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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The Colonial-Era Boston Irish

The self portrait of John Singlton Copley

In the early 1700s, Irish and Scottish settlers began infiltrating Boston’s solidly Puritan stock, coming by the boatload or as stragglers wandering up from New York of down from Halifax. They were indentured servants and small town merchants, sailors and mercenaries, farmers and preachers.  Before basketball was invented, these were the original Boston Celtics! Many…

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When Johnny Comes Marching Home Again

Patrick Sarsfield Gilmore

One of the enduring songs from the 19th century is When Johnny Comes Marching Home Again, first published in Boston by musician Patrick Sarsfield Gilmore. The song was part of the musical literature of the American Civil War, and subsequent wars for that matter, since it captures the sentiments of families waiting anxiously for their loved…

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Senator Edward M. Kennedy (1932-2009)

Senetor Ted Kennedy

Senator Ted Kennedy was a great champion of Massachusetts, the place he called home. When we started the Boston Irish Tourism Association in 2000, he sent a Welcome Message for visitors coming to the state that was good humored and lighthearted, but his pride and love for Massachusetts was clear. Here are some comments below…

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Dan Rooney Wins the John Fitzgerald Kennedy National Award in Holyoke, MA

Dan Rooney

Dan Rooney, U.S. Ambassador to Ireland, is marching in the 59th annual St. Patrick’s Day parade in Holyoke, western Massachusetts, on Sunday, March 21, 2009.  Ambassador Rooney is receiving the John F. Kennedy National Award issued by the Holyoke St. Patrick’s Day Parade committee. The prestigious award is presented each March to an American of Irish…

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Kevin O’Connor – Unexpected Host of This Old House

Kevin O'Connor

It began with stubborn, old wallpaper. That’s what set Kevin O’Connor on a short road from fan to host of WGBH’s This Old House, the long-running home-improvement TV series that is one of Boston’s most beloved cultural exports. In 2002, O’Connor and his wife, Kathleen, bought their first house, an 1894 Queen Anne Victorian north of…

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Boston Logan International Airport

Water spraying over plane on tarmac

Boston’s Logan International Airport was named for General Edward L. Logan (1875-1939), a first generation Irish-American, military leader, civic leader and municipal judge with family roots in Galway and South Boston.  Edward was the oldest of nine children of Lawrence and Catherine (O’Connor), according to Michael Cummings of Milton, an expert on the Logan Family. …

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Welcome to Kennedy Country

The Kennedy Family in Hyannisport

There’s no getting around it – Massachusetts is Kennedy Country.  From the cobblestone streets of Boston to the sandy beaches of Hyannisport, the Kennedy legacy is as much a part of Massachusetts as the Boston Pops, the Red Sox and a Cape Cod Clambake. Local Irish-Americans have a natural affection for President John F. Kennedy,…

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Kevin White – The Mayor in Love with His City

Mayor Kevin White Statue Face

One of Boston’s most beloved and influential mayors of the 20th century got his just due on November 1, 2006 as the City of Boston unveiled the Mayor Kevin Hagan White Statue along Congress Street at Faneuil Hall. The official unveiling of the statue took place on Wednesday, November 1st.  It was a glorious fall…

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JFK in Ireland

An Irish woman kisses JFK on the cheek

Boston — In June 1963, President John F. Kennedy, America’s first Irish-Catholic president, journeyed to his ancestral homeland of Ireland, a homecoming he later described as “one of the most moving experiences” of his life.  On St. Patrick’s Day, March 17, 2006, the Museum at the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library will open “A Journey…

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Michael Quinlin Earns Boston Public Library Fellowship to Research Irish Music

The Boston Public Library has awarded its biennial Alicia Monti Research Fellowship this year to Michael P. Quinlin who will use the time to create an annotated bibliography for the Library’s extensive collection of 19th century Irish music. Quinlin’s research at the Library will cover the works of important Irish musicians and composers like Michael…

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Harold Connolly: Boston Irish Olympian Hammers out a Victory

Harold Connolly

If you saw Harold Connolly as a young boy you might not think he’d stand a chance to become one of the world’s most elite athletes and a legend in Boston sporting annals. But that’s exactly what Connolly became, overcoming an early physical disability, setting dozens of American and World records, and becoming an inspiration…

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Boston Irish Famine Memorial, Proclamation by Hon. John Joseph Moakley

HON. JOHN JOSEPH MOAKLEYof massachusettsin the house of representativesWednesday, March 17, 1999CONGRESSIOAL RECORDMr. MOAKLEY. Mr. Speaker, it is fitting that on the feast on St. Patrick I rise to pay tribute to the Irish community of Boston and Massachusetts for building a poignant memorial to commemorate the 150th anniversary of the Irish Famine. The Boston…

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