Van Morrison was called a "little prickly leprechaun" on one of America's top-rated shows this week. Morrison was knocked on "Imus In The Morning" by regular guest and comedian/actor Tony Powell who said that Morrison had kicked him, and several others, out of the green room on Monday morning while they were all waiting to go on air with host Don Imus.

Many Irish stars have had the honor of performing amidst the glitter and glam of the Vegas strip. Now eight of the most famous Irish celebrities are basking in glory under the heat lamps of an off-the-beaten-path Vegas Irish pub.

SECRETARY of State Hillary Clinton has made it crystal clear in her visit to Ireland that she and the Obama administration are giving the Irish peace process a very high priority indeed. It is also very welcome that she dropped the ludicrous “no special deal” nonsense when she talked about the undocumented Irish and the need to address that issue.

Gavin Friday’s celebrity-filled birthday bash at Carnegie Hall ranks with U2’s current tour as the concert of the 2009. Featuring the rock gods of the last 40 years, it boasted artists as diverse as Lou Reed and Lady GaGa. Friday talks about the fulfillment of a lifetime dream.

U2 star Bono celebrated his 33rd birthday during the 1993 Zooropa tour with one bizarre gift! Pal Gavin Friday sent him a packet containing nails, a hammer and wood with a note marked “DIY.” “He didn’t get up on the cross, though!” said Friday.

Irish singing star Gavin Friday, former singer with the infamous Virgin Prunes and a close friend of U2’s Bono, has assembled some of his most famous friends for a very special one night only concert at Carnegie Hall on Sunday night.

"Will you hold my hand?" asked Lauren Murphy as she braced herself to greet her husband's mourners. Lauren was speaking to Paddy Moloney, founder of the Chieftains, the Grammy award winning musical ambassadors of Ireland.

WITH VIDEO: In an exclusive NBC interview, overnight singing sensation Susan Boyle opens her heart for the first time since her amazing transformation. “It’s just been unbelievable; it’s indescribable,” Boyle says. “Being plucked from obscurity is a bit like going on a long journey, really; you don’t know how it’s going to end. I don't want it to end."

IrishCentral has established the Irish links to both the “Twilight” vampire craze and the “Harry Potter” phenomenon. So now, through green-tinged lenses, we take a closer look at the two phenomena and ask: which epic series is better?

Don’t let anyone tell you that that “nothing’s free” in life. Dublin singer Laura Izibor is offering her new single, “Don’t Stay,” at no charge on the iTunes web site this week!

There wasn’t too much work done on the first day of filming for Robert Pattinson’s new movie “Remember Me” in downtown Manhattan today, as cast and crew were doing their best to ward off the paparazzi and fans who turned up to see the dashing “Twilight “ hunk.

Teenage girls LOVE “Twilight’s” Edward Cullen – which means they love real-live Robert Pattinson, who plays the much-desired vampire in the “Twilight” movies, even more. So what is it about Pattinson that 14-year-olds worldwide are swooning over? According to him, it's the fact that he looks like an elderly Irish drunkard.

Susan Boyle has joined forces with Ossie Kilkenny, who will look after her financial affairs as she prepares to take the world by storm. The 62-year-old Irish accountant, who was instrumental in building U2's financial empire, has also worked with the likes of Van Morrison, Oasis Bjork and the Verve.

Luka Bloom returns to the U.S. in a few weeks to support his new CD, “Eleven Songs.”

The most requested song of the day by the couple and the guests alike, was the Pogues’ hit “Fairytale of New York.”

Jimmy Fallon grew up in an Irish-American home in New York State that was always full of laughter, music and fun. Now that Fallon is the new host of NBC's "Late Night," the venerable talk show that made stars out of David Letterman and the newly departed Conan O’Brien, he plans to draw on his roots - both standup and Irish.

Author Clinton Heylin interviewed more than 100 people for "Can You Feel the Silence?" his new biography of Belfast-born music man Van Morrison. The result? Morrison, as with so many talented artists, is clearly brilliant and clearly troubled. Heylin is the author of a number of music business books, including Bob Dylan: Behind the Shades and Bootleg: The Secret History of the Other Recording Industry.

