Biographies & Profiles
On April 11, 2001, the Parnell Society of Dublin placed a granite marker at the grave site of Ms. Fanny Parnell at Mount Auburn Cemetery in Cambridge, honoring her role as a patriot and poet of Ireland. The ceremony was led by Ireland’s ambassador to the United States Sean O hUuiginn, Irish government official Frank Murray and members…
John Barry, a naval hero in the American Revolution, was born on March 25, 1745 in County Wexford, Ireland. His parents were James Patrick john Barry and Mary Ellen Cullen. Barry was “born in the townland of Ballysampson and lived his boyhood in the townland of Rostoonstown, both in the parish of Tacumshane,” according to…
The post-Famine generation of Irish women in Boston and New England were typically relegated to jobs as domestic servants, nursemaids and mill workers, before eventually being accepted as shop clerks, nurses and teachers. This work was often in addition to their primary role running households as wives and mothers. The young Irish girls of the Famine…
On March 21, 1926, two top traditional fiddlers from the British Isles and Ireland, 82 year old James Scott Skinner of Aberdeen, Scotland and 76 year old John Wiseman of Bantry, County Cork, arrived in Boston Harbor aboard the Cunard liner Carolina. They were here to compete in the World’s Old Fiddlers Contest, taking place April…
The John F. Kennedy Presidential Library & Museum is one of Boston’s most popular destinations, and welcomes local residents, school classes, convention groups and visitors from around the world to come and be inspired. Open seven days a week from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., the JFK Library sits on a 10-acre site overlooking Boston…
Tourism leader Victoria Cimino has been named as the new president and CEO of Discover Newport, following a robust national search that concluded with a unanimous vote by the Board of Directors. She begins her new role on March 17, 2025. The award-winning destination leader and brand expert, brings over 20 years of hospitality and destination marketing…
Each St. Patrick’s Day season, as Americans ponder how best to honor their Irish heritage in a meaningful way, they often turn to the Irish American Partnership, and for good reason. For nearly 40 years, the Partnership has been helping to ensure that Ireland’s future remains promising by investing in its youth. Since its launch…
The John F. Kennedy Hyannis Museum is the ideal place to learn about the legacy of President Kennedy and his deep connection to Cape Cod, where he spent magical summers with the Kennedy family and with his wife and children. Located on Main Street in downtown Hyannis, the museum has ongoing exhibits such as “Presidential…
Acclaimed actress, author, and model Bridget Moynahan is the 2025 recipient of the John F. Kennedy National Award, issued annually by the St. Patrick’s Committee of Holyoke, MA. The prestigious award is bestowed each year to Americans of Irish descent who have distinguished themselves in their chosen career and who demonstrates the values of family, faith and community…
Tip O’Neill Bust in Buncrana, photo courtesy of Visit Donegal Legendary politician Thomas P. ‘Tip’ O’Neill, one of the most impactful politicians of American politics in the 20th century, died on January 5, 1994 at his home in Harwichport, Cape Cod. He was 81. Born in North Cambridge on December 9, 1912, he was the son…
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…
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…
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…
Margaret F. Foley (1827-1877) was a highly-praised 19th century cameo artist and sculptor, who lived in Vermont, Lowell and Boston, Massachusetts before moving to Rome, Italy where she spent the final 17 years of her life. She was widely known for her exquisite and intricate cameos of leading personages from singer Jenny Lind and poet Henry…
Located along the Seaport District on Fan Pier and situated along Boston Harborwalk, the John Joseph Moakley United States Courthouse is a tribute to South Boston native Joe Moakley, who represented his neighborhood and district as a state representative, state senator, Boston City Councilor and U.S. Congressman for 48 years. The Moakley Courthouse is part of Boston’s Irish Heritage Trail, an…
Henry Lee, Boston’s beloved civic leader, parks advocate, teacher and historian, died on Monday, August 12, 2024, from cardiac arrest. He was 99. Lee is best admired and renowned in Boston for spearheading a grass roots movement in the 1970s to prevent the development of high rise buildings encroaching on the perimeter of the Public…
WASHINGTON, April 3, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — Brand USA, the destination marketing organization for the United States, today announced that, as part of a planned succession process, its Board of Directors has appointed Fred Dixon as the company’s new President & Chief Executive Officer, effective July 15, 2024. Dixon will succeed Christopher L. Thompson, who announced his retirement in July 2023 and held the role of Brand USA’s President…
Ireland’s greatest export has always been its people, so the saying goes, and in recent years Ireland’s cultural output – in film, music, dance and literature – has also emerged as wildly popular, particularly in the United States. Start with film, where actors like Cillian Murphy, Barry Keoghan and Kerry Condon are winning both popular…
Henry Knox, a first-hand witness to American history and a hero in the American Revolution, was born in Boston on July 25, 1750, the seventh of ten children. His parents, William Knox and Mary (née Campbell), were Ulster Scots immigrants who came to Boston from Derry in 1729, part of a large exodus of Ulster-Irish Presbyterians who…
America’s first great portrait artist, John Singleton Copley (1737-1815) was born in Boston on July 3, 1738. He was the son of Irish immigrants who emigrated to Boston in the 1730s. John’s parents, Richard Copley and Mary Singleton from County Clare, were married in County Limerick before emigrating to Boston. Right after their son John…
Born 180 years ago on June 28, 1844, John Boyle O’Reilly helped shape the history or Ireland and America in the late 19th century in powerful ways. Today, O’Reilly’s stature as a seminal figure in Irish and Irish-American history is particularly evident in his beloved birthplace of Dowth, County Meath; in Freemantle, Australia where he…
President John F. Kennedy’s visit to Ireland on June 26-29, 1963 was later described by his siblings as one of the most memorable and cherished parts of his presidency. Kennedy visited his ancestral family in Wexford and Limerick, and also stopped in Dublin, Cork and Galway. The trip was widely covered by the international media…
On June 12, 1937 a plaque dedicated to Captain Jeremiah O’Brien was unveiled at the Massachusetts State House commemorating O’Brien’s “distinguished services for winning the first navel engagement in the War of the Revolution and of his subsequent exploits in said war as the first regularly commissioned naval officer and commander of the Revolutionary Navy of…
Molly (Page) Stark (1737-1814), whose husband General John Stark was a hero in the American Revolution, has been honored for her own role in the war. On June 26, 2004, officials, historians and members of the Stark family unveiled the Elizabeth Page Molly Stark statue in Wilmington, as part of Vermont’s Molly Stark Trail, a 40-mile scenic byway on Route…
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