Irish Heritage Trail
The magical Swan Boats on Boston’s Public Garden has been mesmerizing children and families for nearly 150 years. The season opens on Saturday, April 18 and runs through Labor Day Weekend. These historic pedal boats offer visitors and locals a serene experience in the Public Garden lagoon, a beautiful oasis in the heart…
Boston’s Irish Heritage Trail was created in 1994 to chronicle the illustrious history of the city’s Irish community through public landmarks. We are excited to add these two landmarks to the Irish Heritage Trail in 2026. Swan Boats LagoonBoston Public Garden The iconic Swan Boats in the Public Garden Lagoon were first launched in 1877…
To pay homage to its distinctive Irish heritage, the Boston Irish Tourism Association is developing a South Boston Irish Heritage Trail of landmarks celebrating local leaders, institutions and memorials that underscore Southie’s indelible Irish spirit. This project is a work-in-progress, and we welcome your suggestions. John J. Moakley Federal Courthouse1 Court House Way, Northern Avenue…
A new “Dublin Heritage Marker” was unveiled on Monday, December 8 at 25 Water Street in the historical town of Plymouth, Massachusetts, best known as the place settled by English Pilgrims in 1620. The marker was created by the Father John Murphy Division of the Ancient Order of Hibernians, who helped fund the project along with…
Boston’s Irish Heritage Trail was created in 1994 to chronicle the illustrious history of the city’s Irish community. In 2025, we began adding new landmarks to the trail in downtown Boston and the neighborhoods, while also expanding the trail across Massachusetts. We are excited to add these two special landmarks to the Irish Heritage Trail…
Annie Sullivan, known in her life as the Miracle Worker for her work with the blind, especially Helen Keller, was the daughter of impoverished Irish immigrants. Annie was born in Feeding Hills, Massachusetts in 1866. Partially blind herself, she attended the Perkins School for the Blind in South Boston where she learned to read, write and spell. After graduation,…
(October 9, 2025) – Boston Irish Tourism Association announced today that the Harry McDonough Sailing Center at Castle Island in South Boston is being added to Boston’s Irish Heritage Trail this year in tribute to the Sailing Center’s beloved founder. The non-profit sailing center, which provides inner-city youth with a safe, fun and accessible environment,…
Since uncovering a missing bronze plaque to Commodore John Barry, tucked away in a Charlestown Navy Yard warehouse since 1981, we have been working with the Boston Art Commission and Boston National Historical Park for approval to refurbish the damaged bronze and find a suitable public setting for it in the Navy Yard in 2026,…
Kevin Hagan White (1929-2012), one of Boston’s most beloved and impactful mayors of the 20th century, was the son of Irish-Catholic parents Joseph White and Patricia Hagan. He was raised in Jamaica Plain. Born into a political family on September 25, 1929 in Boston- both of his grandfathers were well-known politicians – White followed in…
In the early 18th century, Irish and Scottish settlers began infiltrating Boston’s solidly Puritan stock, coming by the boatload as congregations, or as stragglers wandering up from New York or down from Halifax, Nova Scotia. Long before basketball was invented, these were the original Boston Celtics! The wave of immigration from the island of Ireland…
The larger-than-life bronze statue of legendary quarterback Tom Brady is being added to the Irish Heritage Trail, a collection of public landmarks that celebrate the contributions of Irish and Irish-Americans in New England. The statue was unveiled on August 8 at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, MA, where Brady led the New England Patriots to six…
In August 1872, one of America’s most distinctive civil war monuments was being slowly and carefully put into place on a massive pedestal in front of the chapel at Mt. Auburn Cemetery in Cambridge, MA. The Sphinx Monument was created by Irish immigrant sculptors Martin Milmore and his brother Joseph, who arrived in Boston in 1851 with their widowed…
During the American Revolution, Irish and Scots-Irish immigrants from New England played a pivotal role in helping to win the Revolutionary War. The Boston Irish Heritage Trail gives a glimpse of these Revolutionary Irish heroes through landmarks on Boston Common, the Massachusetts State House, Granary Burying Ground, Copley Square Park, Bunker Hill Monument and Dorchester…
The larger-than-life bronze statue of legendary quarterback Tom Brady was unveiled on August 8 at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, MA, where Brady led the New England Patriots to six Super Bowl titles and 17 division championships in his 20 years here. Brady attended the unveiling ceremony with his parents, Tom Brady, Sr. and Galynn, sisters…
When the American Revolution erupted in June, 1775, the Irish and Scots-Irish living in New England quickly joined the colonial side to fight for American independence. After all, they knew sometime about revolution, and about meeting the British in battle. Here are a few of their names. Major General John Sullivan was the son of…
Cathedral of the Holy Cross in Boston, Photo by Elkus Manfredi Patrick Charles Keely (1816-1896), regarded as one of the great neo-Gothic church architects of the 19th century, designed more than 600 churches and 16 cathedrals throughout the United States between 1846-1896. Born in Thurles, County Tipperary on August 9, 1816, Keely was the son…
Commodore John Barry and Marquis de Lafayette, Catholic military heroes of the American Revolution, are memorialized side by side on Boston Common, in homage to their enormous contributions during the Revolutionary War. Born in September 6, 1757, Lafayette was a French nobleman who volunteered to serve in the Continental Army and soon became a close…
Boston’s Edward L. 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 Ballygar, Galway and South Boston. Edward was the oldest of nine children of Lawrence and Catherine (O’Connor), according to the late Michael Cummings of Milton, an expert on…
George M. Cohan, (1878-1942), famed Broadway song and dance man whose songs helped define the World War I generation, was born in Providence RI on July 3, 1878. A statue honoring Cohan at the corner of Wickendon and Governor Streets in Providence was created by noted sculptor Robert Shure, who also created the Irish Famine Memorial in Boston and in Providence. The…
History is replete with stories about refugees from around the world coming to Boston, Massachusetts, seeking help from tragedies of historic proportions that were too massive for them to face. Very often they were poorly received, as locals feared the burden these immigrants would have on society. One of the most compelling chapters in the…
Boston’s most iconic public monument, the Shaw Memorial, was officially unveiled on May 31, 1897. The homage to the 54th Black Infantry Regiment of Boston is considered one of America’s most significant Civil War memorials. It was the first public monument to accurately depict black soldiers in military uniform. The memorial was created by immigrant Augustus…
Courtesy of National Park Service. Photo Credit: Procon Consulting (Ted Fiffy)
A three-year effort by a local Girl Scout troop to restore a neglected Civil War statue was celebrated on April 28, 2001 at a rededication ceremony in front of the Edgell Memorial Library in Framingham Center. More than 100 people attended the event. The restoration effort was spearheaded by the Framingham Girl Scout Troop 2112,…
In 2025, The Swan Boats in the Public Garden Lagoon is being added to the Boston Irish Heritage Trail, in homage to the Irish immigrant couple, Robert Paget and his wife Julia (Coffey) Paget, who launched the iconic attraction in 1877. A boatbuilder by trade, Robert developed a catamaran propelled by foot pedals to sail around…
Get the Latest Irish News & Events in Your Inbox
Join our mailing list
Editor's Picks
Irish Boston Partners
These organizations promote Irish Culture in New England.
