United States Supreme Court Justice John Roberts and Maryland Governor Martin O’Malley were among the distinguished guests at the Irish Voice’s Irish Legal 100 reception held last Wednesday evening, November 11, at the Washington, D.C. residence of the Irish Ambassador to the U.S. Michael Collins.

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.

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.

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.

Mourners gathered at St. Peter's Roman Catholic Church on Staten Island Saturday to bury the dead, but this was no ordinary funeral. Members of the Ancient Order of Hibernians escorted two caskets - one a small, white children's casket with golden angels; the other larger and pearl-colored - into the church as bagpipes played "Amazing Grace." The two coffins contained the final remains of immigrants who died over 150 years ago.

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.

It is quite an image... Maureen Dowd, scourge of every president since Poppy Bush and, arguably, the most powerful journalist in America thanks to her must-read column in The New York Times, talking of the road not taken, living a quiet life as a barkeep's wife back in Clare. Maybe that image isn’t so fanciful, though.

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.

“[T]he Kennedys were the spiritual and political leaders of the most nauseating, ignorant and sentimental of any US ethnic minority.” Do you recognize yourselves in that description? Didn't think so, but that's how the Irish Independent's Kevin Myers described us this week.

Senator Edward Kennedy - who freely acknowledged that his own family would not be allowed to immigrate to the U.S. now - was a real champion for the undocumented Irish.

While mourning the death of Irish author Frank McCourt on Sunday, his friends and relations were consoled by the knowledge that -- although taken too soon -- McCourt had lived a rich life and had achieved every goal he had set himself.

Filming is ready to begin on Steven Spielberg’s next movie, “Lincoln,” starring Ballymena-born actor Liam Neeson. In a role that’s set to be the Irish actor’s greatest to date, Neeson will play U.S. President Abraham Lincoln in the biopic opposite Sally Field, who will portray his wife, Mary Todd Lincoln.

Dan Rooney was sworn in as U.S. Ambassador to Ireland by Senator Hillary Clinton in a ceremony that took place in the Treaty Room at the State Department today.

The military coat worn by Liam Neeson in iconic Irish film “Michael Collins” sold for thousands of dollars at a recent London auction.

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."

A large crowd gathered at the Irish Cultural Center of New England in Canton, Massachusetts on Monday night to hear from the Irish Lobby for Immigration Reform (ILIR).

Actor rejects suggestions that de Valera had a part to play in Michael Collins' death and is unhappy with the portrayal of de Valera in Neil Jordan's film.

When our resident film critic picked her Top 10 Irish movies of all time, she provoked a storm of protest from many of our readers. So here, we let our readers have their pick.

Niall O'Dowd: Somewhere in Australia there's an Irish lad called Rowan McCormick who broke Maureen Dowd's heart. When she went back in the early 1970s to visit her homestead in County Clare, hard by the majestic Cliffs of Moher, she met him and fell madly in love.

Colin Farrell attended two elite private high schools. Gabriel Byrne starting acting classes at the age of 29. See the different roads to stardom for top Irish actors.

The Irish government is shortly expected to announce that two new Irish consulates will be established in the U.S. It is believed that Houston and

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

For decades, one simple question has split the Irish on both sides of the Atlantic into two warring factions: Do you love or loathe "The Quiet Man," that 1952 stage Irish classic starring John Wayne and Maureen O'Hara, and directed by John Ford? Ford himself was often more Irish than the Irish themselves, making up an ultra-Gaelic name for himself, and playing the role of a fervent Irish nationalist. But as an epic new biography of Ford shows, there was no need for Ford to exaggerate his background: his family was tight with the IRA, and Ford visited Ireland during the Civil War, riling British authorities. He later shared a boat back to the States with Michael Collins.

Proudly citing Irish ancestry or influence is truly a global phenomenon. Tom Hayden (whose previous books "The IRA," "The Troubles," "Michael Collins" and "De Valera" were all critically acclaimed best-sellers) takes a decidedly broad view of Irish influence in this book.

