Mayor Curley Dedicates Boston Common Memorial to Commodore John Barry on October 16, 1949

In one of his final acts as Mayor of Boston, James Michael Curley dedicated a bronze memorial on Boston Common to Revolutionary War hero Commodore John Barry, on October 16, 1949.  A few weeks later, Curley lost his final bid for re-election to a fifth term as mayor, losing to John B. Hynes.

Barry, a naval hero of the Revolutionary War, was born in Tacumshane, County Wexford in 1745, and is a long-standing favorite historical figure of Irish-Americans across the United States.  They claim Barry as the Father of the American Navy, while others say that title belongs to John Paul Jones.

The idea for the Barry memorial in Boston was first announced by the Central Council of Irish County Clubs on September 23, 1945, at the city’s annual Barry Day banquet at the Copley Plaza Hotel commemorating the 200^thanniversary of Barry’s birth in Wexford.  Four years later, at the Charitable Irish Society annual dinner on March 17, 1949, Mayor James Michael Curley vowed to build a memorial to Barry in 60 days, saying Barry had been ignored for too long.  It ended up taking seven months, but Curley got the project completed.

The artwork was commissioned to notable sculptor John F. Paramino of the North End, who had done a similar homage to another Revolutionary War hero, Marquis de Lafayette, on Boston Common mall.  He approached the the Barry monument in a similar manner, and it was unveiled to great acclaim on October 16, 1949, right in the middle of what would be Curley’s final political campaign.

Fast forward some 25 years later, on April 5, 1975, thieves stole the bronze plaque.  Some speculated it was a college  prank. Others thought the thieves were taking historical items for resale during the Bicentennial celebration in 1976, or that they were melting down the metal for cash.  A granite plaque was put in its place on Boston Common.

Then in 1980 contrition set and the thieves anonymously returned the plaque to the Massachusetts Ancient Order of Hibernians, who in turn returned it to the city. The original bronze memorial was put in storage at the L Street Bathhouse in South Boston, then on Saturday, September 12, 1981, it was transferred from the Boston Arts Commission to the National Parks Service for permanent display at the Charlestown Navy Yard.

Visitors can see the Commodore John Barry Memorial on Boston Common, located along Tremont Street between Lafayette Mall and the Visitor Information Center.

The memorial to Commodore John Barry is part of Boston’s Irish Heritage Trail, and is located on Boston Common along Tremont Street, between Lafayette  Mall and the Visitor Information Center. A monument to Mayor James Michael Curley, across from Boston City Hall,  is also part of the Irish Heritage Trail.