This year, 2016, may go down in history as one of the most surprising and often depressing years in recent history. Back in January the music legend David Bowie passed away and the year seemed to go downhill from there! From Prince to Muhammad Ali and Alan Rickman’s deaths to tragedies such as the Orlando massacre, the migrant crisis and war in the Middle East and 2016 US Elections. It’s been a crazy year.

However, there’s also been plenty of light relief from a remote island of Ireland becoming a dream refuge for those who didn’t support Trump, to Irish history, the world’s obsession with the Kennedy dynasty and our love for our Irish roots. We discovered this year that our audience would rather look on the bright side of life.

We looked back at IrishCentral’s records and found our top, most read stories of 2016. Enjoy.

Remote Irish island seeks Americans fleeing Donald Trump presidency

American citizens, who are terrified at the prospect of Donald Trump becoming the next President, have been urged to consider relocating to one of Ireland's remotest islands.

Inishturk, off Co. Mayo, has seen its once thriving population plummet to just 58, with only three pupils attending the local primary school…Read more here.

Jackie Kennedy’s granddaughter has uncannily similar looks

Rose Schlossberg, the granddaughter of Jackie Kennedy, launched her comedy web series this week and the Internet went crazy. Not over the series but over the uncanny resemblance the 27-year-old has to her grandmother…Read more here.

Adopted daughter reveals 15-year secret relationship with birth mother

In her memoir ‘An Affair With My Mother,’ Caitriona Palmer describes how for over a decade she would have clandestine meetings with her birth mother, who was too afraid to reveal her daughter’s existence…Read more here.

These Irish baby names are about to become super trendy

It seems that some Irish names such as Liam and Clare continue to be popular in the United States and some Hollywood types have grabbed on to names such as Ireland and Keeva, but recently Buzzfeed.com made the prediction that 17 Irish baby names “are about to take over.” Sounds ominous…Read more here.

50 facts about the Easter Rising (PHOTOS)

This year marks the 100th anniversary of the Easter Rising, the rebellion for Irish independence that changed the course of Ireland’s history when it began on Easter Monday, 1916...Read more here.