Boston
On Sunday June 28, 1998, more than 7,000 people attended the unveiling of the Boston Irish Famine Memorial, including Ireland’s Minister of State Seamus Brennan, Massachusetts Acting Governor Paul Cellucci, Boston Mayor Tom Menino, and leaders for numerous Irish organizations in Massachusetts. Stonehill College President Rev. Bartley MacPhaidin gave the invocation, and music was provided…
Congratulations to Stephen Johnston, general manager and managing director of Boston Harbor Hotel, who has been honored with the esteemed Hotelier of the Year Award at the 2023 Preferred Global Conference hosted by Preferred Hotels & Resorts. The award were announced recently at the Preferred Global Conference, the annual gathering of the Preferred Hotels & Resorts network, which includes more…
Bostonians are gathering at the Irish Famine Memorial on Deer Island in Boston Harbor at 4 p.m. on Saturday, June 17, 2023. (The initial date of May 20 has been postponed because of the weather.) A memorial mass is taking place at the memorial, led by Father Dan Finn of the Irish Pastoral Centre of Boston. The…
Massachusetts Port Authority (Massport) today joined elected officials and community stakeholders to celebrate the start of the 2023 cruise season at Flynn Cruiseport Boston. At the event, Massport recognized State Senator Nick Collins with the 2023 Maritime Champion Award for his support and advocacy of the maritime economy in Boston and throughout the Commonwealth. “The Senator has…
The annual Patriots Day celebration held each April in Massachusetts is a cherished remembrance of local American history and heritage. It harkens back to April 19, 1775, when farmers and merchants, townspeople and volunteer soldiers in Concord, Lexington and nearby towns who banded together against encroaching British troops. The confrontation began when British soldiers set…
On March 28, 1847, the USS Jamestown set sail from Charlestown Navy Yard in Boston Harbor on a humanitarian mission to Ireland, carrying 800 tons of supplies for the victims of the Irish Famine. The mission was led by Captain Robert Bennet Forbes, a wealthy sea merchant living in Milton, MA. With Forbes on the journey…
March 17 is a big day in Boston, Massachusetts, and has been ceremoniously observed, commemorated and celebrated going back to the 18th century. It is commonly recognized as Evacuation Day and St. Patrick’s Day, two occasions that have been entwined in Boston going back centuries. Evacuation Day March 17, 1776 is the date when British…
Along the Boston Irish Heritage Trail, one of the most popular stops is Boston Common, the nation’s oldest public park, created by English Puritans in 1634 as a training ground and grazing field for cattle. The 50 acre park has been a staging ground for rallies, protests, marches, speeches, concerts, celebrations and commemorations for nearly 400 years. Here…
Anywhere you travel in Boston, you’ll find evidence of deep-rooted Irish connections dating back to the 17th century. To appreciate the Irish and Irish-American contribution, we created the Irish Heritage Trail in 1994 to chronicle the illustrious history of the Boston Irish. It includes 20 downtown and Back Bay sites, and an additional 20 sites…
Did you know that Irish immigrants played a pivotal role in the Revolutionary War? From Commodore John Barry and General John Sullivan to Boston Massacre victim Patrick Carr and the Scots-Irish who fought at Bunker Hill, the Irish were everywhere during the quest for independence. The Boston Irish Heritage Trail gives a fascinating overview of Irish landmarks…
Considered one of America’s great places to visit, Boston is steeped in riveting history and robust culture. Full of distinctive neighborhoods, college campuses and international cuisines, every step you take in Boston brings a new adventure and a thrilling discovery. The Walking City Boston’s natural beauty is enticing, especially in spring, when the city undergoes an environmental…
On March 5,1770, British troops fired into a crowd of Bostonians; four people were killed and a fifth victim died a few days later. Irishman Patrick Carr was one of five people shot to death in front of the Old State House on State Street on March 5, 1870 after a scuffle between colonists and…
For 18 days in the summer of 1872, Boston was the musical center of the universe, the City on a Hill that inspired the world. Boston was the setting for the World Peace Jubilee and International Music Festival, said to be the largest concert in the history of the world. It started on June 17,…
Michael Joyce, an Irish immigrant from Galway who was a central figure at the Mass State House in helping immigrants secure visas, jobs and education, is having a park in his honor at Marine Park in South Boston. This week, a groundbreaking took place with state officials and family and friends. The $1.4 million playground…
James Michael Curley was born on November 20, 1874 on Northampton Street in Roxbury to Irish immigrant parents Michael Curley and Sarah Clancy from County Galway. A dominant figure in Boston and Massachusetts politics for half a century, Curley served four four-year terms as mayor of Boston, in 1914, 1922, 1930 and 1946. He was Governor of Massachusetts from…
Central Burying Ground on Boston Common, Fall 2022 Tucked away in a shady plot at the corner of Tremont and Boylston Street on Boston Common is the Central Burying Ground, cemetery established in 1756 as Boston’s fourth cemetery. It was originally called the South Burying Ground, and was used to bury foreigners, strangers, indigents and soldiers….
Battle between USS Constitution and HMS Guerriere, 19 August 1812, by Michel Felice Corne Courtesy U.S. Navy – Naval History and Heritage Command, 80-G-K-26254 America’s oldest commissioned ship, the USS Constitution, was first launched on October 21, 1797, and is berthed in the Charlestown Navy Yard. The USS Constitution is operated by the US Navy, a partner of the National Historic…
Photo of Eugene O’Neill, courtesy of PBS, An American Experience Eugene O’Neill, one of the great American playwrights and winner of the Nobel Prize for Literature, was born in a hotel on October 16, 1888 in New York City to parents Ella Quinlan and Irish actor James O’Neill. He was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in…
One of Massachusetts’ most notable Olympic champions, Harold Vincent Connolly, died on August 18, 2010 at age 79. His rise to stardom, from a frail and partially paralyzed child to an Olympian, has inspired generations of Bostonians and athletes around the world. Born in Somerville on August 1, 1931, Connolly was raised in Boston’s Brighton…
Photo Courtesy of Naval History and Heritage Command On June 12, 1775, a seminal naval battle of the American Revolution took place off the coast of Machias, Maine. That is the day when Jeremiah O’Brien (1744-1818) his four brothers and fellow townsmen from Machias created the “first act of Colonial piracy” in the war by…
A National Rededication Ceremony for the Shaw 54th Regiment Memorial took place on June 1, 2022 on Boston Common. The restoration of the bronze memorial, started in summer 2020, was led by sculptor Robert Shure at Skylight Studios in Woburn, MA. The restoration initiative was spearheaded by a unique partnership that included the National Park…
On June 1, 1847, Mary Nelson became the first Irish immigrant to die at the new quarantine hospital at Deer Island. She died of typhus fever and was six years old. During the first ten days of June, 1847, other deaths included: Mary Connelly, age one on June 3; Mary Flaherty, age 21, on June…
On Sunday, May 30, 1913, Massachusetts Congressman James Michael Curley laid the corner stone for the new Hibernian Building on Dudley Street in Roxbury, before a crowd of over 5,000 people. Curley was joined by numerous Irish leaders from the city, state and nation, including members of the Ancient Order of Hibernians, which organized the project in 1906 to create…
On Saturday, May 25, 2019, a memorial commemorating 800+ Irish immigrants buried on Deer Island in Boston Harbor was unveiled several miles off the coast of Boston. Speakers included Boston Archdiocese Sean Cardinal O’Malley and Boston Mayor Marty Walsh. Gene O’Flaherty was the master of ceremonies, City of Boston’s Chief Archivist John McColgan gave the…
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