The Irish Times is an Irish daily broadsheet news paper launched in the late 1850s. The current editor is Geraldine Kennedy, who succeeded Conor Brady in 2002. The paper is generally perceived as liberal and neutral on Irish unity, in contrast to the Irish Independent, which is perceived as populist and economically right wing.

Though formed as a Protestant Irish nationalist paper, within two decades, and under new owners, it had become the voice of Irish unionists who wanted Ireland to remain a full part of Britain. In the early twentieth century, as the Irish Free State seceded from the United Kingdom and later also the Commonwealth, the paper changed its identity, becoming a more radical voice in the Irish media.

Today, its most prominent columnists include writer and arts commentator Fintan O'Toole, the satirist Miriam Lord and former taoiseach (Irish prime minister) Garret FitzGerald. Senior international figures, including Tony Blair, Bill Clinton and others have written for its 'Op-Ed' (Opinion and Editorial) page. Among of its most prominent columns include Drapier (an anonymous column produced weekly by a politician, giving the 'insider' view of politics).

It is also the Irish newspaper with the most bureaux abroad; it has had full time correspondents in Washington, Moscow, Beijing, London, Central and South America, Africa and other parts of the world. According to the Audit Bureau of Circulations, it had a daily circulation of 117,370 during the second six months of 2005. Read more...

Michael Gomez (born Michael Armstrong, 21 June 1977), also known as "the Irish Mexican" or "the Predator", is a professional boxer. He was born to an Irish Traveller family in Longford, County Longford, Ireland, spending his early years in Dublin before moving to Manchester, England with his family at the age of nine.

Gomez fights in the lightweight division, having previously fought in the featherweight and super featherweight divisions. During his career he has amassed a number of championship title belts: the IBF Inter-Continental featherweight title; and the British, WBO Inter-Continental, WBA Inter-Continental and WBU super featherweight titles. He was the first Irish boxer to win the Lonsdale Belt outright.

Gomez, who has been compared to Johnny Tapia, has lived a turbulent life and has often been involved in controversial fights. In Gomez's initial matches he suffered a number of losses to journeyman opposition but then went on a run of victories which stretched for almost four years. Of his 17 fights between February 2001 and March 2008, 16 ended in knockouts. Concerns arose about his drinking and failure to adhere to his diet and training regimes after a 2001 loss to Laszlo Bognar. Gomez appeared to be "back on track" in 2003, with his high-profile fight against Edinburgh-based fighter, "Amazing" Alex Arthur for the British and WBA Inter-Continental super featherweight titles, which Gomez won by delivering a knockout blow to Arthur in the fifth round.

In 2006, Gomez suffered a controversial loss to Peter McDonagh when, in the middle of a round, he dropped his guard and walked out of the ring, later saying he had retired from boxing. He returned to the ring after a 15–month interval. On 21 June 2008, Gomez lost what was seen as possibly his last bout—a last chance saloon opportunity to resurrect his career against rising star and Olympic silver medallist Amir Khan. The fight ended with Gomez suffering a TKO when the referee stopped the fight in the fifth round. Read more...

Newry (/ˈnjʊəri/; from Irish: An Iúraigh) is a city in Northern Ireland, standing on the Clanrye river in counties Down and Armagh. It is near the border with the Republic of Ireland, on the main route between Belfast (34 miles/55 km away) and Dublin (67 miles/108 km away). The population was 27,913 in 2021.

Newry was founded in 1157 as a settlement around a Cistercian abbey. In the 16th century the English dissolved the abbey and built Bagenal's Castle on the site. Newry grew as a market town and a garrison, and became a port in 1742 when Newry Canal was opened, the first summit-level canal in Ireland. A cathedral city, it is the episcopal seat of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Dromore. In 2002, as part of the Golden Jubilee of Elizabeth II, Newry was granted city status along with Lisburn. (Full article...)

• ...that seventh-century Irish saint, Saint Fiacre, is the patron saint of taxi drivers?
• ...that Cashel, Co. Tipperary was made a city by charter of Charles II in 1667, but lost city status when its city corporation was abolished by the Municipal Corporations (Ireland) Act 1840?
• ...that Newry had greatest rise in house prices in the United Kingdom over the last decade, with prices increasing by 371% since 1996?
• …that in 1903, George Moore, from a Catholic family and then aged 51, announced himself to be a Protestant in a letter to the Irish Times newspaper?