buried. We are not going ahead with that," Duddy's promoter Eddie McLoughlin of Irish Ropes told the Irish Voice.