IRISH/US EXPORTS - In 2008, US exports to Ireland were valued at $8.65 billion, while Irish exports to the U.S. totaled $31.35 billion. Irish exports to the US represent approximately 20% of all Irish exports, roughly the same as Irish exports to the UK.

ATLANTA CONSULATE - A new Irish consulate will be opened in Atlanta in 2010, the first new Irish consulate in North America since 1933. There are presently Irish Consulates in New York, Boston, Chicago and San Francisco, in addition to the Irish Embassy in Washington, DC.

PEACE PRIZE - Vicki Kennedy, Ted Kennedy's widow, will travel to Ireland next month along with former US Ambassador Jean Kennedy Smith to accept the Tipperary International Peace Prize. Ted and Jean Kennedy are jointly honored for their "lifelong commitment to peace both in Northern Ireland and on the great world stage". Others who have been previously honored include Bob Geldof, Mikhail Gorbachev, Nelson Mandela, Bill Clinton and the late Benazir Bhutto.

IRISH FAMINE MAYO - Fourteen nations, not including the UK, were represented at the Famine Commemoration ceremony at the Murrisk Millennium Peace Park in Co. Mayo last week. US Ambassador to Ireland Dan Rooney was among those who attended.

IRISH FAMINE NY - Irish President Mary McAleese last weekend attended a commemoration of the Irish Famine at the Irish Hunger Memorial in New York's Lower Manhattan. Later, with New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg in attendance, the President spoke in a synagogue where over 150 years ago members collected money for Irish famine relief.

PASSPORT SCANDAL - An Irish government report shows that eight Irish passports were forged and used by Israeli officials in setting up the January murder in Dubai of a top Hamas operative. Just a month before the killing, an Israeli official asked to see the Dublin plant where Ireland's security-enhanced passports are made.

BOOKER PRIZE - Last week, Irish author J. G. Farrell was announced as the runaway winner of the Lost Man Booker Prize for his 1970 novel Troubles which tells the tale of an English Major in Co. Wicklow in 1919 during Ireland's fight for independence from Britain. This award is a one-off prize to honor books not considered in 1970 when the award date was moved from April to November.

QUALITY-OF-LIVING - Dublin is the 26th best city in the world in which to live, according to the 2010 Mercer worldwide quality-of-living survey. Vancouver, BC, is # 4, Seattle is # 50, Belfast # 63, and the highest ranked US city is Honolulu at # 31. The rankings are used by governments and multi-national companies when determining compensation for employees placed on international assignments.

AVOID ARIZONA! - Leaders of the Irish Lobby for Immigration Reform suggest that if you are an Irish immigrant or visitor to the US, especially anyone with an Irish accent, you should avoid visiting Arizona. If you must go there, then even if you are a US citizen always carry your passport and other documentation with you - despite the danger of losing it - to avoid being arrested and jailed.

IMMIGRATION - Former First Lady Laura Bush has indicated her concern about the new Arizona immigration law, pointing to the discrimination that her own Irish ancestors, named Welch, faced in their time. "It's just a trace of Nativism that shows up in American history in a lot of different ways," she said.

SHANNON TROOPS - Omni Air, the sole carrier of US troops using Shannon Airport, has temporarily relocated its transit base from Shannon to Oslo in response to the disruption caused by the ash cloud from the Icelandic volcano. More than 1.5 million US troops have passed through Shannon over the past decade.

McCOURT BUST - The widow and three brothers of Pulitzer Prize winner Frank McCourt were in Limerick recently to unveil a bronze bust of McCourt in front of Leamy Art School where the author of Angela's Ashes was educated. During their visit, some of McCourt's ashes were spread at Carrigogunnell Castle, which overlooks the Shannon. The University of Limerick simultaneously announced it is to create a Frank McCourt chair in creative writing.