I got a few emails during our break from distraught readers who got iTunes gift cards from Santa with no idea how to spend them. We should all have such problems! Santa put some of those gift cards in my stocking this year as well, and I always see them as an opportunity to either round out my music collection with back catalogues of my favorite artists, or guilty pleasures that are not worthy of my cash in normal circumstances. A word to the wise - never mix Scotch, a computer and iTunes at 4 a.

HOT Press magazine in Ireland is reporting that Van Morrison will join Mick Jagger and the Rolling Stones on their European tour. Van the Man has been confirmed to open for the aging stadium rockers on the opening date of their 2007 world tour, Tuesday, June 5 in Werchter, Belgium. He'll also be playing at Goffret Park in Nijimegen, Holland on Friday, June 8.

Since their March 2005 debut, Ireland's Celtic Women have enjoyed the kind of success that other singing groups can only dream of. CAHIR O'DOHERTY talks to the Irish super-group's newest member Alex Sharpe about their dizzying success and their upcoming New York shows at Radio City Music Hall.

IN the music industry the phrase "multi-platinum seller" is sweet music to everyone's ears - it means you've just sold several million records.

THE Sunday Independent in Ireland published its annual list of who's making what over there, and to absolutely no one's surprise, U2 top the list of wealthiest entertainers, with a healthy bank balance of ?900 million. Nice! "The band, which has traditionally split earnings equally among Bono, Adam Clayton, Larry Mullen, the Edge and manager Paul McGuinness, has begun to divide up its vast portfolio among their respective families," says the Indo. Clearly, the relatives won't have any financial worries in the future!

Coming in second is Michael Flatley, who's said to have ?590 million to his name.

YET another "rich list" was published in Ireland and the U.K. last weekend courtesy of the U.

IN biblical terms, the snake is a metaphor for the slithery temptations of Lucifer himself, but fans of Irish music along the Jersey Shore equate the snakes for barn burning Irish rock! If you ever wondered how one would/should/could build a bridge between the Pogues' "Dirty Old Town" and Neil Diamond's "Cracklin' Rosie," you will need to see the Snakes to believe that it can be done. Their set list is a dizzying ride through folk, rock, and traditional Irish classics, all delivered with all the sudsy glory you'd expect from a great bar band.

As a nod to the sand and ocean a few blocks away in Asbury Park, they treated the crowd in St.

VAN Morrison shocked fans with the announcement that he will perform back to back Hollywood Bowl shows on November 7 and 8 at which he'll run through his classic Astral Weeks album in its entirety.

According to Irish music mag Hot Press and a press release, Van will perform Astral Weeks at the Hollywood Bowl with many of the musicians who participated in the original studio sessions 40 years ago. Tickets go on sale on Sunday, October 5 from ticketmaster.

THERE are times I dread bringing out the nails and wood to crucify an artist, which makes this a truly dark day at the office. There is no nicer man than Brian Kennedy. Though we've never sat down for a formal chat, we have rubbed shoulders at various Irish events over the years.

ROLLING Stone magazine has just come out with an interesting list of the 100 greatest singers of all time, and the Irish are all over it!

Unlike some of the other best of lists produced by magazines, which are mostly created by the editors in a vacuum, Rolling Stone actually got the artists to vote on their choices for best singer. They even published the artists' rationale, which makes for great reading.

"Bob Dylan did what very, very few singers ever do - he changed popular singing," opines Bono.

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.

Hollywood and every other "star" town on the planet must have been empty last Thursday night, as more than 2,000 celebrities headed to Dubai to take part in the freebie party of the year, and possibly the decade, with the opening of the Atlantis Palm Jumeirah, a £1 billion casino resort on a man-made island shaped like a palm tree in the Persian Gulf.

Among those availing of the largesse extended by the resort's deep-pocketed owners were Oscar winner Charlize Theron and her boyfriend, Irish writer/director/actor Stuart Townsend. The couple hung with Robert DeNiro and his wife for part of their time on the island.

