Of the 12 matches played so far, only two have been won by more than one goal: Croatia's 3-1 win over Ireland, and Russia's 4-1 thumping of the Czech Republic -- and that managed to stay interesting, if not exactly poised, well beyond halftime. Sometimes a goal for one side has stirred the other (think Ukraine versus Sweden on Day 4), others it has come entirely against the run of play (Denmark versus Netherlands on Day 2). Greece had looked hopeless and dejected after conceding two early goals to the Czech Republic, but found enough confidence to push for an equalizer even despite the fortuitous circumstances that brought about Theofanis Gekas' goal.
Here are three thoughts on Croatia's 3-1 win over Ireland in Group C:
Ireland has been absent from big tournaments in recent years, and this will mark just its second European championship since 1988 in West Germany. The repeated disappointments were reflected in a FIFA ranking that listed Giovanni Trapattoni's team at No. 42 globally when the veteran Italian coach took over in 2008. It was compounded during 2010 World Cup qualifying when it took a narrow, cruel defeat by France in the playoffs -- including a controversial helping hand from Thierry Henry -- to deny Ireland a trip to South Africa. But a turnaround may be in the works: a series of sturdy performances in the Euro qualifiers took the Irish to the finals in Poland/Ukraine.
CNN's Richard Quest talks to Lucinda Creighton, Irish min. for European affairs, about Ireland voting on EU treaty.
Northern Ireland police find an abandoned van containing a device with 600 pounds of explosives in Newry.
The sky is overcast, the wind is howling, and - like every day in Ireland - lashing rain could come at any moment.
The Catholic Church in Ireland has launched an investigation into claims that a priest accidentally showed gay pornography pictures during a presentation to parents.
France and Ireland drew 17-17 in their Six Nations clash at the Stade de France in Paris Sunday.
Ireland's PM says European leaders must be honest and work with colleagues to emerge from the financial crisis.
Dublin will hold a referendum on the eurozone fiscal pact, plunging Europe into months of uncertainty and potentially placing a question mark over Ireland's membership of the euro.
A year after agreeing to a massive bailout, Ireland said Thursday that it has passed the fourth quarterly test set by the International Monetary Fund, the European Union and the European Central Bank.
The last remaining places for European football's showpiece tournament will be decided on Tuesday.
Croatia and Republic of Ireland all but sealed their places in Euro 2012 with emphatic away wins in the first leg of their playoff ties Friday.
Ireland --- once Europe's 'Celtic Tiger' -- was last year felled by its black hole of a banking sector, and forced to tap Europe's bailout fund.
Can Dublin's "Silicon Docks" really offer the same business expertise to Internet companies as Silicon Valley?
Financially-strapped Ireland announced its intent Thursday to close embassies in the Vatican and Iran, explaining it was not worthwhile to keep them open especially given its own dire economic straits.
The decisive and positive terms of ETA's response to Monday's "Declaration" in Donostia-San Sebastian by the International Conference group is to be welcomed, as is the response of the Spanish government and others.
The Catholic Church in Ireland is going high-tech in a bid to reverse a dramatic decline in the number of priests.
Ireland reached the quarterfinals of the rugby World Cup Sunday with an emphatic 36-6 victory over Italy at the Otago Stadium.
Great Britain & Ireland had to withstand a withering onslaught from Continental Europe before retaining the Vivendi Seve Trophy at St- Nom-La-Breteche in France Sunday.
Great Britain & Ireland need just three points in the concluding singles to retain the Vivendi Seve Trophy after dominating the third day Saturday in France.
Ireland upset the Australian Wallabies 15-6 at Eden Park Saturday to top Pool C of the Rugby World Cup.
Great Britain and Ireland hold a narrow one point lead over Continental Europe after the second day of the Videndi Seve Trophy in Paris, after the European team won three of the five fourballs on Friday.
Ireland stepped up its battle with the Roman Catholic Church over child abuse Sunday, with Justice Minister Alan Shatter vowing to pass a law requiring priests to report suspicions of child abuse, even if they learn about them in confession.
Matador Network's Eva Sandoval lays out the city's most avoidable attractions...and what you should do instead.
Queen Elizabeth II's expression of sympathy for those who suffered during the long, bloody conflict between Ireland and England does not go far enough, the head of the Irish republican Sinn Fein party said Thursday.
It is a state visit that many in Ireland believed would never happen. But when the UK's Queen Elizabeth II lands in Dublin on Tuesday it will mark the reconciliation between two neighboring countries that once viewed each with suspicion and hostility.
Queen Elizabeth II visited Croke Park stadium in Dublin Wednesday on the second day of her landmark tour of Ireland.
Queen Elizabeth will spend four days on her historic visit to the country
The director of a cultural show Queen Elizabeth II will see explains what her visit means to him as an Irishman.
