Ireland

First Thursdays, an event that's become one of Baltimore's quintessential summer evening experiences, is returning to Mount Vernon. The summer concert series, which is off to a late start after being canceled in May and again in June, debuts, weather permitting, at 5:30 p.m. today at West Mount Vernon Park. Annapolis band Pressing Strings will open for the Guggenheim Grotto, a pop folk band from Ireland. "In a time when being connected means tapping at your keyboard or PDA, First Thursday provides people the opportunity to interact with their friends," says Steve Yasko, general manager of WTMD, the radio station that's sponsored the shows for the last five years after inheriting the responsibility from Baltimore's City Paper.

Women's lacrosse Team USA beats Ireland, 22-5, will face England in semifinal Caroline Cryer had four goals, three assists and five draw controls, helping the United States rout Ireland, 22-5, in a Federation of International Lacrosse World Cup quarterfinal in Prague, Czech Republic. Team USA (5-0) will play England in a semifinal this morning. The Irish gave the Americans a brief scare when they took a 4-3 first-half lead on a goal by Krista Pellizzi (Maryland), but after a timeout the Americans scored the next 15 goals.

Dr. Francis Thomas Daly, a retired internist, died of a stroke June 4 at his daughter's Marshfield, Wis., home. The Towson resident was 80. Born in County Offaly, Ireland, he earned his medical degree at the Royal College of Surgeons in Dublin, Ireland, in 1953. He worked in England for a year before doing an internship in Delaware and completed his residency at Johns Hopkins Hospital. While at Hopkins, he met his future wife, the former Geraldine Leonore Austraw, a pharmacist. Dr. Daly established a medical practice in Baltimore and had offices on East Chase Street and in Charles Village.

Applause to retired Judge Tom Ward, who is among the organizers of a historical tribute to recall Ireland's Great Hunger, a period between 1845 and 1853 when thousands left the Emerald Isle and sailed for America. "When the Irish government suggested the worldwide memorialization of the Great Hunger, our group, the Irish Railroad Workers Museum, decided to accept the leadership and have a memorial Mass at historic St. Peter the Apostle Church," he told me this week. The Mass is scheduled at 1:30 p.m. May 17 at the church at Poppleton and Hollins streets.

Michael Kevin Quinn loved his horses. He co-owned a racer named First Sea Light and, over the years, kept a couple for countryside rides, one named Joker and the other - in honor of the land of his birth - Irish. When he got too old to ride, one of his sons said Sunday, he gave it up very reluctantly and always missed it. Formerly a doctor in general practice in the Lutherville-Timonium area, Dr. Quinn died Friday at Stella Maris Hospice at Mercy Medical Center after suffering for several years from Alzheimer's disease.

Everyone and every place is Irish on St. Patrick's Day, but to experience the authentic Ireland all year-round, you need to visit Dublin. The Irish capital, home to James Joyce, George Bernard Shaw and U2's Bono, began more than 1,000 years ago as a Viking village. Today, it is a diverse city in the heart of a metropolitan area of more than 1 million people. Here are five places not to miss on a visit to the Emerald Isle's largest city: 1 Dublin Castle : Here on a ridge at the junction of the River Liffey and its tributary Poddle, Dublin was born.

Irish stout, like a leprechaun, can fool you. It looks dark and stark, but is actually light, friendly and refreshing. As Garrett Oliver points out in his book The Brewmaster's Table, the alcohol content of Irish stout is usually below 5 percent by volume, and that is lower than the typical American lager. Roasted barley and malts give the stout its rich, black color. Cans of stout now come equipped with a rattling widget that, when the can is popped open, helps dissolved nitrogen bubbles form the classic creamy head.

The fatal downtown stabbing of an exotic dancer last week began as a fight among employees inside a strip club on The Block and could place the club's liquor and adult entertainment licenses in jeopardy. The chairman of the city's liquor board, Stephan Fogleman, said the board is exploring the incident to determine whether the club, Norma Jean's, was complying with laws and whether it allowed the incident, either willingly or through negligence, to take place. "Anything can happen anywhere, anytime.

The best castle hotels in Europe, according to TripAdvisor.com, based on rankings by travelers who contribute reviews to the Web site and TripAdvisor editors. 1. Glin Castle in Glin, Ireland ($491 average nightly rate) 2. Castle Stuart, Inverness, Scotland ($614) 3. Thornbury Castle, Thornbury, England ($394) 4. Domaine de la Tortiniere, Tours, France ($310) 5. Borthwick Castle, Edinburgh, Scotland ($273) 6. Chateau de Bagnols, Lyon, France ($1,335) 7. Castelletto di Montebenichi, Bucine, Italy ($242)

Dublin - The two men drink standing near the back of the long bar at Davy Byrnes, one of the many watering holes in this city that, in the words of writer Samuel Beckett, who once lived upstairs, have been known to house "broken glass and indiscretion." In the back, because that's well away from the "whippets" and "blow-ins" who tend to wander in, armed with neither intellect nor wit, if one distinguishes between the two, settle on the first available stool and ask for a "Boodweiser" from the barman.