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.

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 .

  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

Darren Sutherland, a young Irish professional boxer from Dublin whose amateur career was crowned by a bronze medal for Ireland in the middleweight division at the 2008 Olympics in China was found dead at home today by his manager.

The name Dunne is derived a color - donn, the Gaelic word for brown. This is relatively unusual since the vast majority of Gaelic names are based on relationships, i.e.

Keough, Keogh, Kehoe, O'Hoey, Hoy, Haughy, Haugh and MacKeogh are all derivatives of the Irish surname Mac Eochaidh. The clan originated in Leinster, and the name is common in County Wexford, and in the Munster counties of Limerick and Tipperary, where the Irish spelling is MagCeoch or MacCeoch. In medieval times the MacKeoghs from Leinster moved from Kildare to Wicklow and then down to Wexford.

Irish and Irish-Americans alike tend to be immensely proud of their surnames. But which last names win in the battle of Irishness? Here are the top 10 most popular Irish last names.

The Carlin name is found in County Limerick, where they held a family seat in ancient times, as well as in the counties of Meath, Derry, Cavan, Monaghan and Tyrone. The name is derived from the original Gaelic forms, O Caireallain and O Cearbhallain.

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.

Bertie Ahern watchers out there will be glad to know that our former taoiseach (prime minister) has finally found a new role in life after absconding from office before he could be blamed for the fine mess we are currently in.

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

As American fans prepare for next week's premier of “Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince” , IrishCentral is celebrating the movie’s Irish star, Evanna Lynch.

When you think "Irish America" you think Catholicism in the U.S., JFK , St. Patrick's Day parades and Irish pride. But Irish-American ties run deeper than one might expect on first glance.

Dublin absolutely destroyed hapless Westmeath in Sunday’s Leinster SFC semifinal at Croke Park as they found their scoring boots with a vengeance, but manager Pat Gilroy was keeping his feet on the ground afterward.

Dublin claimed a rare victory over Wexford and booked their place in a first Leinster Senior Hurling Championship final since 1991, following a two-point victory at Nowlan Park on Sunday.

There was a dramatic day of Championship action on Sunday, with games in all four provinces. Tipperary produced a fine display to see off a resilient Cork in Semple Stadium on a scoreline of 1-19 to

Wexford progressed into the semi-finals of the Leinster SHC after a commanding seven-point decision over Offaly at Wexford Park on Saturday evening.

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.

The Ulster Championship stumbled into action with a somewhat unexpected win for Fermanagh over a misfiring Down side at Brewster Park, while Louth needed to use all their guile and experience to get past Carlow in Leinster.

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

The Division One final went to extra time in Thurles with Kilkenny beating Tipperary, while Offaly defeated Wexford in the Division Two decider.

One of the most common names in Ireland, the Murphy clan has distinguished itself in every field. Among them were an Army chaplain, poet, war hero, police commissioner, and mistress. The name Murphy, the most common and widespread name in Ireland, is a derivation of the Gaelic personal name of Murchadh or Murragh, which gave rise to the different versions MacMurchadh (son of Murchadh) and O'Murchadh (descendant of Murchadh).

Competition 26 Girls 15 - 16 results Entry Name School Rank 135 Heather Carr Sylvan Kelly : Mayo, Ireland 1 164 Niamh Taylor Doherty : Belfast,

GALWAY defender Kieran Fitzgerald suffered a broken bone in his arm as Corofin lost to Kilmacud Crokes in the All-Ireland club SFC semifinal on Saturday. Crokes will now meet Crossmaglen Rangers in the All-Ireland final after their win over Limerick's Dromcollogher Broadford . .

A GREAT football man left the field of life this week with the passing of coaching legend Noel O'Reilly in Dublin's Mater Hospital on Friday evening.

A truly remarkable character, Noel was involved in some of the greatest days in Irish football as right hand man to underage supremo Brian Kerr.

A balding eagle if ever there was one, O'Reilly was one of those jovial characters who lived for the game and only for the game.

GALWAY and Antrim will both play in the Leinster hurling championship next season after a radical vote to amend the structure of the provincial game was passed at a Special Congress in Croke Park on Saturday.

Delegates from Dublin, Offaly and Wexford all spoke out against the proposal, but an 80% yes vote ensured the changes will come into place next year.

The move has been welcomed by GAA President Nickey Brennan, who also confirmed that Leinster Championship games could be played outside the province next season if Galway or Antrim receive home draws.

SEAN Boylan was almost in tears as Ireland defeated Australia in Melbourne on Friday night to secure victory in the Compromise Rules series and bring the Cormac McAnallen Cup home. The visitors lifted the trophy for the first time since 2004 on a 57-53 aggregate score to the delight of Boylan and his squad.

"To me this is an extremely nostalgic night, just to see Sean Cavanagh going up there tonight," said Boylan after McAnallen's former Tyrone teammate Cavanagh lifted the trophy.

The names O'Byrne and O'Beirne (or Byrne and Beirne), often regarded as variants of the same root, are, in fact, totally different. O'Byrne is derived from the Gaelic O'Broin meaning "descended from Bran", the 11th century King of Leinster. The O'Byrnes were chieftains of what is now County Kildare until the Norman invasion when they were driven from their lands into the mountains of County Wicklow.

The names Fitzgerald, Fitzpatrick and others with the prefix "Fitz" are numerous in Ireland. The name-form, however, is Norman and most of the families arrived in Ireland during the 12th century. The Normans, who were French in origin, conquered many parts of Ireland but gradually adopted the Gaelic language and customs and to a great extent assimilated with the native population, becoming more Irish than the Irish themselves.

The name Connolly is derived from several different roots. In Connaught and Monaghan it derives from the Gaelic O'Coingeallaigh. Both are anglicized to Connolly although the spelling form Connelly is often found in Galway.

Unlike many Irish family names, the origin of the Kavanaghs or Cavanaghs can be traced back to one specific person. This was Donal, the son of Dermot McMorrough, a twelfth-century king of Leinster. This Dermot has an infamous place in Irish history since it was through his invitation that the Normans first came to Ireland, in 1169 AD.

Although Reynolds is also an English name of Norman origin, almost all of the Irish Reynolds are derived from the Gaelic name MacRaghnaill which means "Son of Ragnall", a form of Fandal or Reginald. The name is most commonly anglicized as Reynolds, but it also occurs as Mac-Rannal and Grannell. The MacRaghnaill or Reynolds family were a prominent clan in the southern half of County Leitrim where they held the territory of Moylish, which included their castles at Lough Scur and Rinn.

Success is a good word to define the O'Toole family, as translating the word "tuathal" into English literally means prosperous. The origin of the O'Toole name comes from a tenth-century king of Leinster, and the O'Tooles grew to be one of the dominant groups in the county. Initially, they settled in Kildare, but later fled to Wicklow to avoid the Normans.

The O'Connor name, with its varied spellings, doesn't spring from a common source. The name arose in five areas of Ireland: Connacht, Kerry, Derry, Offaly, and Clare and split into six distinct septs, five of which are still in existence.

The O'Briens are an illustrious and prominent clan that has shaped the history of Ireland. The name, also spelt O'Bryan or O'Brian, means "of Brian" indicating descendance from Brian Borumha mac Cennetig, or Brian Boru, the celebrated High King of Ireland.

TYRONE will provide Kerry with a stiff All-Ireland final challenge in just over a two weeks -- and manager Mickey Harte can't wait to take on the Sam Maguire Cup holders. The Ulster side booked their place with a well deserved 0-23 to 1-14 win over surprise packets Wexford in Croke Park on Sunday.

"It's very satisfying to be back in an All-Ireland final.