Finding Jews in Ireland is not an easy task. Of Ireland’s 4.4 million people, only 2,000 or so are Jewish. But finding a menorah, the eight branched candle that celebrates Hanukkah – that’s a cinch.

The Football Association of Ireland has lodged an official complaint with soccer's governing body FIFA over the controversial handball by Thierry Henry which dumped Ireland out of the play-offs for the 2010 World Cup. And the FAI has cited precedent for the game to be replayed.

American born artist Daniel Mark Duffy has been on the receiving end of a moral debate on modern Ireland. The artist’s provocative nude portraits have drawn both criticism and praise from all corners of Irish society.

It has emerged that the DUP politician Iris Robinson, also known as the "wicked witch of the North," has 10 Catholic cousins.

The former president of the High Court, Justice Richard Johnson, has called for a referendum to reintroduce the recently abolished death penalty in Ireland.

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton played a major role in securing the release of Irish priest Fr. Michael Sinnott. The priest was kidnapped 32 days ago by a radical group of Islamic militants called the Moro Islamic Liberation Front.

The kidnapped Irish Catholic priest, Fr Michael Sinnott, has been released without injury in the Philippines. Arriving at Manila Airport, the 79-year-old Wexford priest even tried to make light of his experience. "Because I am a bit old and I found hiking a bit difficult at times, I think that they'd be glad to kidnap a younger man the next time," he said.

Certainly Irish leaders are called on to comment on everything, but Taoiseach (Prime Minister) Brian Cowen probably took it a bit too far when he answered a question about “Jedward."

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

According to a recent study, Dublin has the highest rate of gun murder in Europe. The rate is almost as high as some cities in the U.S. like Washington D.C. So far this year, 19 gun murders, all of which were gang related, have occurred in Ireland’s capital city, which has a population of 1.2 million.

Former Progressive Democrat and junior minister, Tom Parlon has denied tipping a chauffeur $2,620 while on a state trip to Atlanta as part of the St. Patrick Day celebrations in 2006.

Government officials have warned Irish Minister for Finance that high earners are likely to flee Ireland if he raises taxes again in the Budget, set for next month. Currently many key Irish figures including U2 members, and billionaires

The great review in The New York Times on Monday for "The New Electric Ballroom," the new play by Irish playwright Enda Walsh, further reinforces the remarkable story of Irish success in New York in recent years.

Labor Party leader Eamon Gilmore has claimed Ireland is “hurtling headlong into a period of conflict, strife and division.” His warning came as talks resumed between government and unions on public sector pay -- and as exchequer returns for the first 10 months of the year revealed a deficit of €22.7 ($33.7) billion.

Former Taoiseach (prime minister) John Bruton has returned to Ireland after his five-year stint as EU ambassador to Washington, D.C. came to an end on Friday.

The Bank of Ireland is reeling today after it announced losses of €1 ($1.4) billion for the half year accounting time up to the end of September.

Abuse victims submitted a petition to the Northern Ireland Assembly Monday demanding that an inquiry be established that would investigate institutional abuse in church run institutions in Northern Ireland in the same way the Ryan Report documented the abuses in the South.

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

Be it the economic downturn or the increase in apparitions across the country, the number of those attending Mass in Ireland is on the up.

Bob McCann, a leading figure in the American Ireland Fund in New York, has been appointed UBS new head of wealth management in America. McCann will oversee 8,000 financial advisors and almost $700 billion in assets at UBS.

A new "White House" is planned for Ireland as part of an ambitious entertainment complex in County Tipperary. The Irish White House would form the center-piece of an $680m 800-acre development which would also include a concert venue, golf course, casino and racecourse.

Would-be Irish parents face a heartbreaking wait to see if they can still adopt their children after Russia put Ireland on an adoption blacklist. About 100 adoptive children have been affected by the blacklist.

Have you heard the one about the Irish politician who recommends a drink for nervous drivers? Well, now you have. Tipperary Fianna Fail politician Mattie McGrath says "jumpy" drivers could be better drivers if they had a drink to steady their nerves.

Threats by Ryanair bosses have sparked fears that Shannon Airport in Ireland’s west will become deserted.

