Currently On the Bookshelf

Beckett's Children: A Literary Memoir by Michael Coffey

Beckett’s Children: A Literary Memoir By Michael CoffeyOR Books176 pages/ 2024/ $23 cloth This profound meditation by an exquisite writer at the top of his craft centers around the author’s twin abiding obsessions: the ramifications of him being adopted and his literary hero Samuel Beckett. Reflecting on his decades-long quest to find his birth parents…

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ICC: A Cultural Milestone at 25 Years

Ciaran Tara

The Irish Cultural Centre of Greater Boston has abundant reasons to be joyful this holiday season, as it celebrates an important milestone and presents another robust season of Irish music, dance, social gatherings and family fun this Christmas and through the winter months. Thirty-five years ago, in 1989, a group of Irish and Irish-Americans came…

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Fly Aer Lingus to Dublin and Shannon in 2025

Aer Lingus Plane in Flight

Aer Lingus, Ireland’s flag carrier, has been connecting Boston to Ireland since October 1958, when the first non-stop flight went from Boston Logan International Airport to Dublin Airport. Today, Aer Lingus remains the perfect airline to take you back to Ireland, and to easily get you to some of Europe’s finest cities. With direct flights…

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Christmas Fun in New England

Lunasa

Our favorite concert venues offer a mix of music, from the Celtic traditions of Ireland, Scotland and the Canadian Maritimes, to sacred church music, classical, jazz and popular melodies we cherish from childhood. The Shalin Liu Performance Center in Rockport, MA is a case in point. On Dec 5, jazz pianist David Benoit performs A…

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Blackstone River Theatre Shines

Hildaland

Fresh off a summer of interior and exterior renovations and improvements, the acclaimed Blackstone River Theatre in Cumberland, RI has continued its run of excellent concerts this fall, including many acts appearing for their first time at the hallowed venue. “Audiences have responded positively to the freshened-up look of everything but ultimately, it’s the performers…

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Irish Christmas Gifts in Massachusetts

Quincy Gift Shop

Quincy Welcome Center Shop 1259 Hancock Street, Quincy The newly renovated Welcome Center next to Hancock Adams Common offers a variety of cool Quincy-themed merchandise, from sweatshirts, hoodies, tee-shirts, hats and tote bags to coffee mugs, sunglasses, magnets and key chains. You can also pick up free maps, brochures and tour information from friendly tourism…

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Ireland’s Travel Treasures

Cork City

Cork City — A Top 25 Destination National Geographic has named Cork City one of the 25 best places in the world to travel to in 2025. The much-anticipated announcement is made annually and is a point of pride for destinations making the competitive list, which is handpicked by National Geographic’s explorers, photographers, and editors….

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Irish Women in the News: Aine Greeney, Martina Curtin, Mary Sugrue

Áine Greaney, Writer Noted fiction writer Áine Greaney has a new collection of short shorts titled, Trespassers, due for publication in March 2025. The eleven stories chronicle the lives of Irish immigrants navigating their lives in New England or Ireland, with a rich cast of characters who shoulder their burdens with grace and humor, even…

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Newport, RI: Newport’s Winter Glory

Gurneys Lighthouse

Newport, Rhode Island sparkles between December and March, when the historic port city takes a step back from the excitement of summer and returns to a more easygoing cadence. It is a perfect time for visitors to enjoy this magical place, where iconic seasonal activities invite you in, and where the charm and beauty never…

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Riverdance at 30: Forever Young

Riverdacen Dancer Anna Mai Fitzpatrick

Riverdance is celebrating 30 phenomenal years as one of the world’s most beloved cultural productions, and that is good news for Boston! Riverdance – The New Generation, is returning to the Boch Center Wang Theatre in Boston for eight performances on April 8 – 13, 2025. Individual and group tickets can be purchased online –…

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Quincy: Christmas Magic in Quincy

Quincy Christmas Tree

For visitors seeking the true spirit of Christmas, make your way to Quincy, Massachusetts, a city bursting with holiday magic from Thanksgiving through Christmas. Among the holiday glad tidings: Christmas tree lightings, visits from Santa and Mrs. Claus, caroling and concerts, outdoor ice skating and plenty of holiday markets, craft fairs and retail shopping. Quincy…

