The Boston Irish Tourism Association (BITA) was formed in 2000 as a cultural tourism group celebrating travel to New England and Ireland. We market New England’s vibrant Irish-American activities, from parades and festivals to performing arts and literary activities. Equally, we celebrate visiting Ireland and all it has to offer, presenting travel tips, airline offers and stories about seasonal vacations, signature events and hidden gems worth exploring throughout the island.
In March, 2025 we unveiled a new website (irishboston.org) and are rebranding it simply as Irish Boston. Our mission remains unchanged: to connect the local Irish community with the state's tourism and hospitality industries, and to celebrate the region’s longstanding connections to Ireland by encouraging reciprocal travel between New England and Ireland throughout the year.
What we do at Irish Boston:
- We provide information to the general public, tour operators, incoming convention groups and the media about upcoming events and activities.
- We advise visitors on where to stay, where to dine or to shop, where to have a pint, see a concert, and listen to traditional Irish music.
- We profile hundreds of musicians, dancers, artists, writers, storytellers, filmmakers, chefs, photographers and others who help fuel the creative economy in Massachusetts.
- We profile iconic destinations throughout New England, all of which share a common interest in culture and hospitality.
- We strengthen travel ties between the United States and Ireland by working closely with government agencies and travel specialists. We partner with Tourism Ireland year 'round to inform our readers about cultural celebrations taking place in Ireland.
- We distribute three issues annually of Travel & Culture, a free magazine issued in March, June and November at visitor centers, cultural venues, museums and heritage sites, and to Irish-American communities across the United States.
- Our Irish Heritage Trail self-guided, walking tour takes visitors and school groups along nearly 300 years of the Irish experience in Boston. We are expanding the trail to include 120+ Irish landmarks throughout Massachusetts.
About Michael and Colette Quinlin
Michael and Colette Quinlin are co-founders of Irish Boston.
A native of Pittsburgh, PA, Mike began his career in scholarly publishing in New York City and Cambridge and has led communication projects for MIT’s Advanced Engineering Studies, Boston City Hall, the Boston Harbor Cleanup and the state’s tourism division. He studied at LaSalle University, School of Irish Studies in Dublin and Boston University, and has served on the National Democratic Ethnic Coordinating Council (NDECC), U.S. Department of Commerce District Export Council and the Massachusetts Commission on the 250th Celebration of the American Revolution. He is the author of several books, including Irish Boston and Classic Irish Stories. His mother is from Charlemont, Co. Armagh, while his father grew up on Mount Washington in Pittsburgh.
Colette is originally from Borrisokane, Co. Tipperary. She spent several years in the hospitality and tourism industry in Sydney, Australia before moving to Boston in 1991, where she worked in public relations at John Hancock Mutual Life Insurance Company. She later joined John Hancock’s sports marketing team, where she worked on the Boston and New York City marathons, the Olympic Gymnastics and Ice Skating pre-trials and various sports marketing events. Colette studied at Maynooth College, Emerson College, School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Simmons College and Northeastern University, where she completed a web master’s program. She manages several websites and is project director of Travel & Culture magazine.