Ronan Keating says spending the night with Stephen Gately’s body was a “beautiful” experience.

Irish dad Damien Gillan, a self-employed plasterer, has won $230,000 in the Northern Irish lottery.

Irish Boyzone singer Ronan Keating has been devastated since his bandmate Stephen Gatley passed away last month, and has revealed he has suffered from anxiety attacks.

Buzz Brady: You've heard of drunk drivers, even drunk airline pilots. How about a drunk jockey? Grand National-winning jockey Paul Carberry has been banned for 30 days of racing in Ireland after failing an alcohol breath test — for a second time.

Irish coach Marco Tardelli has warned his World Cup hopefuls that they will need to be on full alert for the two legs of their playoff against France.

Boyzone are spending a lot of time together because it feels like Stephen Gately is still with them. The Irish group – Ronan Keating, Shane Lynch, Keith Duffy and Mikey Graham – are still mourning the loss of their bandmate.

Westlife singer Nicky Byrne's dad, Nicky Sr., died suddenly on Tuesday, and Byrne, who was in London at the time, has now flown back to his native Ireland to be with his family.

It's official! Thanks in no small part to Colin Farrell, the Irish accent is now the sexiest in the world. French men can only hang their heads in shame as they came FOURTH - just ahead of the Australian accent.

Boyzone has given their first interview since Stephen Gately tragically died on October 10 in Majorca. The Irish boy banders revealed that they slept on the church floor next to Gately’s coffin to be with him the night before his funeral.

Stephen Gately’s family have once again stressed that their son died of natural causes, as British tabloids claim the Irish singer was highly intoxicated on the night of his death.

U2 has confirmed its tour dates for 2010. The fantastic foursome will kick off the 2010 tour on June 6 in Anaheim, California.

Think you know everything about the Emerald Isle? Think again! Here are 10 facts that just might throw you for a loop.

Stephen Gately’s husband Andrew Cowles will get the Boyzone singer’s €11m estate, and the Gately family reportedly has no intentions of challenging the decision.

Thousands of mourners turned up to pay their respects to Stephen Gately, the Boyzone star who died last weekend in Majorca, at his funeral in Dublin Saturday.

Padraig Harrington is looking to win an Olympic gold medal in 2016 after golf was confirmed as an official sport for the games to be held in Rio De Janeiro.

The name Connolly is derived from several different roots. In Connaught and Monaghan it derives from the Gaelic O'Coingeallaigh. Both are anglicized to Connolly although the spelling form Connelly is often found in Galway.

The original Irish name is " Coimn and its variations are numerous in every part of Ireland. The name lends itself to many interpretations. Some say it comes from the Irish word cam, meaning crooked, while others incorrectly believed the name derived from the word camán, which means a hurling stick.

These three names and others of a similar sound such as Donnellan and Donlon are sometimes confused, as spelling variations have occurred among emigrant families. They are, however, totally distinct, and indeed both the McDonnells and O'Donnells are made up of several distinct septs. The main branch of the O'Donnells, based in Donegal, is the most eminent of the Gaelic families, leading back to Niall of the Nine Hostages, but owing their name to one Domhnaill.

Georgi Petrov Dochev, the 25-year-old Bulgarian who Stephen Gately and his husband took home with them on the night the Boyzone star mysteriously died, has spoken about discovering the body of the Irish pop star on Saturday.

Spanish police are on the hunt for a 25-year-old man who Stephen Gately and his husband took home with them on the night the Boyzone star mysteriously died.

Stephen Gately, a member of the Irish boy band Boyzone, has been found dead in a hotel room in Majorca, Spain while on holiday. He was 33. A close friend told the press on Saturday night that it appeared that Gately died after going out on the town in Majorca.

Have you ever heard of a hurricane hitting Ireland? Well, the Emerald Isle just came pretty close to being smacked by a tropical storm.

A young Dublin woman on a month’s vacation in the U.S. survived a horrific car crash in Tennessee on Wednesday, September 16, that claimed the lives of three others.

A marriage certificate with the signature of Robert Emmet that was found at the Dublin Unitarian Church on St. Stephen’s Green was opened to the public Sunday.

A 21-year-old Irish woman has died from swine flu while on holiday in Spain. Richie, a hairdresser, from the Four Winds area of south Belfast, died after becoming ill on holiday. She had been diagnosed with pneumonia and swine

The McCain family name originated in the Gaelic as O'Cathain, and is derived from Cathain, who was a ninth century ancestor of the King of Tara. Conchobar, son of Fergal Mac Mael Duin of the O'Neills, formed the O'Cahan sept, which came to be known as the "Warrior Clan of Ulster." The O'Cahan clan served as subordinate kings to the O'Neills who granted them the titles "King of Kianaght, King of Limavaday, and King of Fir-na-Creabh.

