Niall O'Dowd: Dr. Rowan Williams, Archbishop of Canterbury, has spoken out on the need for Catholic and Anglican dialogue. That all sounds very reasonable, but Williams is head of the Established Church which stopped at nothing in its day to end Catholicism as we now know it. They made Pope Benedict's efforts to win over Anglicans look like a child's tea party. Today's Anglicans may well be saying why "can't we all get along" but their predecessors were utterly savage in their fury towards Catholics.

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

Robert Reynolds: Since Sarah Palin once famously said she didn't know whether Africa was a continent, we in the global Irish community are left to wonder whether she could have ever unscrambled the difference between England, Britain and the so-called United Kingdom. Alas, we won't have to wait too long for Palin's wit (?) and wisdom (?!). Her new book comes out Monday.

Members of the Irish community gathered at a memorial Mass in New York Thursday to remember Sen. Edward Kennedy just over 12 weeks after his death. The senator’s son, Edward Kennedy Jr., Christine Quinn, Speaker of New York City Council, and Irish Consul General Niall Burgess were among those present.

A massive search is currently underway in Maghaberry prison in Northern Ireland after it was suspected that dissident republicans smuggled a small quantity of the plastic explosive Semtex into the prison.

A man has been arrested for the murder of undercover British army officer Robert Nairac, one of the most infamous killings of the Troubles during the 1970s.

Sometimes when you get chatting to a person who has emigrated from Ireland, you can catch a glimpse of the country’s own evolution over the last thirty or so years. That’s very much the case with Buncrana, County Donegal man Turlough McConnell, whose writing and music took him first to Dublin and then on to New York.

For the first time ever, the owners of the famous Carrick-a-Rede rope bridge in the North have decided to scoff at the wind and rain of a typical Irish winter and keep the daredevil tourist attraction open all year round.

Protests by Irish women's groups have knocked out boxer Mike Tyson. The former heavyweight champion and convicted rapist was scheduled to appear along with Irish boxing legend Barry McGuigan Friday at "An Evening with Mike Tyson."

IRA dissidents - backed by IRA veterans - now pose a major threat to peace in Northern Ireland. That's according to the Independent Monitoring Commission which says the security threat is the highest since the 1996 Good Friday Peace Agreement.

“Ardnaglass On The Air,” the comedy farce by Jimmy Kerr and directed by critically acclaimed writer and actress Geraldine Hughes, will be presented as a fundraiser by the New York Irish Center.

Bridget English: On the bus ride back we drove through lush countryside and towns like Monaghan and Omagh. These towns, though smaller than Derry, seemed equally appealing. While there is much beauty to be found in Southern countryside, the North feels unspoiled, ripe with possibility and well worth a visit.

A Protestant farmer in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland says his pregnant sheep were attacked in an act of sectarian hostility.

1,500 licensed drinking establishments have closed in Ireland over the past five years, according to a report published by the Drinks Industry Group of Ireland.

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

The Ancient Order of Hibernians (AOH) and the Irish American Unity Conference (IAUC) have joined together in a renewed effort to support an independent truth commission to deal with the past in Northern Ireland following last week's Congressional hearing into collusion there.

Ireland has a long and bloody history, which means that naturally, haunted places can be found all over the country. We’ve done our research here at IrishCentral and come up with what we think are the 10 most haunted places in all of the Emerald Isle.

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.

Raymond McCord, 53, the father of a Belfast man murdered by Loyalist paramilitaries in 1997 took his campaign to bring his son’s killers to justice to Capitol Hill last Thursday. McCord, a staunch Unionist, told a House of Representatives subcommittee he believes there was collusion between the Northern Irish security forces and the Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF) in the killing of his son.

Halloween killer Torrens Knight has been sent back to jail in Northern Ireland after his Good Friday early release license was suspended. Knight was one of the four loyalist gang members who took part in the notorious Greysteel massacre in 1993 in which eight people were killed and 13 were wounded.

