Back home in Kerry to prepare for her wedding, and praying it won’t be a wet one. A waterlogged April Drew reports on a never-ending Irish problem: the incessant rain.

Members of the Irish community gathered at a memorial Mass in New York Thursday to remember Sen. Edward Kennedy just over 12 weeks after his death. The senator’s son, Edward Kennedy Jr., Christine Quinn, Speaker of New York City Council, and Irish Consul General Niall Burgess were among those present.

Niall Heraty is just like every other 11-year-old. He adores the Yankees, he plays a mean game of basketball, and he loves more than anything to wind his older brother, Conor, and his younger brother, Ryan, up. However, Niall, son of Julie and Vinny Heraty, natives of Westport, Co. Mayo, hasn’t had the time or energy to enjoy such activities since March. Niall has a rare cancerous tumor and is currently undergoing rigorous treatment to rid his young body of the disease.

After eight years working for a construction firm, an Irish mother of three girls decided it was time to change direction in her career, so she followed her dreams and recently opened up a women’s clothing boutique called Sea in Nyack, New York.

A spate of inexplicable suicides has swept the Irish community in New York. In the space of just six weeks, three young Irish men have taken their lives. Six weeks ago a young Kerry footballer, who was believed to have a history of depression, ended his life just hours after getting off the plane from

Eugene Kyne highlights the past week's intermediate and senior football matches from the Bronx.

SLIDESHOW / IRISH SIDE OF ELLIS ISLAND / CLICK HERE The outside world is a scary place. Especially when outside is New York

On any given day a young County Mayo man can be found chauffeuring tourists around Central Park on the back of his rented Pedi-cab, winning them over with his charm and wowing them with his in-depth knowledge of the city.

Woodlawn in the Bronx was abuzz with excitement on Tuesday, July 7, as New York City Council Speaker Christine Quinn brought an entourage of reporters and staff to visit “Little Ireland” in an effort to make other New Yorkers aware that you don’t have to get on a plane and travel 3,000 miles to visit the Emerald Isle.

It is impossible not to get caught up in the mischief and malarkey of one of Irish band Shilelagh Law's shows, with the crowd pumping their fists in the air, screaming soccer stadium chants between songs, and shouting out the words to all the bedrock traditional ditties and original tunes in the band’s repertoire.

One of the fascinating aspects of traditional Irish music is that it is a great magnet for making friends who may last your entire lifetime and band families together with the common bonds it engenders. This past weekend certainly was indicative of that as two separate and thoroughly enjoyable occasions came back to back on Friday and Saturday and were worth noting in this space.

A summer of work and fun in New York isn’t going as planned this year for a number of Irish J-1 visa holders, who are finding it difficult to secure jobs and accommodation.

Irish Americans have reacted with shock and outrage at the revelations of the Ryan report which has detailed the extent of the abuse of Ireland's children which took place in Church-run institutions. They all agreed that a collar should not protect anyone from prosecution.

Irish Americans have reacted with shock and outrage at the revelations of the Ryan report which has detailed the extent of the abuse of Ireland's children which took place in Church-run institutions. They all agreed that a collar should not protect anyone from prosecution.

He lived here undocumented for 12 years, heeded the call of family in Ireland and returned home, but now he’s back in New York, and back for good. Irish immigrant Tom talks about why he made the move once again to the Big Apple, a place he now proudly calls “home.”

New York will only embrace its new Archbishop if he is himself. But he's off to a good start.

Thousands of Irish immigrants, mostly undocumented, cannot obtain health insurance, meaning a visit to the doctor, dentist or hospital can cost them hundreds of dollars. But there is some help.

The hopes of summer gathered at Rory Dolan's in Yonkers last Sunday courtesy of the Woodlawn School of Irish Music. It was their early foray into fundraising for their young students who aspire to attend Fleadh Cheoil na hEireann (www.fleadh 2009.

We often focus on Michael Coleman as THE Sligo fiddler who had the most influence in New York City, but actually his contemporary the "Professor" James Morrison (1893-1947) from Riverstown, Co. Sligo taught more people to play the fiddle over the years. One of his last remaining fiddle students, Veronica McNamara, a well-known face to many New Jersey trad folks, will lead a night of musical history at the clubhouse of the Irish American Association of Northwest Jersey (www.

THERE has always been something more appealing to me than the mere playing of notes and tunes in traditional Irish music. Sometimes people associate that with the craic and enjoyment surrounding the playing of it, listening to it or dancing to it and that certainly adds to its aura and enduring charm.