LOGH DERG - The number of pilgrims spending a day or longer at St. Patrick's Purgatory on Lough Derg in Co Donegal has increased by up to 15 % compared to 2008. Thousands of people go to the small island every year on one-day or three-day pilgrimages to pray, fast, walk barefoot and stay awake for 24 hours! St Patrick's Purgatory is believed to be among the oldest centers of Christian pilgrimage in western Europe, dating to the 6th century.

IRISH CATHOLICS - Speculation on the future of the Irish Catholic Church has included a focus on the number of dioceses on the island, with many pundits believing that 26 dioceses is far too many. Ireland's diocesan structure was established almost 900 years ago in 1111 and it is thought that the number should be reduced to 11 or 12 dioceses total.

FAMINE MASS GRAVE - A memorial service was held recently in Kilkenny to honor some 1,000 remains discovered in a mass grave dating from the Great Famine, the largest mass grave uncovered to date in Ireland. The people died between 1847 and 1851 in a former workhouse on the site and were buried there because the local graveyard was filled to capacity.

EUROVISION - This evening, Niamh Kavanagh will represent Ireland in the semi-final of the Eurovision Song Contest, with the finals scheduled for Saturday. What's the Eurovision Song Contest? Its been described as "American Idol crossed with Eurotrash on the steriods of patriotism"!

ANCESTRY DISCOUNT - Tourists to Ireland who have Irish roots but not Irish citizenship will be offered discounts at some of Ireland's top visitor attractions under a proposed scheme to encourage visits by members of the Irish Diaspora, the 70 million people worldwide with Irish ancestry. Ireland's Department of Foreign Affairs will manage the scheme which will run on a trial basis for a year and if successful will be renewed annually.

CLIMATE CHANGES - Ireland's National Biodiversity Data Center reports that climate change is causing leaves to appear on beech trees nearly three weeks earlier than they were appearing 40 years ago. Common birds including cuckoos, swifts, sand martins and swallows are all arriving in Ireland earlier. In addition, the little egret, a rarer visitor to Ireland up to 1989, is now a resident Irish species and the blackcaps, which used to be summer migrants, are now over-wintering in Ireland.

IRISH FAMILIES - A report into family life in Ireland, "Family Figures: Family Dynamics and Family Types in Ireland, 1986-2006", reports that most Irish women now wait until their 30s before having children; that marriage breakdown is 25% to 30% more likely for couples with one child than for those with none or with two or more; and that women who left school early were ten times more likely to be single mothers at the age of 25 than were graduates. The report also found that Irish divorce rates had leveled off by 2006 and did not increase significantly following divorce legislation.

NY BLOOMSDAY - Among the readers at this year's BLOOMSDAY ON BROADWAY in New York on June 16 are Stephen Colbert, Fionnula Flanagan and Malachy McCourt. For the thumbnail version of Ulysses, visit Robert Berry's Ulysses Comic. 

CARNEGIE TRAVELERS - Two Irish Traveler women performed at New York's Carnegie Hall last week because of a YouTube video of one of them singing at last year's Traveler Culture Festival. It is the first time Traveler women have performed at Carnegie Hall, according to the Irish Traveler Movement. There are an estimated 25,000 Travelers in Ireland.

RED KITES - The first red kite chicks to be born in Ireland in over 200 years have been confirmed in two nests in Co Wicklow, according to the Golden Eagle Trust Red Kite Project. The red kite once flourished in Ireland but became extinct in the 18th century due to persecution, poisoning and woodland clearance. Since 2007, 81 red kites have been imported and released in Co Wicklow. A similar project is under way in Northern Ireland.

HANDEL'S MESSIAH - On Good Friday, crowds again gathered on Fishamble Street in Dublin's Temple Bar, for a Messiah Performance by Our Lady's Choral Society and The National Symphonia. Fishamble Street is where Handel's Messiah had its world premiere on April 13th 1742.

EMMET STATUE - Robert Emmet, the Irish rebel leader who was executed by the British in 1803, is recognized