There are few countries that celebrate a cozier, put-your-feet-up Christmas than Ireland. With its family-oriented culture and the legendary friendliness of its people, spending the holidays in Ireland is one of the most rewarding decisions you could ever make.

Grand Slam winner Stephen Ferris is out of the Ulster Squad for Sunday's game against Leinster with a hand injury.

Munster captain Paul O’Connell believes his team can bounce back from their 30-0 Magners League drubbing against Leinster on Saturday night when they kick-off their Heineken Cup campaign at Northampton on Saturday.

Heineken Cup champions Leinster beat Magner League champions Munster convincingly to underline the shift in the balance of power in Irish rugby.

Bruce Springsteen might as well purchase some property in Dublin, such is the frequency of his visits to the Emerald Isle. The Boss was there last weekend for two sold-out, outdoor shows at the RDS, and though the weather was pretty awful, the music was fast and furious.

Hundreds of Irish fans have joined the crowds descending on the City of Angels to say farewell to the king of pop. Aer Lingus was said to have completely sold out all flights from Dublin to Los Angeles for today and yesterday as heartbroken fans made their way from Ireland to the West Coast. The special memorial service has been totally over subscribed with more than 1.6 million people registering for just 9,000 tickets.

Heineken Cup finalists Leinster had no hangover from last Saturday’s fantastic win over Munster as they destroyed The Scarlets 45-8 at The RDS to move up to second place in The Magners League on Friday evening.

Munster flanker Alan Quinlan has insisted that he is not underestimating the threat posed by Leinster ahead of Saturday’s Heineken Cup All-Ireland semi-final at Croke Park.

Leinster leapfrogged The Ospreys into second place in The Magners League on Saturday evening after a strong second-half performance led to them defeating Glasgow 36-13 at The RDS.

Britney Spears is taking her big-time Circus tour to Dublin for two shows this summer. Final negotiations are under way to bring the notorious American pop princess to the RDS, a major venue in Dublin, and Irish fans are sure to scrape up tickets faster than you can say “Womanizer.”

U2’s biggest mistake was their album and movie Rattle and Hum. That’s according to manager Paul McGuinness who says it was “too big,” “too controlled,” and “too

Leinster collected a deserved 32-6 Magners League victory over Ulster in the RDS on Sunday.

Leinster fly-half Felipe Contepomi has agreed to join Toulon on a four-year deal and will move to France at the end of the current season. The Argentina international is a firm favourite amongst the supporters of the reigning Magners League champions and has established himself as a key player for the team.

BRUCE Springsteen kicked off his summer European tour in Dublin's RDS last week with three sold-out shows thrilling more than 110,000 fans, and naturally you won't read a bad review anywhere.

The Irish, simply put, adore New Jersey's favorite son, and the feeling is more than mutual. The Boss has played eight shows in Ireland in the past 18 months, and recorded his live album the Seeger Sessions at the old Point theater in Dublin a couple of years back.

AFTER a gap of 17 years, the Saw Doctors are back on top of the Irish music charts with their rollicking version of the Sugababes hit, "About You Now," which beat off international artists such as Pink and Kings of Leon to make it to number one in this week's Irish charts. Tuam's favorite sons haven't hit the top spot since "Hay Wrap" dominated the airwaves in September 1991.

"It's a lovely buzz to be number one again after all these years," says Davy Carton, lead singer with the Saw Doctors.

Known around the world for the kind of congeniality that can turn strangers to friends in the blink of an eye, Ireland has a reputation as a warm and welcoming place for tourists. But it is also regarded a top-notch destination for incentives, meetings, conferences and related events. In fact, in 2004, the Society of Incentive and Travel Executives ranked Ireland the number one destination for corporate events in Europe, Asia and the Pacific.