Nevertheless, he makes a convincing case that, as a result of immigration, imperialism and missionary activity, the Irish who scattered across the world have indeed left a distinctive mark, from Japan to South Africa to Latin America.

Irish Civil War veteran Ernie O' Malley first published his account of Ireland's war-torn years in 1935. Entitled "On Another Man's Wound," O' Malley offers a unique chronicle of the Irish War for Independence and the subsequent Civil War. (The Irish edition was called "Army Without Banners: Adventures of an Irish Volunteer.

It's a diverse group of characters who populate "Great Irish Heroes" by Danny Conlon and Alan Barter. But this book shows that you can go a bit too far in trying to tap into the vast Irish-American reading market. The authors manage to find room for Michael Collins and Tom Barry, but also Billy the Kid, President Teddy Roosevelt (some of whose distant ancestors came from Antrim in 1729) and even all the residents of the Great Blasket Island.

Given the Hollywood movie as well as Tim Pat Coogan's respected biography, it would seem that readers would not need another bio of Michael Collins much less a 500-page one. But Peter Hart's "Mick: The Real Michael Collins" claims to offer a new perspective on the life of the Irish rebel leader. Hart is the Canada Research Chair of Irish Studies at Memorial University of Newfoundland as well as the author of The I.

Learning a little bit about author Michael Collins is enough to, well, make you hate him for being so talented. Born in Limerick, he came to the U.S.

Julia Roberts and Sean Connery may have won Oscars, but that doesn't mean they can pull off a believable Irish accent . See who else made the list of worst movie attempts at an Irish accent, including two more Oscar winners.

MARCH is the biggest month of the year for our bloodline. Everything Irish is hot for the party that starts now and ends sometime later this month. For one band, this month will be about telling stories from the front lines of the war.

ROBERT Redford is 71 years old, and he'd still give any young buck in Hollywood a run for their millions both in the looks and intelligence department, if his trip to Dublin last week is anything to go by. Redford received an honorary degree from Trinity College, alongside the likes of former Irish President Mary Robinson, and he spent a couple of days in the city touring around and taking in the sights and sounds. He spoke at a public forum in Trinity on the eve of his conferral and had some interesting things to say about his life and political views .

You've seen many of Neil Jordan's films, from 1985's "Mona Lisa" right up to 2003's "The Good Thief." Now authors Emer and Kevin Rockett offer a valuable look back at the director's diverse body of work in "Neil Jordan: Exploring Boundaries." Once you delve back into Jordan's often dazzling career, it's sometimes hard to believe the director of Irish classics such as "The Crying Game," "The Butcher Boy" and "Michael Collins" also helmed the Robert DeNiro-Sean Penn caper "We're No Angels" and the sumptuous, English-set World War II film "The End of the Affair.

AS you likely read in the Irish Voice last week, the new Irish ambassador to the U.S., Michael Collins, formally presented his credentials to President Bush last week at an Oval Office meeting.

ILIR vice chairman Ciaran Staunton held a two-hour meeting with the Department of Foreign Affairs in Dublin last week. Staunton met with Foreign Affairs Minister Micheal Martin and the new secretary general of the department, David Cooney. Staunton said he was heartened by the Irish government's commitment to the issue.

Politicians of all parties this week marked the 90th anniversary of the first meeting of Dail Eireann (Irish Parliament) held in the Mansion House in Dublin, when Ireland was still under British rule. Members of both the current Dail and the upper house, the Seanad, held a joint anniversary meeting in the Mansion House on Tuesday, the eve of the first assembly, and Sinn Fein celebrated the event with its own gathering on Wednesday, the actual anniversary. The four living former taoisigh (prime ministers), Liam Cosgrave, Garret Fitzgerald, Albert Reynolds and Bertie Ahern, were in the public gallery along with descendants of members of the first Dail, including Michael Collins' grand-nieces Nora Owen, a former Justice Minister, and her sister Mary Banotti, former Member of the European Parliament.

Silicon Valley's top innovators and business leaders have some strong advice for Ireland's emerging technology sector.