The name Malone derives from the Gaelic O'Maoileoin meaning follower of St. John. The family originally came from Ballynahown, County Offaly.

News from the 32: Antrim, Armagh, Carlow, Cavan, Clare, Cork, Derry, Donegal, Down, Dublin, Fermanagh, Galway, Kerry, Kildare, Kilkenny, Laois, Leitrim, Limerick, Longford, Louth, Mayo, Meath, Monaghan, Offaly, Roscommon, Sligo, Tipperary, Tyrone, Waterford, Westmeath, Wexford, Wicklow

On November 2, 1759, a veritable riot broke out along several blocks of lower Manhattan. The target of the torch-bearing crowds was a man deemed to be a “rogue” and informer named George Spencer. Spencer survived the crowds’ wrath, though he was banged up with bruises and

Cristiano Ronaldo made his debut for Real Madrid in their 1-0 win against Shamrock Rovers at the Tallaght Stadium in Dublin on Monday night.

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.

Dublin is now one of the gang murder capitals in Europe. In just 10 years, Dublin has achieved the dubious distinction of being home to some of the most violent gangs in

In an exclusive interview with the Niall O'Dowd, New York City Mayor Mike Bloomberg talks about his hopes for a third term, his support for Irish issues and how to fix the economy here and in Ireland.

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

If naturists can bear the unpredictable Irish summer weather, then they can bare all at some world-rated nudist beaches, as two of Hotels.com top-ten nudist beaches in the world can be found in Ireland!

Investigations are under way into a partnership between the Real IRA and a big-time cigarette smuggling ring in the U.S.

The family men that make up U2 will call their summer houses in the South of France their home base during the European leg of their U2360 Tour this summer.

10 surprising facts about Ireland - guarantee you've never heard 'em before!

The Irish Kennedys are descended from Dunchaun, the brother of the mighty King Brian Boru. The name comes from his father Ceann Eidig, meaning "helmet head." Appropriately, the arms of the Kennedys have three helmets.

The McCarthy clan traces its ancestry through an illustrious line of individuals and events reaching far back into ancient Celtic history and myth. The McCarthys claim descendants from the Eoghanachta, the rulers of the fifth province of Ireland, or Munster. The Eoghanachta were a people believed to have descended from Heber, the son of the mythical King Milesius of Spain.

The seventh leg of the Volvo Ocean Race got off to a rocky start Saturday when a tanker almost collided with the racers as they left Boston Harbor for Galway Bay Luckily, the U.S. Coast Guard steered the hulking 700-foot tanker out of the fleet's way as they prepared to race 2,550 miles across the Atlantic for their arrival in Galway Bay on May 23.

Italy's Francesco Molinari holds a one-shot lead after the opening day of play in the 3 Irish Open at Baltray on Thursday. Molinari defied the unsavoury weather conditions to record a one eagle, eight birdie round and hold a narrow advantage over former Scottish Open champion Johan Edfors. The 26-year-old Italian's round broke the course record on a day of scintillating scoring at the County Louth GC.

“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.

Carlos Tevez looks certain to quit Old Trafford after his agent claimed Manchester United have no interest in keeping hold of the Argentine for next season.

The Tummy Tub, a bucket-shaped baby bath, is taking Ireland by storm.

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."

The O'Neill family traces its history back to 360 A.D. to the legendary warrior king of Ireland, Niall Noigiallach (Niall of the Nine Hostages), who is said to have been responsible for bringing St.Patrick to Ireland.

The O'Connor name, with its varied spellings, doesn't spring from a common source. The name arose in five areas of Ireland: Connacht, Kerry, Derry, Offaly, and Clare and split into six distinct septs, five of which are still in existence.

The O'Sullivan Clan of Munster has produced fine military leaders, sporting heroes, politicians, movie stars, songwriters, and even a space walker, as the following history of one of the most popular Irish names illustrates. The O'Sullivans or Sullivans are one of the most populous of the Munster families

One of the most common names in Ireland, the Murphy clan has distinguished itself in every field. Among them were an Army chaplain, poet, war hero, police commissioner, and mistress. The name Murphy, the most common and widespread name in Ireland, is a derivation of the Gaelic personal name of Murchadh or Murragh, which gave rise to the different versions MacMurchadh (son of Murchadh) and O'Murchadh (descendant of Murchadh).