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 dog days of summer are upon us, and while most folks complained bitterly of the rain we had during the Fourth of July weekend many of us were thankful for the showers that turned our lawns from brown to green! That's not the only thing green lately. Manhattan and the surrounding areas are teeming with some great live Irish music in July. So many national acts are spending their summers with us that you'd think it was St.

Why in God's name are you taking her to Cleveland for her birthday?!? That was a recurring question when I told people of my plans to celebrate my wife's milestone birthday (a husband's code of conduct forbids me from printing her age) this past weekend. I was just following orders; the missus always wanted to go to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Did I marry the right woman or what?

Walking up to the hall is an experience guaranteed to raise more than a goose bump or two.

According to the folklore around his excellent new "Book of Lightning" disc, chief Waterboy Mike Scott turned to his binder of some 150 unused songs to create this new release. Can you imagine if that treasure got nicked in the studio and sold on eBay? What would it fetch? Based on the phenomenal songwriting on display in this Book of Lightning, bidding on his songbook would be high indeed.

Book of Lightning opens with "The Crash of Angels Wings," a sultry rocker that struts out of the speakers.

More than 40 years since bursting out of Belfast with his group Them, Van Morrison continues to make great music, continues to tour the world, continues to inspire and engage new generations of fans and artists alike. His latest, Still On Top - The Greatest Hits, are 21 classic tracks which chronicle Van's incredible journey so far, all remaining true to his mantra "it's always been about soul."

The selections span his work from 1964 to 2005, and the CD is the definitive collection of Van's original recordings.

Paddy Moloney has never let grass grow under his feet. He has traveled around the globe and back with the Chieftains, maintaining a pace that would wither a man many decades younger.

So, why should Christmas be any different? "I can smell the Christmas goose cooking in the next room," he exclaims dreamily during our brief chat over the weekend.

Van Morrison was born in Belfast in 1945, the son of a shipyard worker who collected American blues and jazz records.

According to his press kit that accompanies his new CD, Keep it Simple (Lost Highway Records), Van grew up listening to the music of Muddy Waters, Mahalia Jackson, Lightnin' Hopkins and John Lee Hooker. Surrounded by every kind of musical influence - country, blues, jazz, and folk - from 13 he was playing guitar, sax and harmonica with a series of local Irish showbands, skiffle and rock'n'roll groups.

'Tis the season to be jolly! Okay, that's Christmas, but this is our holiday and there is plenty to be jolly about as Ireland's biggest legends play all over the city these next few days!

What better way to kick off the weekend then a Saw Doctors hooley at the Nokia Theater in Times Square on Friday and Saturday nights. They have just released a fun compilation of odds 'n' sods called That Takes the Biscuit (more on that next week).

I recommend the same thing every year because it is clearly the best party of them all - Rogues March maestro Joe Hurley puts on a raucous show called the All-Star Irish Rock Revue.

"I don't think anyone wants to hear you preach on the stage. That was never my intent. I think people come to my shows to be entertained, plain and simple, and they probably walk away with a better sense of who I am at the end of the show.

One of the most exciting bands to come out of Ireland in many a decade is Kila. They are traditional musicians with an almost pagan disregard for the genre, throwing rain sticks, bongo pattering and other international textures into their Irish stew.

It's a thrill each time one of them steps away from the pack, and the new release from Colm O'Snodaigh, Giving, is no exception.

It's only halfway through the summer and I'm already sick of the scene. It seems everyone gets their barbeque fare from Costco or Sam's Club. The bagel chips and dip and the zesty raspberry vinaigrette glaze that was so new and imaginative on Memorial Day tastes pretty tired after you've grazed on it through July.

The Irish are known for their “craic,” or spirit of fun, so festivals are celebrated for all sorts of occasions around the country, year-round. Here's a list of some of Ireland's best festivals throughout the year:

Paddy Casey brings his engaging blend of folk rock to the Craic stage – you’ll read more about the Craic on this week’s lead arts page — following up on his U.S. turn last year when he was featured as