In a conference at Trinity College in Dublin last week Silicon Valley's Irish Technology Leadership Group (ITLG) told the audience that Irish technology start-ups need to develop global ambitions if they want to attract overseas investors.

While in Ireland the group met with Taoiseach (Prime Minister) Brian Cowen and President Mary McAleese, and stressed that Ireland needs to invest more in the technology sector.

IN the run up to the Democratic convention last week the media was obsessed with the notion that Hillary Clinton supporters would not come across the aisle and get behind Barack Obama because of the bitter primary fight. So did the Clinton contingent at the Denver convention really warm to Obama, as many media reports reported?

Stella O'Leary, president of Irish American Democrats, the leading Irish lobbying group and a dedicated supporter of Clinton, thinks Obama did just about enough to bring over the Hillary support.

"I think we'll come around, some quite reluctantly," she said in an interview.

IRISH Ambassador to the U.S. Michael Collins was accorded a major honor by the White House when he and his wife Marie were guests of honor at a welcoming dinner at Blair House, opposite the White House, where visiting world leaders often stay.

ON Monday, March 17, Taoiseach (Prime Minister) Bertie Ahern and President George Bush exchanged traditional St. Patrick's Day pleasantries at the White House over a green bowl of shamrocks. Ahern spoke of the relationship both countries have enjoyed down through the years.

MINISTER for Enterprise, Trade and Employment Micheal Martin began a weeklong trade mission in the U.S. on Monday.

TAOISEACH (Irish Prime Minister) arrived in Washington on Tuesday evening in preparation for his address to the joint houses of the U.S. Congress on Wednesday morning, April 30.

The Irish Lobby for Immigration Reform (ILIR) met with Irish Foreign Affairs Minister Dermot Ahern on Thursday, May 1 in an effort to heal a recent rift between the parties on the issue of the Irish undocumented immigrants The meeting, which took place at 8 am, comprised of ILIR chairman Niall O'Dowd, Vice-Chairman Ciaran Staunton, Executive Director Kelly Fincham, former Congressman Bruce Morrison, San Francisco board member Bart Murphy and ILIR President Jeff Cleary. From the Irish Government there was Ahern, Secretary General of the Department Dermot Gallagher Irish Ambassador to the U.S.

THE congressional Friends of Ireland group hosted a special reception in honor of Taoiseach Bertie Ahern after his speech. Congressman Joe Crowley of New York told reporters that he felt Ahern's speech was well received."It was a very emotional speech especially when he spoke about the tragic events of 9/11 and all the Irish names he mentioned," said Crowley.

SENATOR Edward Kennedy, 76, who was diagnosed with brain cancer on Tuesday, is in the thoughts of Irish Americas around the country, and fans of the Kennedy family in Ireland.An Irish government spokesperson said the Irish Ambassador to Washington, Michael Collins, had been in contact with the Kennedys since the senator's admission to hospital to express the government's concern.On Tuesday Irish American leaders responded to the shocking news.

TAOISEACH (Prime Minister) Brian Cowen announced last week during his first visit to the U.S. as Irish leader that a strategic assessment of the relationship between Ireland and the U.

Stella O'Leary, president of Irish American Democrats, will host a lunch in Denver next week during the Democratic National Convention, to celebrate Senator Barack Obama's shared Irish and African ancestry.

Irish Ministers Mary Hanafin and Noel Dempsey, and opposition party leaders Enda Kenny and Eamon Gilmore are among the Irish political figures expected to attend the event.

"On Tuesday we're organizing an Irish party for 200 people at the Celtic Tavern in Denver.

Irish American Republicans have confirmed that there is a pledge in the Republican platform to continue the special U.S. envoy to Ireland.

Taoiseach (Prime Minister) Brian Cowen has announced his plan to conduct a historic all Ireland-U.S. strategic review of the relationship between Northern Ireland, the Republic of Ireland and the U.

Let's have a look at a few things that happened in January history. January 12th 1932 - Hattie W. Caraway becomes the first woman elected to the United States Senate.