A new book by an American author is claiming that Eamon De Valera was so afraid of losing his life during the 1916 Rising that he turned informant for the British.

Planning a trip to Dublin but strapped for cash? There’s no end to the free fun to be had all over the nation’s capital with museums, visitors centers, scenic attractions and tourists trails.

An Irish politician has claimed that he is taking a stand for the traditional Irish farmer who wants to have a pint on his way home.

The inaugural meeting of the newly formed Irish American Leadership Council took place last Friday in New York, with a robust exchange of ideas among members and Irish government leaders on how to maximize the multi-tiered relationship between Ireland and the Irish community in the U.S.

Irish Voice Senior Editor Debbie McGoldrick answers your immigration questions, queries and concerns. This week: passport issues.

Fine Gael leader Enda Kenny is risking an internal party spilt over controversial plans to abolish the Seanad, Ireland’s non-elected second house of Parliament, if he is returned to power in the next general election. Kenny stunned TDs (members of the lower house, the Dail), and particularly senators when he made the announcement in front of 1,300 party members at the annual Fine Gael presidential

Stephen Gately’s husband Andrew Cowles will get the Boyzone singer’s €11m estate, and the Gately family reportedly has no intentions of challenging the decision.

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 New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) has announced plans to open an operational center in Belfast that will create up to 400 jobs.

The Irish Government has despatched the government jet to bring Sharon Commins home from the Sudan after she was released

The Irish population in America should rally around immigration reform, said Micheal Martin, Minister for Foreign Affairs, in New York on Saturday. Reform will take place in the first three months of 2010, and the question of undocumented Irish will be part of a comprehensive review of the immigration system.

Thousands of mourners turned up to pay their respects to Stephen Gately, the Boyzone star who died last weekend in Majorca, at his funeral in Dublin Saturday.

Irish American activists are seeking to make the Irish government responsible for the maltreatment of young Irish women forced to work in Laundries. According to Mari Steed, spokeswoman of the group Justice for Magdalenes, the Irish government was complicit in the abuse the women suffered and owes them an apology and compensation.

SECRETARY of State Hillary Clinton has made it crystal clear in her visit to Ireland that she and the Obama administration are giving the Irish peace process a very high priority indeed. It is also very welcome that she dropped the ludicrous “no special deal” nonsense when she talked about the undocumented Irish and the need to address that issue.

NOW that Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s Irish visit is over, and she most definitely acted as negotiator and envoy herself in Northern Ireland, as well as appointing economic envoy Declan Kelly, it is interesting to note who got this story right and who got it wrong in the preceding few months.

Fianna Fail TD Seamus Kirk became the 16th Ceann Comhairle (Speaker of the House) in the history of the Dail (Irish Parliament) Tuesday after John O’Donoghue resigned the position.

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

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has thanked the Irish government for accepting two prisoners from Guantanamo Bay.

Hillary Clinton met with Taoiseach (Irish Prime Minister) Brian Cowen and President Mary McAleese and discussed the situation of Irish undocumented in the U.S. as well as Northern Ireland and global economic issues.

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton arrives in Dublin today and Belfast tomorrow amid speculation that she can help ensure a dramatic breakthrough in the current impasse in Northern Ireland.

Irish writer Cecelia Ahern, the daughter of former Taoiseach (Irish Prime Minister) Bertie Ahern, thought she was pregnant with twins until recently.

I was in Galway speaking at a media conference, and the anger that welled up when the discussion turned to what has happened to Ireland in the past 12 months was palpable.

The Speaker of Ireland's parliament has become the first casualty of the massive recession and the anger over political spending.

Former Taoiseach (Irish Prime Minister) Bertie Ahern reveals in his upcoming book “Bertie Ahern: The Autobiography” that the breakdown of his marriage was one of the hardest things he had to go though in his life.

Fr. Aengus Finucane, an African aid pioneer and founder of the Third World charity Concern, has died. The 77-year-old passed away in the Spiritan Fathers’ nursing home in Kimmage in Dublin after a short illness.

A Donegal storeowner and cigarette company Philip Morris are filing suit against the Irish government at the High Court on Tuesday against the administration's ban on cigarette displays in stores.