Irish Massachusetts

  The John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum in Boston's Dorchester neighborhood has reopened to the public on Saturday, November 15, 2025, after the federal government shutdown.  The Museum Gift Shop is also opening. In celebration of its reopening, the Museum is offering free admission to all visitors through November 30. Advanced tickets are not required. The JFK Café reopens on Monday, November 17, and the Research Room opens on Tuesday, November 18 (by appointment only). Caroline Kennedy on her pony, Macaroni, at the White House Read about Boston's Inspiring JFK Library in the current issue of Travel & Culture magazine, and its current exhibit, Presidential Pets: From the White House to the Dog House .   Plan your trip to JFK Library here.

  This Veterans Day, as we honor the military service of our neighbors, friends and family, here are four landmarks worth visiting, in Quincy, Charlestown and Boston.  On August 9, 2024, the City of Quincy dedicated the beautiful and inspiring new  Quincy Navy Park  along the waterfront in Marina Bay. The park honors Navy veterans while highlighting Quincy’s historical contributions to shipbuilding and the national defense. In addition to the Lone sailor statue, the Quincy Navy Park is encircled by a series of bas relief plaques honoring six Navy Admirals and five Quincy residents who served their community and the nation.  On July 27, 1993, the  Korean War Veterans Memorial  was unveiled at the Charlestown Navy Yard.  The 9-foot-high bronze soldier represents “The Forgotten War,” standing alone at night on sentry duty.  The memorial and statue were created by sculptor Robert Shure of Skylight Studios in Woburn.  The memorial is close to...

Irish Film Festival Boston is hosting a screening of the new film,  From That Small Island – The Story of the Irish  on Monday, November 10 at 7 p.m.- 9:30 p.m. at the Capitol Theatre in Arlington, MA. The ground-breaking documentary tells the story of the Irish from first inhabitants to the present day, tracing the ebb and flow of people into and out of the island. Shot on location in 17 countries worldwide, the film provides a compelling narrative of Ireland and the Irish.  The film crew spent four days in Boston in October 2023 interviewing several people for the documentary, including Michael Quinlin, author and co-founder of Boston Irish Tourism Association; former US Congressman and US Special Envoy to Northern Ireland Joe Kennedy III; former Mayor of Boston and US Ambassador to the Vatican Ray Flynn; Martina Curtin, Board Chair of the Irish Cultural Centre of Greater Boston; and Guy Beiner, Sullivan Chair in Irish Studies at Boston College. Created by Bríona ...

Ulster American Folk Park, Co. Tyrone Officials from the  America 250 Commission  traveled to Belfast last week to discuss Northern Ireland’s special status in the Semiquincentennial celebrations next year.   America 250 Executive Vice President Jen Condon and Commissioner Joe Crowley were welcomed by  Northern Ireland Communities Minister Gordon Lyons and Department for the Economy NI Minister Dr Caoimhe Archibald .   Jen Condon and Joe Crowley at Hillsborough Castle   “It is a privilege to welcome Commissioner Joe Crowley and Executive Vice President Jen Condon to Northern Ireland in recognition of the unique contribution our people have made to the foundation of the United States of America,” Lyons said. “The stories of our nations have been woven together over the last 250 years. More than 250,000 people left these shores during the 18th century to help shape modern America. We must seize this special opportunity to showcase our contribution and cel...

A musical tribute to the Flanagan Brothers, a traditional Irish band wildly popular a century ago, takes place at the Lilypad in Inman Square, Cambridge this Sunday, November 2 starting at 7:30 p.m.   Purchase tickets here . The musical tribute,  featuring in-person performances set against an extraordinary backdrop of archival sounds and projected images, is being performed by Dan Neely on banjo, Diarmuid Ó Meachair on melodeon and Matt Mulqueen on piano.   Neely, a musician and ethnomusicologist, is a longtime music columnist for the Irish Echo newspaper in New York, and has done extensive research on Irish music recording stars from the 1920s, including the Flanagan Brothers as well as Boston's own Dan Sullivan and the Shamrock Band.  Ó Meachair,  an accomplished accordionist, mandolin player and sean nos singer from Cúil Aodha, Co. Cork, was awarded the prestigious TG4 Young Musician of the year award in 2022.  Mulqueen, from Baltimore, M...

Photo Courtesy of Massport The next time you are exploring South Boston, visit the Thomas J. Bulter Park, located along 917-975 East First Street off of Farragut Road, not far from Castle Island.  The park is being added to Boston's Irish Heritage Trail, along with these other  landmarks in South Boston.     The Thomas J. Butler Park is part of  Massport’s parks and open spaces  that offer year-round green spaces to local residents and visitors.  The park opened in 2017 in memory of Massport’s longtime director of external affairs and lifelong South Boston resident, Tommy Butler, acclaimed as a longtime government official and beloved as a visionary community leader. Read about the opening ceremony . Photo Courtesy of Massport The 4.4-acre multi-use park contains a path for runners and walkers that is lined with trees and flowers, along with seating and lighting and bike rakes. The Thomas J. Butler Park is open from dawn to dusk and there are park...

 

  The Father John Murphy Division of the Ancient Order of Hibernians in Cohasset, Massachusetts is holding its annual commemoration for victims of the Brig St. John on Sunday, October 5 from 2-4 p.m.. The event begins with a memorial mass at St. Anthony's Catholic Church on Summer Street in Cohasset, followed by a program featuring Amy Elisabeth Day , writer and composer of the acclaimed Irish folk musical In the Midst of Plenty, a production rooted in the history of the Great Hunger.  Illustrations from Across the Sea from Galway by Leonard Everett Fisher,  published by Four Winds Press The annual event is a homage to passengers aboard the Brig St. John, which sank off the coast of Cohasset on the morning of Sunday, October 7, 1849, wrecked by a severe nor’easter that rocked the boat for hours before it sank. On board the ship were 127 passengers from Ireland, along with sixteen sailors. The majority of passengers were poor Irish immigrants fleeing the famine. On May 30,...

Boston Logan 9/11 Memorial, Photo Courtesy of Massport The next time you are at Boston Logan International Airport , visit the  Boston Logan 9/11 Memorial ,  a powerful homage to the passengers and crews of American Airlines Flight 11 and United Airlines Flight 175, the two planes that departed Boston Logan for Los Angeles, but were hijacked by terrorists who flew them into the World Trade Towers in New York. Massport describes the memorial as "a place  contemplation, reflection, and remembrance for a world impacted by the events of September 11, 2001." The memorial is located between Terminal A and the Hilton Boston Logan Airport Hotel and can be accessed through the parking garage.  Massport writes, "Landscaped paths lead to a large glass cube that presents two glass panels etched with the names of every person aboard each flight. From inside, visitors look up at a sky transformed by a prism of reflective panels by day; the cube glows with a soft light by nigh...