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.

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.

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.

It is 30 years to the day since Pope John Paul II visited Ireland in a three-day visit that brought the country to a standstill. Nearly 3 million people turned out to welcome the Pontiff at five venues; Dublin, Drogheda, Galway, Limerick and Knock. The numbers were phenomenal when you consider that the population of the Republic was 3,368,217 in 1979.

WITH VIDEO: America's new-ish ambassador to Ireland, Dan Rooney, says he feels like "a prisoner of the Phoenix Park." Rooney, who is the owner and chairman of the Pittsburgh Steelers, says the security with his new post has taken a lot of getting used to.

THE Irish government has measured up to its recent statements about the importance of the global Irish by scheduling a high profile conference for the weekend of September 18 in Dublin. The reaction to the government invitation to its forum has been excellent, with over 180 business leaders from all corners of the globe agreeing to attend in what will surely be an historic weekend.

Dublin is set for a wheel good time today after cycling ace Lance Armstrong invited Irish fans to join him on a cycle ride in Dublin's Phoenix Park. Armstrong, 37, posted a message on his Twitter page today saying he would be setting off from the traffic circle at Fountain Road and Chesterfield Avenue at 5.30 p.m. Irish time.

The latest news from around the country

The 27th U.S. Ambassador to Ireland Dan Rooney has arrived in the Emerald Isle today to take up his post and move into his residence at Phoenix Park, Dublin.

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.

There are moments in a life when words simply fail as a means of expression. No amount of them, no matter how heartfelt, can seem adequate to the moment.

Victims of Church child abuse wept yesterday as Irish President Mary McAleese apologized for their suffering on behalf of the people of the Republic. “For so long, your suffering seemed to make strangers of you in your own land.”

Dan Rooney, President Obama's nominee to be ambassador to Ireland, spoke warmly about his ancestors' flight from Newry in County Down and swore to forge deeper relations with Dublin, "especially in the quest for peace," in his statement Wednesday before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee at Capitol Hill.

Source close to congressman says his desire to be close to grandchildren and his divergence on policy issues swayed him stay in Congress.

Senator Bob Casey [D-P.A.] today told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee that former Pittsburgh Steelers Chairman Dan Rooney will bring “a lifetime of work on behalf of strengthening the U.S.-Ireland partnership,” as he was proud to announce his “whole-hearted endorsement” for Rooney as the next U.S. ambassador to Ireland.

R&B singing sensation Beyonce took Dublin by storm this week while in town for her sell-out worldwide “I Am…” tour.

Over 100 business leaders from all over the world will fly into Ireland in September to take part in the first ever diaspora conference hosted by the Irish government.

A painting of the legendary John McCormack - Ireland’s Pavarotti” and the nation's most-celebrated tenor - will go up for auction next month, and art collectors from around the world are prepping for a huge bidding war.

Irish gardeners will get a peek at Michelle Obama’s White House garden this summer – and they won’t even have to travel to Washington

Guinness Store House
This is expensive (adult tickets are €13.50, or almost $19), but no trip to Dublin is complete without a visit. Simply every tourist in Dublin seems to come here at least once.

News From Ireland

Cowen Replaces Ahern as Prime Minister

Brian Cowen has replaced Bertie Ahern as leader of the Fianna Fil party. The Laois-Offaly Dil deputy also assumed the office of Taoiseach when Ahern stood down on May 6 following his address to the joint Houses of Congress in Washington, D.C.

IRISH-born singer Carly Smithson, nee Hennessy, advanced to the Hollywood stages of Fox TV's American Idol season seven last Tuesday, January 22, when her powerful vocals won the hearts of the three judges.After performing a spectacular rendition of "I'm Every Woman" by Chaka Khan on Tuesday, Paula Abdul said, "That's what we wanted to hear," while waving her hands in the air approvingly. Simon Cowell added, "That wasn't as good as two years ago," but he gave her the thumbs up for Hollywood.

BRIAN Cowen's elevation to taoiseach (prime minister), accompanied by a Cabinet selection that placed his two closest confidantes in the most important positions and who, like him, are still in their 40s, sent out a clear signal that loyalty and energy will be the hallmarks of the new government.His promotion and his appointments also shifted the axis of power from Dublin to the provinces.The 48-year-old father of two girls from the village of Clara, Co.

A TRIPLE-whammy this week underlined how the bubble has well and truly burst in the Irish construction industry.One of the country's biggest developers, Bernard McNamara, pulled out of five public-private partnership schemes with Dublin City Council worth a total of $1.4 billion.

GARDAI (police) are reviewing all contracts given to civilian garages which service its fleet after a mechanic, who was returning from a trip to Britain, was found with bugging equipment.Up to two dozen cars used by Special Branch detectives have been recalled for examination after the discovery during a routine search at Dublin Port.It's not illegal to possess the equipment but, because of the nature of his contracted work with the force, Commissioner Fachtna Murphy -- whose own car, his colleagues believe, could have been bugged -- immediately ordered the probe.

Sure sounds like Pittsburgh Steelers owner Dan Rooney, 76, has the inside track to be ambassador to Ireland ...

Making a Big Difference

THE Washington Ireland Program held its annual event "An Irish Valentine" at the Shakespeare Theater in Washington on Monday of this week.

Over 300 leading Irish Americans, including PBS commentator Mark Shields and CBS senior correspondent Bill Plante, were on hand for the event. Irish Ambassador to the U.

It seems everywhere you turn in Ireland these days that former Taoiseach (Prime Minister) Bertie Ahern is appearing at openings, making speeches about various issues and generally getting his face into the newspapers as much as ever.

The role of former leaders in Ireland is usually to fade into the background, but Ahern shows no sign at all of doing that .No doubt his successor Brian Cowen is less than pleased.

Being an Irish music reviewer, your desk can become a sea of green ink. Emerald-tinged CD jewel cases and Kelly green graphics in Celtic fonts blend into one another in all of the clutter, especially leading up to St. Patrick's Day.

Ireland hosts numerous sport festivals every year. Here's a list of some of the best.

From sipping a pint of Guinness, known as the "black stuff",  in the Guinness Storehouse's Gravity Bar, to gazing at the stunning architecture of Trinity College, a tourist in Dublin won't be stuck for things to

Gardai (police) are jubilant over the quick arrests of suspects they believe are linked to the largest robbery in the history of the Republic when €7.6 million was taken from the College Green branch of the Bank of Ireland in central