Irish star Pierce Brosnan joined Hollywood A-listers Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie at a private session with Lady Gaga in LA.

The Irish Arts Center’s inaugural Irish Poetry Festival was a standing room only event last Saturday in New York, proving that the demand for a forum for Irish verse is as strong as ever.

A sad family occasion in Ireland leads to a new branch in her family tree for April Drew.

Irish-American comedian Colin Quinn will be generating laughs for charity while performing at Laugh For Sight, the annual charity benefit showcasing some of the world’s best stand-up comedians performing to raise money to combat degenerative eye diseases.

Susan Boyle and Lady Gaga will go head-to-head at this year’s People’s Choice Awards.

Everyone’s favorite Scottish singer Susan Boyle is once again stateside, this time to perform on the hit series “Dancing with the Stars.”

Spider-Man’s been saved! That's the word from an inside source on the troubled Broadway musical which features music from Bono and The Edge.

Enda Walsh is securing his reputation as the most provocative Irish playwright of his generation. In his new play “The New Electric Ballroom”, now playing at St. Ann’s Warehouse in Brooklyn, he has written his best work yet.

The great review in The New York Times on Monday for "The New Electric Ballroom," the new play by Irish playwright Enda Walsh, further reinforces the remarkable story of Irish success in New York in recent years.

Daniel Day-Lewis looks like he’s enjoying his leading male role in the upcoming film “Nine,” and what red-blooded male could blame him?

Ireland is famous for its written word masterpieces. It’s tough to narrow down the best of the best, but IrishCentral has taken on the tricky task, identifying the top 10 examples of Irish writing.

The verdict is in from the New York Times: “Finian’s Rainbow” on Broadway is a hit! Amidst the upcoming gloomy winter season, the Times says the Irish-themed show provides a ray of sunshine.

If you want to wield power in this world you’ll need a whip. You also need to be unafraid to crack it. But just remember that, as Irish American playwright Eugene O’Neill outlines in the revival of his remarkable play "The Emperor Jones" now playing at the Irish Repertory Theatre, sooner or later that whip is going to be used on you too. Power always comes with a price attached, and it’s usually steep.

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.

It’s the concert of the year. On Thursday October 29 at 8 p.m. the Cross Border Orchestra of Ireland (CBOI), a group composed of musicians aged between 12 and 24, will perform at the prestigious Avery Fisher Hall at Lincoln Center in Manhattan.

Hailed by The New York Times as the show that burns brighter than any other this theater season, the Irish Repertory Theatre’s new production of The Emperor Jones is the talk of the town this week.

Ireland is fast becoming the country with a thousand welcomes for the gay and lesbian community. Here are 10 interesting tit bits about gay Ireland.

Kevin Spacey has been based in London these past few years, at the helm of the storied Old Vic Theatre there, but the Oscar winner certainly has plenty of good things to say about the state of Irish theater and its myriad talents, particularly the likes of Conor McPherson, Enda Walsh, Garry Hynes and Martin McDonagh. (Okay, the latter is British-born, but his shows are Irish through and through).

"Finian’s Rainbow" is back for another run on Broadway. You are probably familiar with the songs – “How Are Things in Glocca Morra?,” “Look to the Rainbow” – but there is more to the show than meets the ear.

Irish weddings are big business and while the recession is certainly cooling down the more extravagant affairs there will still be an estimated 30,000 weddings in Ireland this year. That means there will be literally thousands of opportunities for fools to make eegits of themselves.

Tony-winning Irish actor Jim Norton has returned to Broadway in Finian’s Rainbow, a joyful big-budget revival of a golden-era classic that’s become that rare thing: an almost critic-proof Broadway musical. Cahir O'Coherty talks to the veteran Irish actor and his A-list Broadway castmates about starring in the most hotly-anticipated show of the season.

It seems appropriate that Ted Kennedy and Frank McCourt share the cover with “Finian’s Rainbow,” which is back for another run on Broadway. Its combination of immigrants’ quest for the American dream, political satire, beautiful lyrics, and social message is one that Ted and Frank would have identified with.

Christina Ryan-Kilcoyne doesn’t normally advertise her dance classes. She doesn’t normally have to. “I’ve never had to advertise before,” says the fair-haired teacher from Co. Clare, who came to the U.S. in 1988 and set up a dance school in Pennsylvania. “The kids just used to come. But this year my beginners’ class is down by half.”

Kara Rota reports from the the Tina Santi Flaherty 1st Irish 2009 Theatre Awards, which took place at Hudson Terrance in Manhattan

Pulitzer Prize-winning author William Kennedy will be presented with the inaugural 2009 Eugene O'Neill Lifetime Achievement Award from the Irish American Writers and Artists, Inc. (IAW&A) in Manhattan on October 16, Eugene O'Neill's birthday.

Mimi the dog has generated more than 250,00 views on YouTube with her version of Riverdance. The hysterical video shows Mimi - or at least it purports to show Mimi - tapping her way through the famed dance

Featuring award winning Irish playwrights like Sebastian Barry, Billy Roche and Conor McPherson, the 1st Irish Theatre Festival is putting new Irish writing on the map in Manhattan. Sebastian Barry and Vincent Dowling talk about the exciting month long event, already attracting critical raves.