After years of drink, drugs and debauchery in New York and San Francisco’s well-known Irish haunts, author Colin Broderick finally cleaned up his act and wrote a searing new book about his life. Then, as though by magic, came Barack Obama’s literary agent and a major book deal.

The demonologist who investigated the infamous Amityville murders has been called to Ireland to help out a Belfast family who believes they’re being visited by a ghost.

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

Collusion between British security forces and loyalist terrorists in Northern Ireland was the focus of hearings on Capitol Hill this week in Washington.

Sport Northern Ireland will be sending over representatives to tempt NYC runners to sign up for next year’s marathon in Northern Ireland by jangling the carrot of an all-expenses-paid trip to the 29th running of the Deep RiverRock-sponsored Belfast City Marathon on May 3, 2010.

Welcome to Ireland’s revitalized North and Northwest! Even the hip Lonely Planet Bluelist proclaims Northern Ireland as the hot new destination, and cites Belfast as one of the top cities on the rise.

Two upcoming films starring Irish-American actor Mark Wahlberg: “The Lovely Bones,” based on the best-selling novel by Alice Sebold, and "The Fighter," a biopic of boxer Mickey Ward.

British Prime Minster Gordon Brown pledged between $1,323M and $1.6B Wednesday to fund the devolution of justice and policing powers in Northern Ireland.

Did you know that Dublin has more gay men and women per capita than San Francisco? Or that in recent years Ireland’s become a go-to destination for gay and lesbian travelers? Recent banner attractions for the GLTB visitor have included the Bingham Cup – sometimes referred to as the gay Rugby World Cup – which was held in Dublin in 2008.

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

Two men have been arrested in Northern Ireland over a bomb alert on the Irish border. The two were held after a 600 lb bomb was found in an abandoned van in Clady in County Tyrone.

A border town in Northern Ireland has been sealed off after a 600lb bomb was found in an abandoned van. Police sealed off Clady near Strabane in

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.

Kelly: “I think that the invited American business leaders were very impressed with what they saw when they heard from Northern Ireland’s business leaders. I’m confident that over the medium to long term that will yield results for the economy in Northern Ireland.”

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.

An inquest is taking place in Belfast into the 1997 death of an American citizen living in Ireland to determine if he died from complications related to a beating he received from an RUC riot squad six months before his death.

Mairead Maguire, who shared the Nobel Peace Prize in 1976 with Betty Williams for their work promoting peace in Northern Ireland as co-founders of the Community of the Peace People, has criticized the decision to award President Barack Obama the Nobel Peace Prize.

Ireland’s gorgeous landscape and mild year-round temperatures make it the perfect location for a hike or stroll. The quiet country roads of Ireland are perfect for casual walkers, while the mountains and forests provide great trails for extreme hikers.

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton underlined the importance of continued economic development in the North during her address to the Northern Ireland Assembly in Stormont Castle on Monday.

U.S. Secretary Hillary Clinton addressed The Stormont Assembly on Monday and urged all concerned to make continuing efforts to secure long-lasting peace.

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.

The INLA has announced at a commemoration of its founding member on Sunday that it will pursue exclusively peaceful means for achieving its political goals.

The Irish National Liberation Army (INLA) has announced that it will pursue exclusively peaceful means for achieving its political goals.

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.

Hillary Clinton will face a full blown crisis in the peace process when she visits Northern Ireland this weekend. Sinn Fein and the DUP are at loggerheads over when policing and justice powers will be devolved to the Northern Irish government from the British parliament.

British Prime Minister Gordon Brown met with Peter Robinson and Martin McGuinnes to discuss the impasse between over the devolution of justice and police issues from London to Belfast.

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 British government secretly offered up £14 million to Libyan leader Moamer Kadhafi in the 1970s to persuade him to end his country’s support to the IRA.

The new Miss Ireland Laura Patterson has revealed that she’s received a lot of flack from snobs who look down on her job at a major grocery store in Northern Ireland.