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

An Irish-born Archbishop has been suspended by the Vatican over an allegation that he carried on a 20-year relationship with a woman that began when she was only 14. The archbishop is currently said to be in the U.S. and once served in New Jersey.

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

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.

Guinness will celebrate its 250th birthday with a worldwide series of Arthur’s Day events on Thursday. Starting at 5:59 p.m. – or 17.59, according to most Guinness drinkers – when the first pint was brewed by Arthur Guinness himself, the unofficial national beverage of Ireland will kick off an array of musical acts.

An Irish Facebook user has fallen victim to an international scam whereby fraudsters hijack a user's account and pretend to be the user. The scammers hack into the user's Facebook account and then message all the friends saying they've been mugged in

Republic of Ireland boss Giovanni Trapattoni confirmed that Sean St Ledger will start the World Cup qualifier against Bulgaria.

Giovanni Trapattoni has earmarked Bulgaria as the biggest threat to his team’s World Cup hopes ahead of Saturday night’s Group Eight showdown in Sofia.

The Republic of Ireland played out a 1-1 draw with Nigeria in a friendly on Friday at Craven Cottage in London.

The Republic of Ireland have been dealt a minor setback with the decision by goalkeeper Dean Kiely to quit the squad.

Shay Given and Caleb Folan both turned up to the Republic of Ireland training camp carrying knocks.

Cathal Dervan on the senseless murder of a man by a group of thugs last weekend in County Derry

Kevin Doyle has been given some extra time to prove his fitness ahead of the Republic of Ireland's match with Bulgaria.

Republic of Ireland boss Giovanni Trapattoni has named a 25-man for the friendly against Nigeria and the World Cup qualifier against Bulgaria.

A pregnant British woman, who's mother lives in Ireland, faces the death penalty in Laos on charges of drug smuggling

The 2009 Houston International Festival, honoring Ireland, returns to downtown Houston April 18-19 and 25-26, 2009, featuring continuous music, dance and cultural performances on 12 stages. Traditional Celtic music and dance will be showcased on Center Stage, built over the Reflection Pool in front of Houston’s City Hall. Headliners include

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

At the age of 10 in 1968, Brendan O'Leary was the only Catholic boy at the all-Protestant St. MacNissi's College in Northern Ireland. That meant he had to learn how to persuade the boys lining up to hammer him not to bother.

"A YOUNG hurling player who was the subject of racial taunts at a match last week has received an apology from the GAA.

"The association issued the apology after Teboga Sebala, who is originally from Nigeria but has been living in Carlow town for the last four years, was racially abused as he played for Eire Og in an under-14 semifinal against O'Hanrahan's.

"He was reported to have been the subject of persistent racist taunts by several spectators during the match.

When football season's in full swing I'm in the mood for a pie and a pint at half time. Now this pie you won't find down St. Andrews, but it's easy to make and you can have it whilst watching the game at home.

COBH Ramblers were the big losers when the FAI's licensing committee granted licenses for the new season on Monday. The Cork side has been demoted to the League of Ireland's A Division, with Kildare County re-instated in the First Division. Athlone Town, Cork City and Kildare were given licenses on the basis that financial commitments they have made will be honored before the start of the 2009 season .

KENNY Egan found comfort in a silver lining as he accepted China's win and Xiaoping Zhang's gold medal at the Worker's Gymnasium on Sunday. Egan lost the light-heavyweight final by four points, 11 to 7, but it was the erratic nature of the scoring that hurt the huge Irish crowd at the venue the most.

Matters came to a head at the end of the third round of four when Egan landed the punch that would have tied the fight at six points apiece, but incredibly the judges gave the point to Zhang.

Ireland Left Out In Visas

THE annual list of successful applicants for the Schumer DV-1 diversity visas was released again this week, and it makes hard reading for anyone Irish and undocumented.

The Schumer diversity visas called after Senator Chuck Schumer from New York who created the scheme was an Irish American initiative back in the early 1990s after the death of the Morrison and Donnelly visa programs. The idea was that a percentage of visas would go to countries that currently have no access to America.