Irish Weekend Roundup

What's Bono up to these days? He's about to be editor for a day of British newspaper The Independent to highlight the AIDS problem in Africa.

You know we like our Irish dandies poets here at IrishKC. Well, we have news of Nobel Laureate Seamus Heaney being in the US to receive an Honorary doctorate degree from the University of Kentucky (which confusingly, to us Irish folk, is UK when abbreviated).

From ABBA to Father Ted to Death Metal, Canada of all places, gives an introduction to this year's Eurovision Song Contest which takes place later this month. The Eurovision was funny up until it ultimately became responsible for launching this on the world.

A top American police woman has emerged as the leading candidate for head of the new Garda Inspectorate designed to replace the Garda Siochana Complaints Board - a Watchdog for the national police force, basically. Boston Police Commissioner Kathleen O'Toole was one of the leading figures on Chris Patten's commission that changed the RUC into the PSNI. The Mayor of Boston is reportedly not happy about possibly losing his woman.

Meitheal, the biggest Irish tourism trade fair, is taking place over the next few days in Killarney in county Kerry. At 3.9% of Ireland's GNP, tourism is huge, but recent numbers have Dublin benefitting at the expense of the regions.