Boston’s Maurice Tobin, U.S. Secretary of Labor under Harry S. Truman

Maurice Tobin and his wife Helen Photo Courtesy of Harry S. Truman Presidential Library This Labor Day, the Boston Irish Tourism Association pays tribute to Boston native Maurice Tobin (1901-53), who served as mayor of Boston and governor of Massachusetts before being named US Secretary of Labor by President Harry S. Truman. Born in Roxbury’s…

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Seamus Heaney’s Home Place

Seamus Heaney was welcome everywhere he went. He was the quintessential modern bard, whittling words that moved the spirit, comfortable in the halls of academia, the local pub, or in literary salons from Boston to Belfast. Seamus died in 2013 and chose to be buried in the village of Bellaghy in County Derry, where he…

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Massport Honors Tom Butler, South Boston Legend

Tom Butler Memorial Event

Massport recently joined local elected officials, and friends and family of Tom Butler to officially unveil the Thomas J. Butler Memorial Park in South Boston. The park is named to honor the South Boston resident, who was beloved for his many decades of community service and charitable deeds. As Director of External Relations for Massport,…

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Thomas J. Butler Memorial Park Opens in South Boston

Massport  recently joined local elected officials, friends and family of Tom Butler to officially unveil the Thomas J. Butler Memorial Park in South Boston. Joining Massport CEO Tom Glynn at the event were Governor Charlie Baker, Congressman Stephen Lynch, Boston Mayor Marty Walsh, state Senator Linda Dorcena Forry, state Representative Nick Collins, City Councilors Michael Flaherty…

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A Poetic Choice in Lawrence: Heaney & Frost

This essay appeared in The Boston Globe, October 25, 2002By Michael Quinlin Robert Frost would appreciate knowing that the road less traveled leads to Lawrence, which is where Ireland’s esteemed poet Seamus Heaney plans to read tomorrow evening. Frost, New England’s favorite poet, spent his formative years in this industrial city, where he got his education, worked in a…

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Ireland’s Wild Atlantic Way, Causeway Coastal Route, Appalachian Trail

The Burren, County Clare

The Wild Atlantic Way Fresh ocean air and sea breezes, stunning seascapes and rugged coastlines, lush green fields and gently rolling hills, rural back-roads and picturesque villages, hidden lakes and flowing rivers. When you visit Ireland for your trip of a lifetime, why not align your journey with Ireland’s Great Outdoors! It is a perfect way to acclimate yourself…

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Great Irish Lighthouses

View from Rathlin Island

Ireland’s lighthouses date back to the 5th century, when Irish monks established burning beacons on the Wexford coast.  Today there are hundreds of lighthouses dotting the Irish landscape; many of them are still active and used for maritime purposes, while others signify a rich historical past of interest to visitors and residents alike.  The Commissioner…

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City Life – Belfast

Titanic Museum, Belfast

For visitors looking for an urban experience, Ireland has two cities you can’t miss. Dublin, the Capital of the Irish Republic, and Belfast, the Capital of Northern Ireland, are amazing places that blend together proud histories, bustling downtowns, and a distinct blend of history, culture and natural beauty that you won’t see anywhere else in the world. …

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Massport Exhibits Entertain and Educate Travelers

Four Centurues of Innovation Exhibit

Travelers at Boston’s Logan International Airport have a new reason to linger in the airport between flights. Passing through the new Walkway between International Terminal E and JetBlue Terminal C, passengers can stop to view a fascinating new permanent exhibit entitled Four Centuries of Innovation. Unveiled last summer by Massport CEO Thomas P. Glynn and…

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Bill Sullivan – Promoting All Things Irish in Lawrence, MA

Lawrence native William J. Sullivan is a leader of the vibrant Irish-American  community in Lawrence and the Merrimack Valley. An educator in the Lawrence Public Schools, Bill served for 35 years as a Teacher, Assistant Principal, Principal and District Administrator until his retirement in 2009.  Bill has also been a member of Lawrence’s Rev. James…

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President Kennedy Forever

JFK Stamp

As part of the centennial celebrations of the birth of President John Fitzgerald Kennedy, the US Postal Service issued a Forever stamp in his honor. The unveiling of the stamp took place at the John F. Kennedy Library & Museum on President’s Day, before a large audience of public officials, historians, educators and members of…

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Boston Honors Ray Flynn – Dedication: November 12, 2016