A few weeks ago I suggested in the Dáil (Irish Parliament) that the queen of England might be politely asked to contribute to the cost of her bed & breakfast during her visit to Ireland this week.
The biggest security operation ever seen in Ireland is being put in place ahead of Queen Elizabeth's visit next week.
Ballots are being counted after Ireland's elections, with the country's ruling party expected to be voted out of office.
The main opposition party in Ireland, Fine Gael, is claiming victory in the country's first general election since it accepted a multibillion-dollar financial bailout last year.
Six people were killed and six were injured when a small plane crashed at Cork Airport in southern Ireland on Thursday, local officials said.
The Irish government announced Tuesday that the country's general election will be held February 25 -- the first national vote since Ireland accepted a multibillion-dollar bailout package late last year in an effort to rebound from economic turmoil.
Ireland's governing party elected former Foreign Minister Micheal Martin to replace embattled Irish Prime Minister Brian Cowen, the party said Wednesday.
In March 2010, Cardinal Sean Brady read a letter from Pope Benedict XVI on sexual abuse by Catholic priests in Ireland.
While it's true that most travel destinations aren't like haute couture -- "in" one year and "out" the next -- there are some points on the map particularly worth visiting in 2011.
The European Court of Human Rights condemned Ireland's laws on abortion Thursday, ruling the country violated the human rights of a woman forced to go abroad to end her pregnancy.
Police in the Republic of Ireland arrested four men after finding a bomb in a car near the border with Northern Ireland, authorities said Wednesday.
European Union finance ministers unanimously agree on an $113 billion bailout package for Ireland.
CNN's Max Foster talks with Swedish Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt about Ireland's austerity measures.
Tens of thousands of people demonstrated on the streets of Dublin, Ireland, on Saturday against the government's austerity plan.
The European contagion is back, as virulent as ever, posing a new risk to the health of the global financial system and economic recovery.
The prime minister of Sweden said Thursday his country's offer to loan Ireland $1.5 billion to help it through a tight financial spot is not wholly altruistic.
With so many European countries needing bailouts, does it make sense to act proactively before the money is needed?
CNN's Jim Boulden reports from Dublin where higher taxes are on the table in a bold austerity plan to help save the nation's economy.
The Irish government Wednesday unveiled its four-year plan to cut public spending and increase taxes -- part of the painful measures the country must take to reduce its national debt.
Treasury prices rose Tuesday for the third straight session, as investors shied away from risky assets following military tensions in Korea and debt problems in Ireland.
Irish Prime Minister Brian Cowen announces a four year plan to get Ireland back on its feet.
CNN's Richard Quest looks at the dire situation Ireland is in financially.
Bank stocks took a beating Monday after reports of a Wall Street insider trading probe, holding stocks back despite news of Ireland's bailout.
U.S. stocks were poised to open lower to kick off a holiday-shortened week Monday, as news of progress on Ireland's rescue package underlined concerns about other troubled European economies.
From students to sports stars, Ireland is facing another wave of emigration as Jim Boulden reports.
U.S. Treasury prices declined Thursday, as investors digested fresh signals out of Ireland that it may be close to a debt bailout deal.
Ireland is not asking for a big bailout for its banks, despite fears that its financial sector could collapse under the weight of a massive debt crisis.
Ireland's economic downturn has seen unfinished housing developments litter the country. Carol Jordan reports.
Police in Northern Ireland said Saturday they were looking for a person on a bicycle who threw a bomb at police officers, wounding three of them.
Authorities on Sunday were investigating a deadly helicopter crash in Northern Ireland.
Livestock have the best views in Ireland.
Seven men and a woman arrested as part of an anti-terror sweep in Ireland have been released without charge, Irish police said Monday.
Two men arrested in Ireland under anti-terrorism laws have been charged and appeared in court Sunday, Irish police said.
Nine people have been arrested in the Republic of Ireland in connection with dissident activity by the Irish Republican Army, Irish police said Saturday.
Fears about Europe's debt crisis ramped up again Thursday, after Ireland's central bank unveiled a $46 billion bank bailout and Moody's downgraded Spain's credit rating.
Stocks closed higher Monday, recovering from earlier weakness, as optimism about corporate results due this week outweighed ongoing concerns about the economy.
CNN's Colleen McEdwards speak to CNN.com's Kevin Voigt on the power wielded by credit rating agencies.
Fresh concerns over Europe's debt problems surfaced Monday after Ireland's debt rating was downgraded and talks between Hungary and the International Monetary Fund reached an impasse.
Police officers injured in clashes in Belfast, Northern Ireland, reports journalist Peter Taggart.
