The website Irish Central has posted a list of the 10 most popular Irish last names, including meaning of the name, variations, and the area where the name is most prominent.

Archaeologists working on a dig at Dungannon, Ireland's Castle Hill have discovered what experts believe are the remains of Mabel Bagenal, third wife of the Earl of Tyrone, Hugh O'Neill, and known as Ireland's "Helen of Troy."

In 2006, a group of turf cutters working in a bog in Tipperary discovered a vellum and leather psalter dating to the 9th century. Now, for the first time, the public will have the opportunity to see the Fadden More Psalter now on display at the National Museum in Dublin.

Early 16th century Spanish explorers in North America reported the existance of a settlement in modern-day South Carolina of people with "red to brown hair, tan skin and gray eyes." The settlement was called Duhare.

Workers extracting turf from a bog in Galway, Ireland have found a wooden keg full of butter. The butter could be as much as 2,500 years old.

The (alleged) severed head of St. Vitalis of Assisi, a 14th century Italian monk, is being put up for auction in Ireland. The relic has been owned by a prominent Irish family since the 18th century.

Researchers working beneath Meeting House Square in Temple Bar, Dublin, have found what appears to be a medieval grain mill. "This find is very exciting. We’re really buzzing about it,” said Dermot McLaughlin, chief executive of Temple Bar Cultural Trust.

In 2011, a woman cutting turf in a family bog at Tullahennell North, Ireland, discovered what proved to be a 7th century brooch bearing the Greek symbol for Christ. Now researchers have linked the pin to a Christian community with ties to Greece. (photo)

Researchers have long traced the roots of Shakespeare's Hamlet, Prince of Denmark to Amlethus in the History of the Danes, written around 1200, but a new study traces the name back even further, to 8th or 9th century Ireland.

Common wisdom about 16th century Ireland, namely that it was a backwater, is being challeneged by a new study by PhD student Susan Flavin. She has looked at imports from England to Ireland between 1503 and 1600 and contradicts the common assumption.

Archaeologists from the University College Dublin are unable to resume research on 14th century fishweirs near the Fergus Estuary in County Clare, Ireland which have been threatened by weather. The team blames budget cuts by the Irish Heritage Council. (photo)

Remnants of a medieval mill, including well preserved timber beams, pottery, and shoes, have been found  beneath Meeting House Square in Temple Bar, Dublin. The site was discovered during a routine pre-constuction survey, and they did not expect to find much of interest.

In her 1991 Master's Thesis, The Role of the High Cross in Early Christian Ireland: 8th to 11th Centuries, Jill Quattlebaum discusses the early Christian Church in Ireland and the importance of the stone cross as its symbol. The thesis is available to read online.

Eamonn Kelly, Keeper of Antiquities with the National Museum of Ireland, reports that after years of research the Viking fortress of Linn Duachaill has been located 45 miles north of Dublin.

The myth of Irish giants such as Fionn Mac Cumhail may contain a grain of truth, according to a recent genetic study. DNA may show that a strain of gigantism ran through five families in the northern part of the country.

New research by experts from Bangor University in Wales may show that the Vikings were not the first to reach Iceland. The first may have been Irish monks from the Scottish islands who travled there 70 years before their Nordic neighbors.

The Celtic gods will get their day when the story of Cúchulainn, Ireland's greatest warrior, comes to movie theaters. The film will be part of a "multi-platform project planned to include a documentary series, stage show, educational programming and graphic novel."

In an article for Irish America Magazine, Edythe Preet ponders Viking history and influences in Ireland, including linguistically and in the celebration of the holiday season, especially when it comes to food and drink.

Archaeologists are puzzled over the spring 2010 discovery of a rare 9th century Viking necklace consisting of "71 glass beads covered with gold foil." The necklace was discovered during an excavation of Glencurran Cave in the Burren National Park. (photo)

A team of archaeologists believes it has found Linn Duchaill, Ireland's lost Viking settlement, near the village of Annagassan, 70 kilometers north of Dublin. The outpost was mentioned in the Annals of Ulster, a 15th century account of medieval Ireland.

The fragments of a vellum manuscript of a book of psalms dating to the 8th century has excited the archaeological community in Ireland who have called it the “most important day in the history of the museum since 1868 when the Ardagh Chalice came in."

Archaeologists are trying to discover the exact purpose of an oak timber road found in the Bord na Móna bog in Tipperary, Ireland.

The precariously-perched UNESCO world heritage site Skellig Michael, in Kerry, Ireland, is known for housing monks from the 6th through 8th centuries, but new discoveries may prove that an earlier fort existed on the site.

With this missive does The Shire of Loch Ruadh invite you all to attend our new event, The Shannon River Raids, to be held October 22nd-24th in Hillsboro, Texas.

During practice, members of the Worcester Hurling Club hit a sliotar (ball) with their hurleys (stick). That's Worcester, Massachusetts, not England.

The discovery of “bows and parts of bows, arrows and arrow fragments and an array of arrowheads” in an Irish bog dating to the Anglo-Norman invasion of Ireland may give insight into the types of equipment used by the Normans.

A zoomorphic penannular brooch dating to the 7th century has been discovered in a clump of turf cut for burning in Mantara, Ireland. The Brooch is believed to have belonged to an early Christian clergyman. (photos)

Ongoing excavations on the grounds of Rothe House in Kilkenny, Ireland, have discovered that Cistercian abbots, who had a previous residence at the site, lived a lavish lifestyle of roast swan and French wine.

Workers for the Office of Public Works (OPW) in Dublin, Ireland have unearthed evidence of an 11th century Viking settlement on the north shore of the Liffey River.

The history of medieval medicine in Ireland got a major boost with the discovery of a previously unknown medieval church and graveyard in Ballyhanna, County Donegal. Among the surprises was evidence of successful brain surgery performed around the year 800.