History & Heritage

Boston AOH Honors Irish Civil War Soldiers at Toll Gate Cemetery in Jamaica Plain on September 1

Toll Gate Cemetery Photo Courtesy of Remember Jamaica Plain? The Boston chapter of the Ancient Order of Hibernians is paying tribute to the fallen Civil War soldiers from Massachusetts’ Irish regiments with…

Toll Gate Cemetery Photo Courtesy of Remember Jamaica Plain? The Boston chapter of the Ancient Order of Hibernians is paying tribute to the fallen Civil War soldiers from Massachusetts’ Irish regiments with a ceremony at Toll Gate Cemetery in Jamaica Plain, Boston, on Saturday, September 1, 2012 at 11:00 a.m. The event is free and open to…

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…

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…

Martin Milmore's Civil War Monument on Boston Common

How the Irish Imagined the Civil War

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…

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…

The self portrait of John Singlton Copley

The Colonial-Era Boston Irish

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….

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…

Patrick Sarsfield Gilmore

When Johnny Comes Marching Home Again

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…

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…

Water spraying over plane on tarmac

Boston Logan International Airport

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’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. …

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…

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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