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Architecture and Sculpture at the Boston Public Library

The Boston Public Library (BPL), founded in 1848 and acclaimed as the People’s Palace, has an incredible collection of books, videos, music, genealogy resources and educational materials available to the public. The BPL also has a celebrated collection of art and sculpture throughout the library that inspires library staff, visitors and residents every day. The McKim Building itself is…

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Boston Memorial Honors Social Activist Kip Tiernan, Founder of Rosie’s Place and Greater Boston Food Bank

Kip Tiernan, Photo courtesy of Rosie’s Place The next time you are exploring Boston’s Irish Heritage Trail, stop by the memorial to Kip Tiernan (1926-2011), social activist, writer, teacher, visionary and provocateur. The Kip Tiernan Memorial is located in Boston’s Back Bay on Dartmouth Street between Newbury and Boylston streets, next to Old South Church, and…

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Industry Leader Michelle Cruz is Named New Hampshire’s New State Tourism Director

Regional tourism industry leader Michelle Cruz was confirmed on October 31, 2024 as the New Hampshire Division of Travel and Tourism Development (DTTD) new State Tourism Director.  Michelle begins work on December 2, replacing longtime tourism chief Lori Harnois, who left earlier this year for a new job in Vermont, after serving as New Hampshire’s tourism director…

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A Mega Decade for Sports Tourism in the United States

U.S. Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken and Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo gave an upbeat assessment on the State Department‘s ongoing efforts to strengthen its ability to issue visas to Americans and foreign visitors, in anticipation of a “mega decade” for sports tourism in the United States. As a result of these efforts, “more people are traveling to the…

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John Boyle O’Reilly and Captain Jack, Chief of the Modoc People

Kindred Spirits in County Cork, Photo courtesy of Gavin Sheridan

Irish rebel John Boyle O’Reilly arrived in Boston in January 1870, and almost immediately he became a powerful voice for the oppressed, including his own people of Ireland who were trying to break free of Britain, but also in the United States, Blacks, Chinese immigrants and Native Americans. O’Reilly saw the British conquest of the…

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Trinity College Dublin Honors Poet Eavan Boland

Ireland’s distinguished poet, essayist and educator Eavan Boland (1944-2020) is the first woman in the 432-year-old history of Trinity College Dublin to have a building named in her honor. The library’s name-change came about after 18th century Irish philosopher George Berkley’s name was stripped from the library in 2023,  after it was determined that his historical…

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Porto Lúa

Porto Lua Book Cover

by David Green Boston-based writer, teacher and world traveler David Green has written a tour de force novel set in the Celtic region of Galicia during the latter half of the 20th century. Described as a coming-of-age novel, Porto Lúa introduces a country and people “living in a time before the disenchantment of the world,…

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A Selection of Irish Landmarks in Lowell, Massachusetts

St. Patrick's Church in Lowell, Massachusetts

The next time you are exploring Irish heritage sites in Massachusetts, visit these landmarks in the City of Lowell, a mill city built in the 19th century in large part by Irish immigrants. The idea to create an experimental new town of mills and factories came from Yankee industrialists and bankers, but they quickly realized…

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Perils and Prospects of a United Ireland

Perils and Prospects of a United Ireland Padraig O'Malley

Padraig O’Malley As a major voice on the topic of divided societies, from Northern Ireland to South Africa and the Middle East over the past half century, Padraig O’Malley’s latest book is a welcome addition to the literature, especially now, when the prospect of a united Ireland seems closer than it has been in the…

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Spectacle Live Shows

Gaelic Storm

Formed in 2013 in Lowell, MA, Spectacle Live has become one of New England’s premier concert promoters in less than a decade. Founder Pete Lally’s original philosophy – to match the right artist with the right venue at the right date – has proven to be a winner, and today, the company offers creative solutions…

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Irish history at the USS Constitution and
Museum in Charlestown Navy Yard

The next time you’re exploring the Irish Heritage Trail or Boston’s Freedom Trail, be sure to stop by the USS Constitution ship and the Irish Heritage Trail in the Charlestown Navy Yard.The USS Constitution is America’s oldest commissioned ship,  first launched on October 21, 1797.  It is berthed in the Charlestown Navy Yard, and operated by the US Navy, in partnership with the National Historic Parks of…

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