Ireland is a small country that's big on charm, wit and hospitality. And, thanks to a booming economy and the infusion of millions from multi-national companies, Ireland East and Dublin is one of the most rapidly expanding areas in Europe today. Ireland has breathtaking scenery, luxurious five-star resorts with world-class spas, gourmet cuisine and more than 400 top-notch golf courses, but the Emerald Isle is also known for its advanced networking, conferencing and exposition facilities and is a leading destination for today's mobile business traveler.

WHAT stood out most for neutral observers at the Sinn Fein Ard Fheis (annual convention) in Dublin was the absence of Garda (police) Special Branch cars outside the RDS venue, a traditional feature of past gatherings when detectives seized the opportunity to update Intelligence files.The end of hostilities in the North and Sinn Fein's commitment to the peace progress has clearly persuaded state agencies in the Republic that security is no longer an issue. Sinn Fein itself seemed to share that view, downgrading its own special precautionary measures which once routinely included electronic sweeps with metal detectors.

Leinster's preparations for Sunday's Heineken Cup decider against Edinburgh at the RDS have been thrown into chaos after lock Malcolm O'Kelly was cited. O'Kelly faces a disciplinary hearing in Dublin on Thursday after he was sin binned for stamping on the England prop in a bizarre 19-12 defeat to Wasps at Twickenham last Saturday. A ban will cause major problems for coach Michael Cheika ahead of a game when Leinster will book their place in the last eight against Edinburgh if they match the Wasps result away to Castres.

VETERAN Tyrone defender Brian McGuigan insists the former All-Ireland champions are hungry to take Kerry's title away from them on Sunday. "At the end of the day I just want to win as many All-Ireland titles as I possibly can," said McGuigan. "I'm going for my third All-Ireland but I don't even want to stop there, I just want to keep going - that's what everybody on this team wants to do.

OKAY, so I am angry and I am going to let that anger drift into this column, a column normally devoted to the world of Irish sport.

We'll get to the sport presently. I'll even share my views on Ireland's latest World Cup adventure against Cyprus last week and our chances of getting to South Africa.

GREAT YEAR

Giovanni Trapattoni

The FAI finally found the world class manager they were looking for when the Italian was appointed in March and unveiled in May after a late entry into the race to succeed Steve Staunton. He has been harsh in his treatment of Andy Reid and he could do with Stephen Ireland back, but seven points from nine in three World Cup games to date is a satisfactory return - so far!

Munster

The Red Army did it again when they brought the Heineken Cup back to Limerick, Cork and all points in between in May as they beat off the French challenge of Toulouse in the Cardiff final. Paul O'Connell and Ronan O'Gara lifted the trophy, and the reward for Declan Kidney was a new job as Ireland coach after a second European triumph in three years.

Munster had the consolation of a bonus point as they lost 25-19 to Clermont Auvergne in France in the Heineken Cup on Sunday.

A late Ronan O'Gara's penalty ensured Munster left France just a point behind group leaders Sale Sharks at the halfway point of the pool stage.

Captain Paul O'Connell said afterwards, "Clermont is a difficult place to come and sometimes the bonus point is the most important thing in a group as tight as this, especially after Sale got a bonus-point win this weekend to get them right back in it.

The back page of Monday night's Evening Herald put the tin hat on a quite bizarre week in the history of the Irish football team. It was a week that began with Giovanni Trapattoni claiming that Andy Reid was too sad to have around the place, a claim later refuted by Liam Brady. It was the week when Team Ireland, minus Andy or Steven Reid as well as Lee Carsley and Stephen Ireland, were quite pathetic in a 3-2 Croke Park defeat to Poland.

AS the February 15 ceremony draws nearer, details on this year's Meteor Awards show are leaking out. This is the equivalent of the Grammys on the Emerald Isle. The Blizzards, Cathy Davey and Future Kings of Spain are among the nominees for this year's Meteor Ireland Music Awards, which will take place in the RDS on Friday, February 15.

The Irish love horses almost as much as they love socializing! And most of the time, they get to combine these two passions. Many of the country's major horse events such as the Galway races and the Dublin Horse Show, are also major social events.