Irish officials and ambassadors gathered on Ireland's southern coast Wednesday to mark the 25th anniversary of the Air India bombing that killed all 329 people aboard.
Ireland has expelled an Israeli diplomat over the use of forged passports in the assassination of a Hamas arms dealer in Dubai, allegedly by Israeli agents, the Irish foreign minister announced Tuesday.
For a second day Thursday, thousands of priests from around the world are gathered in Rome for a conference to mark the end of the "Year of the Priest."
Airports in Ireland prepared to close overnight Saturday as a drifting ash cloud from an erupting volcano in Iceland prompted the United Kingdom's air traffic authority to close airspace over parts of Northern Ireland.
Irish authorities reopened all airports Friday after shutting them for several hours because of ash from an Icelandic volcano.
Ash from an Icelandic volcano shut down airports in the United Kingdom and Ireland for a second day Wednesday, causing disruptions to hundreds of passengers.
CNN's Jim Boulden discusses Ireland's plan to set up a "bad bank" where some toxic loans will be transferred.
After working as a journalist for 17 years in London, I have returned to Ireland where I find a very different country to the one I left.
Victims of child abuse by Catholic clergy in Ireland have dismissed a long-awaited letter by Pope Benedict XVI as not going far enough.
Nic Robertson gauges the mood in Northern Ireland as the pope apologizes for the clergy's transgressions.
Pope Benedict XVI said Saturday he is "truly sorry" for the abuse suffered by victims at the hands of Catholic priests in Ireland.
As the Vatican announced Friday that Pope Benedict XVI has signed a pastoral letter about Ireland's abusive priests, it became increasingly clear that the church abuse crisis has entered a new international phase, with allegations spreading across a half dozen countries -- including the pope's native Germany.
John Kelly was 14 years old when, he says, he lost his faith in God.
The rash of stories about priestly sexual abuse in Europe, especially in Ireland and Germany, has put many Catholics on the defensive. They should not be. While sexual molestation of any kind is always indefensible, the politics surrounding this story is also indefensible.
Pope Benedict XVI announces he'll sign a pastoral letter addressing the child abuse scandal in Ireland.
Ireland's top Catholic cardinal is using the "Nuremberg defense" in the face of public outrage at his role 35 years ago in investigating one of the country's most notorious child-abusing priests, an activist said Tuesday.
Ireland's top Catholic cardinal is using the "Nuremberg defense" in the face of public outrage at his role 35 years ago in investigating one of the country's most notorious child-abusing priests, an activist said Tuesday.
One of Ireland's most popular destinations is the Iveragh Peninsula -- known to shamrock-lovers everywhere as "The Ring of Kerry." The Ring, lassoed by a winding coastal road through a mountainous, lake-splattered region, is undeniably scenic. Visitors since Victorian times have been drawn to this evocative chunk of the Emerald Isle, where mysterious ancient ring forts stand sentinel on mossy hillsides.
When is it best to take short-term pain for long-term gain?
Two men face a court hearing in Northern Ireland on Wednesday after being charged with attempted murder and other counts in connection with what police called a foiled terrorist attack, police announced.
Authorities in Northern Ireland said Friday they were investigating an explosion in east Belfast that injured one woman.
In the west of Ireland, the local pub is much more than a place to have a pint. It's a traditional music venue, gossip headquarters, emergency grocery, unofficial tourist office, and, of course, emotional and spiritual retreat. Here are our favorites, in order from the Burren all the way up to Sligo.
In a political U-turn, Ireland votes yes on the Lisbon Treaty. ITN's Carl Dinnen reports.
Ireland has voted in favor of the Lisbon Treaty, which would modernize the structure of the European Union, according to official government results released Saturday.
Police in Northern Ireland were investigating Wednesday after "reckless criminal terrorists" planted a 600-pound bomb along a country road.
While most first-time visitors to Europe choo-choose to travel by train, consider the convenience of driving. Behind the wheel you're totally free, going where you want, when you want.
Ireland's friendly, helpful locals get high marks from visitors. Add dazzling scenery, rich history and a few hearty pints of stout, and you have a perfect trip to Ireland, according to a handful of iReporters.
The dollar rallied against the euro, as a credit downgrade for Ireland pushed the euro lower, and was mixed against other major currencies.
A report says Ireland's Roman Catholic-run institutions terrorized thousands of children. CNN's Atika Shubert reports.
Thousands of children suffered sexual abuse, beatings, malnutrition and emotional abuse for decades in the Irish institutions where they were raised, an Irish government commission said Wednesday.
Lounging amid the bruised plastic furniture and polyester carpeting at his dilapidated offices at Dublin Airport, Michael O'Leary, CEO of Ryanair, is ebullient about his low-cost carrier's prospects: "We'll mop the floor with every airline in Europe!"
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