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Ireland has both the privilege and the responsibility of hosting the Presidency of the Council of the European Union from January 1 until June 30 2013. Holding the Presidency is an important role at any time, but the expectations for this forthcoming Presidency are even greater given the challenging circumstances that both the Union and Ireland face.

The Irish-American vote used to be a sure thing. If you were Irish-American, you voted Democrat. It was as simple as that. When I was growing up in 1950s Chicago, Republicans were like another species. An analogy from Baseball. As a Chicagoan, you supported either the White Sox or the Cubs. It was a tribal thing. My family were White Sox fans. So I was a White Sox fan. Cubs fans, on the other hand, were weird. Why would anyone support the Cubs? In much the same way, Republicans were weird too. Why would anyone support the Republicans? If you were Irish-American, even to pose the question bordered on the ridiculous.

There can be few streets in this country that are as well documented as St Bridget’s Terrace. It was built 100 years ago on St Bridget’s Hill. The hill overlooked the town and was of great strategic and military importance. Both the Cromwellian and Williamite armies camped there when attacking Galway. During the 17th century, the hill was known as ‘Gottyganavy’. In 1710 the name had evolved to ‘Knocknegany’ and on Logan’s 1818 map of the city, it is depicted as Cnoc na Gainimhe (the Hill of Sand, or Sandpit Hill).

Ten thousand people are expected to flock to Knock on Sunday September 9 for the sixth annual National Grandparents’ Pilgrimage.

The Catholic Grandparents Association is spreading across the world like wildfire in the wake of recent high-profile appearances at the International Eucharistic Congress in Dublin and at the World Family Congress in Milan.

Ireland has a third-world standard of care for people with Parkinson’s disease and other neurological disorders, chairperson of the Mayo branch of the Parkinson’s Association of Ireland (PAI) Marian Newman has stated.

Catherine Wiley, a grandmother from Mayo, has addressed the World Family Congress in Milan this May, asking: “Will our grandchildren be Catholics?”

I popped along to Crossmolina last Saturday evening to see my former team, Crossmolina, play against Davitts in round two of the league. It was not too pretty to watch because the standard of football was not particularly good on this occasion. At no stage did I get the impression that Davitts were going to beat Crossmolina which will understandably be a concern for them, as they will be really anxious to continue to play at this higher level of football into the foreseeable future. There will not be too many clubs in a forgiving mood during this league campaign, so picking up points at every and any opportunity is essential. Those teams that got a real scare of relegation last year will be more determined than ever to avoid being sucked into the same territory again this year, so it is going to be a real baptism of fire for the Ballindine club as they will no doubt discover.

Are you aged between 18 and 35? Looking for something to do this Good Friday night April 6? Ardagh and Clonmacnois Diocesan Youth Ministry Centre are hosting an information evening in Athlone about the Youth Space at the 50th International Eucharistic Congress which takes place this June in Dublin.

THE NEW York Times described him as “the most popular poet in America”, and Billy Collins certainly enjoys the kind of following that many a writer would envy.