Julia Stiles, best known for films such as “Save the Last Dance” and “10 Things I Hate About You,” will be making her Broadway debut this fall. The Irish-American actress stars in David Mamet’s play “Oleanna” opposite Bill Pullman.

Reality TV kid – and upcoming contestant on "Dancing With the Stars" – Kelly Osbourne was in Dublin last week signing copies of the new book she wrote about herself called "Fierce."

Far too often in Ireland it’s the boys who hog the limelight (often literally) and all the glory that goes with it. Irish women writers usually have to wait (and wait) for their turn. Take Paula Meehan, for example. Although renowned in Ireland, next week will see her first full scale production in New York in years.

This month the Tony winning Irish actor Jim Norton joins a megawatt Broadway cast that includes Cheyenne Jackson and Kate Baldwin in “Finian’s Rainbow,” the classic American musical that raises the rafters and sends you home singing. The cast talks about gearing up to take Broadway by storm.

Help is on the way for the financially plagued “Spider-Man” Broadway musical. Reports say U2 rocker Bono, who along with The Edge wrote the score for “Spider-Man, Turn Off The Dark,” is coming to the show’s rescue by raising the funds necessary to keep it afloat.

Irish Voice and IrishCentral.com reporter April Drew interviews playwright and bartender Derek Murphy, whose new play, "A Short Wake," will show at the Manhattan Theatre Source from September 10-26.

Irish-American actor John Cusack recently took a three-week vacation to Ireland to celebrate his mom’s 80th birthday, and luckily for his fans, he Tweeted his thoughts and pictures along the way.

A champion Irish dancer has drowned in a fishing accident on Long Island Sound. Billy Laube, 20, from Plainview in Suffolk county, died after the flat-bottomed dinghy he was fishing from capsized near Fort Salonga on Saturday night.

In “After Luke” and “When I Was God”, now playing back to back at the Irish Repertory Theatre in New York, Cork-born playwright Conal Creedon comes as close as any contemporary Irish playwright to charting the heart of darkness at the center of Irish family life.

Featuring 21 Irish playwrights, 12 venues and 375 artists over five weeks from September 1 to October 4, the second New York Irish Theatre Festival has doubled in size since its inaugural year in 2008.

It was a day to remember in Charlotte, North Carolina, Saturday as 400 step dancers congregated and danced their way into the Guinness Book of World Records.

Even Bono and The Edge's bulletproof music and lyrics may not be enough to save the pair's high-profile Broadway debut, 'Spider-Man.' Broadway insiders say the show — with a whopper $45M price tag — may be closing before opening night.

The 2009 Los Angeles Irish Film Festival has announced they will open with “The Eclipse,” the Conor McPherson movie starring Irish actor Ciaran Hinds and Irish-American acting favorite Aidan Quinn.

With two divisions of the Ancient Order of Hibernians sponsoring the Long Island Feis on Sunday, the organization is thriving in Suffolk County.

With her glowing wig of black curls and bright smile, Mitsi Fink looks like she’s 18 when she points her toes to dance at the Long Island Feis on Sunday. She has danced for seven years and is in four competitions at the Long Island Feis. But Mitsi only took up step-dancing when she was 25 years old. She’s one of the few adult dancers at the feis and is competing with people much younger than her.

The final count of dancers at the Long Island Feis on Sunday was 528. That may seem like quite a lot of dancers to you, but it’s fewer than the hosts expected, and it marks a trend seen by many feiseanna this summer, as the country’s economic difficulties percolate down.

The surname Curran is common in all four provinces in Ireland, but especially in County Donegal and throughout Ulster. The name is also prevalent in the south of Ireland, appearing many times in the County Tipperary Hearth Money Rolls of 1665-7. Currans showed up frequently as Waterford residents in the census of 1659.

On Wednesday, July 29, two short but captivating new plays by the acclaimed Irish playwright Conal Creedon opened at the Irish Repertory Theatre in New York and will perform though September 20. The Irish Rep, producing more genuinely captivating theater in one season than other venues can do in a decade, is capping another year of hits with this surefire winner.

The most familiar sound at a feis is normally the jigging of the accordions, keyboards and violins, the instruments that typically accompany Irish step-dancing. At the Rockland County Feis, another noise was in the mix, sharp and sustained – the pipes. More than 35 pipe bands competed at the festival, and it’s one of the bigger pipe band contests in the country.

The Rockland County Feis is in its 36th year of existence. Sponsored by the Rockland County Ancient Order of Hibernians (men’s and women’s divisions), it is an enormous event, and is a huge undertaking to organize.

For the singers competing at the Rockland County Feis, performing at the feis helps them connect with their culture. Whether it takes the form of a clattering dance, a piping whistle, or a casual song, we Irish have clearly held onto our traditional love of song and dance.

Lord of the Dance Michael Flatley, the man who singlehandedly turned Irish dance into the phenomenon that it is, may be joining the judging panel of the TV hit "Dancing with the Stars."

On Monday, June 29, Rita Keane of Caherlistrane, County Galway passed away at age 86 in a Galway hospital. Before leaving this earth, however, the pair left a rich legacy for others to emulate and to keep the songs of Ireland inhabited by generations of singers who they touched with their own authentic voices and styles.