The Flynn family at Governor Baker's Office

How to get around in South Boston: take the Ray Flynn Bridge to the Ray Flynn Marine Park, then head over to the Ray Flynn Cruiseport. Ray Flynn, one of Boston’s iconic figures over the last half century, continues to receive accolades from city and state officials for his distinguished career as a politician, diplomat…

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Irish Rising Scholarly Resources in Greater Boston

Bates Hall, Boston Public Library As part of the centennial commemorations marking the Irish Rising of 1916, Boston Irish Tourism Association  has complied this list of scholarly resources in the Greater Boston area. The Boston Athenaeum has numerous books, magazines and newspapers from the period, plus a rare British recruitment poster entitled: The Call to Arms, Irishmen Don’t You Hear…

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Massport & the Art of Flying

Permanent Art Exhibit at Terminal A

Passengers passing through Logan International Airport can have a pleasant aesthetic experience while waiting for their baggage or for connecting flights, thanks to Massport’s successful Public Art Program. Public art and educational displays enhance the customer experience while also supporting local artists and institutions, according to Massport officials. They also give travelers a strong sense…

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John Boyle O’Reilly: Rebel with a Cause

John Boyle O'Reilly

By the time Irish immigrant John Boyle O’Reilly arrived in Boston in 1870, at age 26, he had already come face to face -in the most urgent manner- with issues of freedom, liberty and justice. As a child, born in 1844, he survived that terrible Irish Famine decade which killed one million Irish and sent…

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Tom McNaught Praised for Work at JFK Library Foundation

Tom McNaught

They came to sing the praises of Tom McNaught. Political leaders, historians, friends and family journeyed from across the country and across the city to the JFK Library in Boston recently to personally thank the congenial, effective and popular administrator who is retiring after a 17 ½ year career at the JFK Library Foundation.  Those…

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May 19, 1832: Request to Bury Irish Children in Charlestown, Massachusetts Refused by Town Selectman

 Photo courtesy of Stephen O’Neill “On May 19, 1832, Boston’s Catholic Bishop, Benedict Fenwick attempted to bury two Boston children, three-year-old Florence Driscoll, who died from teething, and three-month-old James Kinsley, who died from infantile disease, at the recently opened Bunker Hill Catholic Cemetery in the town of Charlestown, Massachusetts, right across the bridge from Boston. “The obligation to…

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Globe Pequot Press Releases 2nd Edition of Irish Boston

Irish Boston by Michael Quinlin

Michael Quinlin Globe Pequot Press is proud to announce the release of 2nd Edition of IRISH BOSTON: A Lively Look at Boston’s Colorful Irish Past (978-0-7627-8834-7; October, 2013; $18.95 paperback). This new edition updates the illustrious story of the Boston Irish, from the 1700s to 2013, with updates on how Boston’s Irish community has been…

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Fenway Park – A Touch of Green

Fenway Park 100 years

Fenway Park – it’s as American as apple pie and, well, baseball. The “lyrical little bandbox of a ballpark,” as local writer John Updike described it, is a national treasure, one of the few remaining ballparks to survive a century of wear and tear, heart ache and exultation. Fenway has a distinctive Irish tint over the…

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Robert Burns Statue in Boston’s Winthrop Square Honors Famed Scottish Poet

Scotland’s poet and bard Robert Burns (January 25, 1759 – July 21,1796) is honored in Boston with a statue at Winthrop Square in Boston’s Financial District. Best known for composing  the unofficial anthem to New Year’s Eve, Auld Lang Syne, Burns was a prolific poet who wrote over 300 poems, as well as various epistles and ballads. He was prolific in…

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Tom McNaught – Preserving President Kennedy’s Spirit

Tom McNaught

Congratulations to Tom McNaught, who was recently appointed as the new Executive Director of the John F. Kennedy Library Foundation in Boston. He’s been with the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library & Museum since 1996, and is a long-time veteran of local politics and activism. We sat down with Tom to learn more about his…

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How the Irish Imagined the Civil War

Martin Milmore's Civil War Monument on Boston Common

The 150th anniversary of the American Civil War (1861-65) starts in 2011, and organizers across the country hope it will help shape a national consensus – or at least a sincere dialogue – on American values and aspirations. The anniversary can also be a reminder of how society turns to art to explore grief, conflict…

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Tom Butler: All About Community

Tom Butler

Tom Butler has spent his entire life making Boston a better place to live – and to visit. As Director of Government and External Affairs at Massachusetts Port Authority, the agency that oversees Logan International Airport and other facilities, Butler is the agency’s go-to guy for making sure that the economic growth spawned by Massport…

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