In 2025, Boston Irish Tourism Association (BITA) celebrates its 25th anniversary as a distinctive cultural tourism organization that promotes culture…
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A cool way to experience Ireland is to ‘settle yourself,’ a common Irish phrase that means to get your bearings…
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The Cape Cod Chamber of Commerce unveiled its new tourism brand to local and regional hospitality leaders and partners on February 28, 2024 at the Pelham House Resort in Dennis Port. The Chamber is the official destination marketing organization for Cape Cod. Chamber CEO Paul Niedzwiecki said the new initiative marks the first substantial branding update…
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Blacks and Irish have often, though not always, faced similar experiences in how they were depicted, considered and treated in New England over the past four centuries. When the Puritans settled in Boston in 1630, they believed fervently that they were the chosen ones, destined to build “a city upon a hill, with the eyes…
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Cóilín Parsons Literature and history are inextricably linked in Ireland. Wandering bards and minstrels, then novelists, essayists and poets, measured every inch of the Irish experience on this tiny island. Cóilín Parsons, English professor at Georgetown, examines ways in which Irish writers viewed the Ordnance Survey of Ireland, a massive 22 year public works project…
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New England is the Capital of Irish America – Irish cultural festivities in New England and travel ideas for visiting Ireland are the twin themes of Travel & Culture magazine’s spring 2024 issue, released today by Boston Irish Tourism Association (BITA). The major event on the Irish calendar is the annual St. Patrick’s Day parades,…
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The Massachusetts State House has a number of beautiful and rare works of art and artifacts relating to the Irish-American experience, and is a featured stop along Boston’s Irish Heritage Trail. The incredible collection of art and artifacts is maintained and curated by the State House Art Commission. Here is just a selection of items worth…
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Irish and Scots-Irish immigrants played a pivotal role in the Revolutionary War, as evidenced by the number of public landmarks that relate to their heroics and sacrifice. From Commodore John Barry and General John Sullivan to Boston Massacre victim Patrick Carr and the Scots-Irish who fought at Bunker Hill and Dorchester Heights, the Irish were…
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John Boyle O’Reilly and Frederick Douglass were natural allies in 19th century New England, where they aligned on pressing issues of liberty and justice for all. In the early part of their lives, both men were fugitives, on the run from their captors as they tried to make their way to freedom. Both became writers…
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Garrison Nelson John McCormack worked his way from South Boston’s housing projects to a leading figure in the U.S. Congress, winning 22 consecutive elections from 1928 to 1971. In 1962 he was elected the first Catholic Speaker of the House, serving nine consecutive years, a record later broken by his protégé Tip O’Neill.Written by Garrison…
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It is a one-day event that takes a year to plan, a gift of love to the city from the community, a joyous celebration of heritage and pride, an offer to venture outside and brave the elements while welcoming spring. The Holyoke St. Patrick’s Day Parade is all of that and more. Launched in 1952, Holyoke consistently…
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Cynthia Levinson and Sanford Levinson Written for children and young adults, Fault Lines in the Constitution is a wonderful introduction to one of the world’s enduring documents. The husband-wife team features Professor Sanford Levinson, a Harvard Law constitutional scholar and his wife Cynthia, a well-known writer of children’s literature. Together they trace the origins of…
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Scotland’s famous poet Robert Burns, whose birthday is celebrated around the world on January 25, has a beautiful granite statue and park in his honor in the city of Quincy, Massachusetts. The 25-ton statue was designed by noted Quincy sculptor John Horrigan (1863-1939) and carved by his son Gerald Horrigan (1903-1995), and unveiled on November…
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Christine Breen Christine Breen has written a beautifully-rendered first novel that takes readers on an odyssey from Dublin and County Clare to Boston and New York and back. In 1990, an American girl studying in Dublin gets pregnant and gives up her baby Rose for adoption to an Irish couple who raise the child with…
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Mary Robinson, Former President of Ireland Mary Robinson has been a voice of fairness, justice and change throughout her career. She is one of the most influential public figures in Ireland. As first female President of Ireland (1990-’97), she spoke forcibly for women’s contraception and equal rights. As UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (’97-2002),…
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Colonel John Glover, a local hero of the American Revolution, is memorialized on Boston’s Commonwealth Avenue Mall with an heroic bronze portrayal by Irish-born sculptor Martin Milmore. Described as an overlooked hero by the National Park Service, Glover was born in Salem, Massachusetts and became a successful sailor and maritime leader on Boston’s North Shore. His…
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New Hampshire native John Sullivan committed the first act of armed rebellion against the British Crown on December 14, 1774, when he and his men raided Fort William and Mary in Portsmouth, NH and seized an arsenal of gun powder and guns. The quickly planned raid came after Paul Revere rode up from Boston to alert Sullivan…
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Robert J. Savage Rob Savage, professor of history at Boston College, has done extensive academic research on 20th century Irish politics and media. The BBC’s Irish Troubles, combines his expertise in both areas with a nuanced, detailed examination of the BBC’s role in reporting on Northern Ireland (NI) from 1968-’88. The story is replete with…
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Boston’s Logan International Airport hit a major milestone, thanks to significant improvements and the modernization of Terminal E, the airport’s international gateway, with an iconic red roof. This fall, Massport leaders and public officials gathered to celebrate the completion of these upgrades, which began in 2019, making a more efficient, secure, comfortable and enjoyable experience for international…
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Savvy travelers know well the special pleasures of visiting an iconic destination in the off-season, between December and March. Here in New England, one of our favorite places to visit is Newport, Rhode Island, which is among the region’s most charming seaside cities, any time of year, but with a special seasonal magic to warm your…
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Helen Vendler For those who cherish great literature and the writers who create it, Helen Vendler’s new collection of essays, book reviews and auto-biographical prose is a treasure. The Ocean, the Bird and the Scholar contains over two decades of thoughtful and exquisite interpretations of American writers like Walt Whitman, Wallace Stevens and Elizabeth Bishop…
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America250, the national organization that oversees efforts to commemorate the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, has unveiled a new logo for to represent the efforts leading up to July 4, 2026. “Historic milestones demand an iconic brand identity,” said America 250 Chair Rosie Rios. “The design’s ribbons are intended to evoke a sense…
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On December 5, 1770, nine months to the day after the Boston Massacre, two of the nine soldiers in the British regiment, Matthew Kilroy and Hugh Montgomery, were found guilty of manslaughter for the killing of five local Boston men; the other seven soldiers were exonerated. The incident in March, known as the Boston Massacre, helped…
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Íde B. O’Carroll Oral historian and writer Dr. Íde O’Carroll has conducted ground-breaking research on the lives of immigrant Irish women who came to the United States in the 1920s, 1950s and 1980s. Born in Ireland, O’Carroll lived in Boston in the 1980s, interviewing many of the women whose lives are chronicled here. She pays…
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A story in the November 24, 1897 edition of The Boston Globe traces the evolution of the Thanksgiving Day proclamation between the years 1773 and 1785. It reveals that the Thanksgiving proclamation issued by Governor Thomas Hutchinson in 1773 was the last year the phrase “God Save the King” was used in Massachusetts. Hutchinson was…
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The Granary Burying Ground on Tremont Street in downtown Boston, nestled between Boston Common and Boston City Hall, has a number of important colonial era and Irish Revolutionary War figures buried here. Among them is James Sullivan (1744-1808), lawyer, orator and statesman. The son of indentured Irish immigrants who settled in Maine, Sullivan was a delegate to…
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