To me, it is the heart of the musician who is playing, whether it is to a crowd of a thousand or more or just for themselves and a few friends where the intensity never varies.

Irish immigration centers across the U.S. are reporting an upsurge of new Irish immigrants calling and visiting their offices during the month of January.

It's a sight that is not seen too often. Big burly electricians carving up turkeys and hams donned in white aprons at the Aisling Irish Community Center in Yonkers on a chilly Monday afternoon in preparation for the annual feed the homeless drive in Manhattan.

Over 30 volunteers of all ages and professions pulled over 300 dinners together on Monday, November 24.

GAELIC Park in the Bronx was packed on Sunday with over 2,500 supporters from Leitrim cheering their side on in the Connacht championship against New York. Those present said it was like old times at the venerable venue, where such crowds and indeed much larger numbers were no exception in the good old days.

Incredible to think that an All-Ireland final was played in New York in 1947 when Cavan played Kerry at the old Polo Grounds before 35,000 spectators.

DNA tests carried out on a body discovered in the Hudson River on Thursday, February 7 confirmed last week that it was the body of 29-year-old missing Roscommon man Tony Devine.Devine, who went missing from midtown Manhattan on Friday, November 30, 2007 was waked at Williams Funeral Home in the Bronx on Sunday. A funeral Mass was held on Monday in St.

ON Saturday, April 19, Pope Benedict XVI will bless 50 children with various disabilities at St. Joseph's Seminary Chapel in Yonkers, and 17-year-old Kieran O'Donnell has been chosen as one of the lucky kids to receive the holy blessing. The Irish Voice asked Kieran, who has Down Syndrome, was he excited about meeting the Pope and he answered "Yes.

The movie event of the year for fans of Sex and the City finally arrives this week. APRIL DREW spoke to some Irish fans of the show to get their thoughts.GIRLS far and wide have finally found an excuse to wear their horrendously expensive pair of Manolo Blahniks, a sexy cocktail dress and sport the most fabulous bag in town while confidently strutting their stuff on their way to the much anticipated Sex and the City: The Movie which hits theaters this Friday.

A TRAGIC accident took the life of Co. Cavan native Shane McEvoy, known to his friends as "Spongie," on Wednesday, May 28 while he was installing an air conditioning unit at 160 West 65th Street in Manhattan.According to a police report, McEvoy, who hails from Annaglough, fell approximately 35 feet from the top of an air conditioning unit at 1:30 p.

IRISH construction workers are speaking out against the dangers of the job and the necessary precautions that should be put in place to prevent future deaths after several high profile incidents in New York City involving construction deaths and injuries. Gary Maher is a carpenter from Kilkenny and now lives in Woodlawn in the Bronx. He said that it was an "awful and sad tragedy" that happened in the city two weeks ago when Shane McEvoy from Cavan fell 35 feet to his death, a death that could have been prevented if he had been wearing a safety harness.

PREDICTABLY, the Sex and the City film opened last month with massive success.But what is the reason for the original popularity of the story of four single, talented women who can't seem to find a good man? Clearly it's because there are scores of females in the city can relate to such a dilemma.And if you're dating in an Irish community in New York city, the dynamic gets even more interesting.

HUNDREDS of Irish students are in dire straits lacking accommodation and jobs and seeing their summer dreams of New York disappear.They have been turning up in their droves at the Aisling Irish Center in Yonkers, New York seeking accommodation and jobs and overwhelming the staff there. Student Cormac Glynn, 21, sleeps on the floor of a one-room apartment with five others.

Thousands of Irish immigrants, mostly undocumented, cannot obtain health insurance, meaning a visit to the doctor, dentist or hospital can cost them hundreds of dollars, which often prevents such necessary trips.

However, various medical service professionals in both Queens and the Bronx/Yonkers open their offices to the undocumented and charge them a minimal fee for professional expertise.

The Irish Voice contacted some of these services to find out the cost of a visit and all that goes with it.

Cavan 2-13

St. Barnabas 0-17

CAVAN used a goal in each half of regular time to pull back St. Barnabas leads and then dominated on the scoreboard, in two 10-minute periods of extra time, to advance to meet Four Provinces in next week's Senior B final.

Half a Million Irish Visit U.S.

A WHOPPING 496,660 visitors came to the U.

Fordham University's venerable Ceol na nGael program on station WFUV is reinventing itself yet again with two new on air personalities. Fordham students Ashling Colton and Kevin Quinn, both entering their junior years in the fall, are taking over the reins as co-hosts of the long-running Irish music and news program.

Heard every Sunday from noon to 4 p.