Irish TV host Pat Kenny came under fire on his new TV show this week - for the second week in a row. An audience member at "Frontline" erupted in fury as Kenny (€600,000 a year or $900,000) interviewed Government politician Mary Hanafin about the looming cuts in social welfare.

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Hollywood star Gabriel Byrne is in hot water in his native Ireland after he endorsed a candidate on national TV before the recent local

Martin Sheen proudly recognized his Irish roots over the weekend while giving a speech to a graduating class in Oakland, California.

Irish chat show host Pat Kenny, host of the "Late Late Show," retired last Friday night and received one heck of a going away gift – an appearance by U2. The band chatted about any number of topics, including, naturally, the upcoming tour which they intend to be groundbreaking in every way.

Fresh off of playing on Pat Kenny's final Late Late show in Ireland , the High Kings are set to hit the road touring this summer.

A musical tribute to Pat Kenny as he steps down as host of RTE's The Late Late Show, the world's longest running chat show.

It is true that we Irish don’t have the same tradition of eccentrics and craziness as our English neighbors have. But nevertheless, as Neil Horan has shown, there is no shortage of oddballs in Ireland. Here are three people - including Horan - who really should have thought twice before saying - or doing anything - that might be recorded!

“I’m in love with all things Irish,” says Martin Sheen. That’s for sure! Sheen’s mother emigrated from Tipperary to the U.S. in 1921 and Sheen is the proud holder of an Irish passport. He’s traveled to Ireland on numerous occasions in the past; last week he was in Dublin in his role as a special envoy for the human rights group Frontline to present an award to an activist working in Guatemala.

Not only is Derry native Nadine Coyle “the voice” of British pop group Girls Aloud – she’s a clever entrepreneur. The Irish singer, 23, continues to build upon her property and business empire in the U.S., which is worth an estimated €3m (over $4m).

Ryan Tubridy is about to win the hottest seat in Irish Television as host of "The Late Late Show," the world’s longest running show.

How can someone in receipt of $800,000 a year lecture the rest of us on today's Budget? The bill for the crazy decade is coming due but why does the burden never fall on the rich?

DIRECTOR/screenwriter Quentin Tarantino had a blast in Dublin last weekend, so much so that he blew off a scheduled appearance on the country's top-rated gabfest, the Late Late Show, in favor of a party at the Old Jameson Distillery. Can't say we blame him for that, but Quentin was in town to promote a film that bombed big time here when it was released earlier this year, so passing up an opportunity to sell tickets on a talk show mightn't have been too wise.

The famous U.

FAS, the Irish state jobs-training agency, and its director general Rody Molloy are at the center of a political storm over lavish spending of taxpayers' money, including €643,000 on trans-Atlantic travel over the past four years.

Molloy defended the spending, which included the cost of business class flights from Ireland to the U.S.

IRELAND'S most high-profile land dispute was settled on Tuesday when Late, Late Show television anchor Pat Kenny and his wife Kathy and their neighbors, semi-retired solicitor Gerard Charlton and his wife Maeve, told the High Court they reached agreement in what became known as the battle of Gorse Hill.The dispute over ownership of a tiny strip of land near both couples' homes had Ireland riveted when it reached court last week.The Charltons claimed they were rightful owners of the tiny cliff-top square of land known as Gorse Hill near their homes in Dalkey in south County Dublin.

Health Service Executive Chief Executive Professor Brendan Drumm has said a quarter of the jobs in the organization are set to go next year.

He said there will probably be around 1,000 redundancies in the next year among the HSE's backroom staff.

His bombshell news for his workers came as controversy continued to rage over the HSE administration of the health service, allegations of bungling in the treatment and care of cancer patients - and a dispute involving broadcaster Pat Kenny and the man tasked with streamlining cancer care services, Professor Tom Keane.

Cutbacks of almost $33 million have been announced by Irish state broadcaster RTE in anticipation of a massive downturn in advertising revenue next year as the economic crisis continues to grow.

However, a spokeswoman said the station's highest earners were not affected by the cutbacks because they are self-employed and are on separate contracts. The spokeswoman added, "They have individual contracts and, by and large, people are on multi-annual contracts.

Outspoken Ryanair boss Michael O'Leary has said that if he gets control of Aer Lingus he will sack its board members, all except chairman Colm Barrington.

O'Leary has issued an invitation to Barrington to join the board of Ryanair Holdings as part of his €748 million bid to buy out Aer Lingus.

But, in a no-holds-barred interview, O'Leary told the Sunday Independent that he will have no use for most of the other Aer Lingus board members.