The Great Famine, also known as the Great Hunger, the Famine and the Irish Potato Famine, was a period of starvation and disease in Ireland lasting from 1845 to 1852 that constituted a historical social crisis and subsequently had a major impact on Irish society and history as a whole. The most severely affected areas were in the western and southern parts of Ireland—where the Irish language was dominant—and hence the period was contemporaneously known in Irish as an Drochshaol, which literally translates to "the bad life" and loosely translates to "the hard times". The worst year of the famine was 1847, which became known as "Black '47". During the Great Hunger, roughly 1 million people died and more than 1 million more fled the country, causing the country's population to fall by 20–25% between 1841 and 1871. Between 1845 and 1855, at least 2.1 million people left Ireland, primarily on packet ships but also on steamboats and barques—one of the greatest exoduses from a single island in history.
The Irish Recorded Music Association (IRMA) is a non-profit association set up in 1999 to promote certain interests of the music industry in Ireland. It is particularly active in addressing copyright issues, and it compiles the official music charts for Ireland.
Westlife are an Irish pop group formed in Dublin in 1998. The group consists of members Shane Filan, Mark Feehily, Kian Egan, and Nicky Byrne. Brian McFadden was a member before leaving in 2004. The group disbanded in 2012 after 14 years and later reunited in 2018.
"I'll Be There for You" is a song by American pop rock duo the Rembrandts. The song was written by David Crane, Marta Kauffman, Michael Skloff, and Allee Willis as the main theme song to the NBC sitcom Friends, which was broadcast from 1994 to 2004. American rock band R.E.M. was originally asked to allow their song "Shiny Happy People" to be used for the Friends theme, but they turned the opportunity down. "I'll Be There for You" was subsequently written and Warner Bros. Television selected the only available band on Warner Bros. Records to record it: the Rembrandts. In 1995, after a Nashville radio station brought the song to mainstream popularity, Rembrandts members Danny Wilde and Phil Sōlem expanded the theme song with two new verses and included this version on their third studio album, L.P. (1995).
"Perfect Day" is a song written by American musician Lou Reed in 1972. It was originally featured on Transformer, Reed's second post-Velvet Underground solo album, and as B-side of his major hit, "Walk on the Wild Side". Its fame was given a boost in the 1990s when it was featured in the 1996 film Trainspotting and after a star-studded version was released as a BBC charity single in 1997, reaching number one in the United Kingdom, Ireland, and Norway. Reed re-recorded the song for his 2003 album The Raven.
Lough Swilly in Ireland is a glacial fjord or sea inlet lying between the western side of the Inishowen Peninsula and the Fanad Peninsula, in County Donegal. Along with Carlingford Lough and Killary Harbour it is one of three glacial fjords in Ireland.
Pádraig Peter Harrington is an Irish professional golfer who plays on the European Tour, PGA Tour and the PGA Tour Champions. He has won three major championships: The Open Championship in 2007 and 2008 and the PGA Championship, also in 2008. He spent over 300 weeks in the top-10 of the world rankings, and reached a career-high ranking of third in July 2008. Harrington was a member of six consecutive Ryder Cup teams between 1999 and 2010. In 2024, he was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame.
Liam Cunningham is an Irish actor. He is known for playing Davos Seaworth in the HBO epic-fantasy series Game of Thrones.
"In the Summertime" is the debut single by British rock band Mungo Jerry, released in 1970. It reached number one in charts around the world, including seven weeks on the UK Singles Chart, two weeks on one of the Canadian charts, and number three on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart in the US. It became one of the best-selling singles of all-time, eventually selling 30 million copies. Written and composed by the band's lead singer, Ray Dorset, while working in a lab for Timex, the lyrics of the song celebrate the carefree days of summer. The track was included on the second album by the band, Electronically Tested, issued in March 1971.
"Kiss from a Rose" is a song from British singer-songwriter Seal's second eponymous album (1994). The song was first released as a single in July 1994 by ZTT, Sire and Warner Bros., and included in the film The NeverEnding Story III that year. It was re-released a year later in 1995 as part of the Batman Forever film soundtrack, helping it top the charts in the United States and Australia. The song also reached the top 10 in several other countries, including Canada, France, Iceland and Norway. At the 1996 Grammy Awards, it won awards for Record of the Year, Song of the Year, and Best Male Pop Vocal Performance.
"Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me, Kill Me" is a song by Irish rock band U2. It was released as a single from the soundtrack album for the film Batman Forever on 5 June 1995 by Atlantic and Island. A number-one single in their home country of Ireland, as well as in seven other countries, it reached number two on the UK Singles Chart, number sixteen on the US Billboard Hot 100, and number one on the Billboard Album Rock Tracks and Modern Rock Tracks charts. The song received Grammy Award nominations for Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal and Best Rock Song. The song is included on the compilation album The Best of 1990–2000 and the live album From the Ground Up: Edge's Picks from U2360°. Its music video was directed by Kevin Godley and Maurice Linnane.
The Connacht Senior Hurling Championship, known simply as the Connacht Championship, was an annual inter-county hurling competition organised by the Connacht Council of the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA). It was the highest inter-county hurling competition in the province of Connacht, and was contested almost every year between 1900 and 1922 before a revival in the 1990s.
"Nocturne" is a song recorded by Irish-Norwegian duo Secret Garden –Fionnuala Sherry and Rolf Løvland– with music composed by Løvland and lyrics written by Petter Skavlan. It represented Norway in the Eurovision Song Contest 1995 held in Dublin, resulting in the country's second win at the contest.
"Think Twice" is a song recorded by Canadian singer Celine Dion, released as the third single from her third English-language album, The Colour of My Love (1993) in North America in July 1994, in the United Kingdom, Australia and Japan in October 1994, and in other European countries in 1995. It was written by Andy Hill and Peter Sinfield, and produced by Christopher Neil and Aldo Nova. In this rock-influenced song with a guitar solo, the protagonist is telling her lover to "think twice" before leaving her. The song became one of Dion's most successful hits in Europe and Australia, topping multiple charts, including those of Flemish Belgium, Ireland, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, and the United Kingdom. Remaining at the top of the UK Singles Chart for seven weeks, it eventually became the fourth single by a female artist to sell in excess of one million copies in the UK.
The Diocese of Limerick is a Latin diocese of the Catholic Church in mid-western Ireland, one of six suffragan dioceses in the ecclesiastical province of Cashel and Emly.
The Northern Ireland Football League, also known as the Irish League, is the national football league of Northern Ireland. The Irish League was originally formed in 1890, with the league in its current format created in 2013 to assume independent collective management of the top three levels of the Northern Ireland football league system; namely the Premiership, Championship and Premier Intermediate League.
