It is difficult to think back to the Irish film “The Commitments” without remembering the stunning vocals by Andrew Strong playing lead singer Deco Cuff. Over 15 years later, Strong has proved himself already to be far more than the man behind Deco Cuff, though the label of the film was no simple task to shake.

Author Marian Keyes, 44, won Ireland’s Popular Fiction Book of the Year award in Dublin at the weekend for her novel “This Charming Man." Happily married to her English husband Tony, 45, she’s come a long way from the depression and alcoholism that marked her 20s and almost ended her life.

The world premiere of 'The Eclipse,' Irish playwright and director Conor McPherson's new film, is set for NYC.

When our resident film critic picked her Top 10 Irish movies of all time, she provoked a storm of protest from many of our readers. So here, we let our readers have their pick.

The Man Booker Prize is a literary prize awarded to the best original work written in English by a citizen of either the Commonwealth or the Republic of Ireland. Four Irish writers have won the award since its inception in 1969, including two writers in the past five years.

Seeing William Trevor's name on Claire Keegan's U.S. debut story collection "Antarctica" may raise a few eyebrows.

Roddy Doyle had a sophisticated writer in his family tree, contrary to what many readers familiar with his blue-collar look at Ireland would believe. Maeve Brennan was related to Doyle's parents, and is now the subject of a new biography by Angela Bourke entitled "Maeve Brennan: Homesick at the New Yorker; An Irish Writer in Exile." There are a number of troubling questions raised by the title of this book.

Roddy Doyle - already acclaimed for memorable portraits of Dublin such as "The Commitments" and "Paddy Clarke Ha Ha Ha" - turned Irish historical fiction on its ear in 1999 with his novel "A Star Called Henry." The setting was Ireland at the beginning of the 20th Century, a time of upheaval, betrayal and bloodshed. Not surprisingly, most authors have treated this time with utmost seriousness, earnestly illustrating the moral dilemmas and military struggles which dominated Ireland in the wake of the 1916 rebellion and through the terrible civil war years.

In the vein of Roddy Doyle's recent story collection "The Deportees," acclaimed author Gerard Donovan shines a literary light on new Ireland with his collection of stories, "Young Irelanders." Though the title might seem to refer to Ireland's 19th-century liberation movement, Donovan is actually talking, literally, about today's new Irish, be they immigrants or struggling adulterers. Donovan's 13 stories add another intriguing layer to our understanding of the much-discussed post-Celtic Tiger Ireland of the 21st century.

After novels about grungy Irish blues bands and coming-of-age boys, Roddy Doyle surprised readers with his 1996 bestseller "The Woman Who Walked into Doors," about a woman trapped in an abusive marriage. In his latest novel, Doyle resurrects the main character from "Doors." In fact, the book is named "Paula Spencer" and catches up with this character now that she is sober and a grandmother.

See where "The Crying Game," My Left Foot" and "The Commitments" rank on a countdown of the best films out of Ireland.

ONE of the best selling Irish artists of all time is back on the music scene. Long live Jimmy Rabbitte!

If the name doesn't ring a bell, perhaps it's because he does not exist in real life. He sprung from the mind of author Roddy Doyle back in the nineties.

EACH of the eight new tales in Roddy Doyle's first ever collection of short stories - The Deportees and Other Stories, recently published by Viking Press - have one thing in common.

Someone born in Ireland meets someone who has come to live there. It's the friendships, courtships, tensions and seductions that bloom between them that animate this remarkable new collection.

IRELAND'S Druid Theatre Company is in New York currently rehearsing playwright Enda Walsh's The Walworth Farce at the St. Ann's Warehouse Theatre in Brooklyn. The show will open on April 15.

The Tribeca Film Festival in downtown Manhattan goes from strength to strength each year, and 2008 is no exception. A stellar line-up of new Irish films will also be offered to entertain film buffs. CAHIR O'DOHERTY reports.

Marian Keyes has sold over 15 million books worldwide and is one of Ireland's best-known authors. Happily married to her English husband Tony, she's come a long way from the depression and alcoholism that marked her twenties and almost ended her life. She talks to CAHIR O'DOHERTY about her new book and the shocking statistics that inspired it.

After their shows last spring supporting Irish traditional super group Celtic Woman, it's finally time for the High Kings to step out on their own. Their U.S.

IRISH writers made a big impact at the New Yorker Festival held last weekend. Booker prize winners Roddy Doyle and Anne Enright, as well as Nobel Prize winner Seamus Heaney and New Yorker poetry editor Paul Muldoon all spoke at the magazine's annual festival.

Doyle, one of Ireland's best known and best loved writers, has written for the prestigious magazine a number of times over the years, while Enright, who shot to fame in Ireland when she won the Booker Prize in 2007 for her novel The Gathering, has also written short stories for the magazine.

Novelist Roddy Doyle ("The Commitments," "The Snapper," "A Star Called Henry," etc.) has many more brilliant books to write. But now you can read a book about Doyle.

McCain's Irish Blunder

SENATOR John McCain made a very strange statement on Northern Ireland while being interviewed on the Brian Lehrer show for National Public Radio on Monday.

McCain was comparing conflict situations around the world and citing Northern Ireland as an example of how conflict situations could be helped by a combination of diplomatic, economic and sometimes military steps.

"If the British Army hadn't been in Northern Ireland there would never have been an environment that created a negotiating atmosphere," he stated.

The name Doyle is found in older annals as O Dubhgaill but is almost never found in this form in modern times. Although the Doyle name is fairly common in Ireland, the origin of the name is not clear. It is generally believed to be derived from the Gaelic "Dubh Gall," meaning "dark foreigner."