Returning diaspora who wish to kickstart new businesses on Irish soil can now apply for support with a new government-funded mentoring scheme, Minister for Diaspora and International Development Joe McHugh announced in May. Funding of up to €100,000 ($111,000) will be provided to the initiative over the next 12 months as part of a new effort from the Department of Foreign … [Read more...] about Entrepreneurial Emigrants Invited Home
News from Ireland
Census Reports on Love and Language
The results of the Republic of Ireland’s most recent census, conducted April 24, 2016, were released April 6. The census, which occurs every five years, requires everyone on Irish soil to submit a thorough account of their personal information for the production of updated national statistics. First produced in 1821, the census tracks the changes in Ireland’s population … [Read more...] about Census Reports on Love and Language
Wexford Festival Opera Named Best in World
Ireland’s famed Wexford Festival Opera won the prestigious “Best Festival” prize at this year’s International Opera Awards at the London Coliseum, home of the London Opera, in May. The festival, held every fall and now in its 66th year, beat out other shortlisted international festivals like Festival d’Aix-en-Provence and the Lyon Festival in France; Festival Verdi in Parma, … [Read more...] about Wexford Festival Opera Named Best in World
Record Number of Irish Passports Issued in 2016
Arecord number of Irish passports were issued in 2016, the Irish Department of Foreign Affairs announced in January. In total, 733,060 passports were issued last year, a nine percent increase from 2015. Minister for Foreign Affairs Charlie Flanagan, TD, attributed the rise to “a variety of factors including the fact that more Irish people traveled in the first half of the year; … [Read more...] about Record Number of Irish Passports Issued in 2016
McGregor Trailblazes UFC
Ultimate Fighting Championship featherweight champion Conor McGregor (below) became the only mixed martial artist in history to hold two UFC titles simultaneously in November, when the Dubliner took down hitherto lightweight champion Eddie Alvarez at Madison Square Garden. Alvarez’s loss came as a second-round technical knockout, with the referee calling the fight off when … [Read more...] about McGregor Trailblazes UFC