A key account of a battle which came to define Irish identity may have been fabricated, a researcher has claimed as the country marks the millennium of the Battle of Clontarf.

There will be a hint of the GAA on show tonight at Castle Avenue when Clontarf host the world-famous Barbarians in a rugby game commemorating the Battle of Clontarf.

We in Ireland are rarely found wanting in acknowledging those moments in history that have shaped our past. Only this week we have been commemorating the 98th anniversary of the Easter Rising and the 1,000th anniversary of the Battle of Clontarf.

Residents in Clontarf, Dublin, woke up this morning to discover they'd been invaded - again - by a horde of vikings, 1,000 years after the last Battle of Clontarf.

This weekend thousands of re-enactors, that wonderful blend of the theatrical, the fantastic, the historical, the childish and the borderline weird, will imagine themselves heroic defenders of the fatherland as they mark the 1,000th anniversary of the Battle of Clontarf.

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As the 1000th anniversary of Brian Boru’s death approaches, Robert Hume attempts to separate fact from fiction in the Munster king’s momentous battle against the Vikings of Leinster.

The Easter bunny has never been busier.Pól Ó Conghaile picks some of the best egg hunts around the country

My Irish Examiner informs me that a Wicklow car hire service was paid over €82,000 to ferry around the US First Lady, her two daughters and entourage during a short visit to Dublin last June.

The goal of living together as neighbours and friends is now within reach, Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II said a State banquet in honour of Irish President Michael D Higgins tonight.

Colm Herron owner of the Hillgrove Hotel with Norah Casey on the new series of ‘The Takeover’, beginning on RTÉ Two on Thursday.

One of the few Irish St Patrick’s Day celebrations that matches the splendour of those in America, a mix of paint, performances, pageantry, parades and parties, promises to make this year’s Dublin festival one of the most spectacular ever.

€620,000 is to be spent on developing a number of tourist attractions in Dublin, which are aimed at international visitors.

World Book Day, the greatest annual celebration of books and reading on the planet, takes place tomorrow and the good news is that all school children can get a token to be exchanged for a special free publication in their local bookshop.

THE New Year: when a local authority’s thoughts turn to ... “I wonder how old this area is anyway. Maybe there’s an anniversary coming up”.

Viking warriors are set to come to Ireland next year, but according to the Danish ambassador they will be on their best behaviour this time.

The Hot Ticket: Derry

Festival organisers around the country were thanking their lucky stars this morning as the rotten weather of the past number of days broke just in time.

AS is my usual habit I visited both All-Ireland hurling final counties in the last week, to see what they’re getting up to in training and to gauge for myself the feeling in both camps — and among both sets of supporters.

KILLALOE is seeking to reclaim its title as the capital of Ireland — for one weekend, at least — as it celebrates the 1,000th anniversary of the death of Brian Boru at the Battle of Clontarf.

TWENTY years of peace building have come to fruition with the queen’s visit, said former President Mary Robinson.

PERHAPS the key date in the history of ancient Ireland is that of Good Friday, April 23, 1014, the day of Brian Boru’s victory over the Vikings at the Battle of Clontarf.