Irish Massachusetts

Irish ceili dancing gets underway early in the New Year in Massachusetts. Starting on January 3, 2011,  the Hibernian Cultural Center in Worcester offers free dancing lessons for ceili, set dancing, and old time waltzes ever Monday night, from 7:00 to 8:30 p.m.  On Sunday, January 23, Comhaltas Ceoltoiri Eireann has its semi-monthly ceili dance at the Canadian American Club in Watertown, from 3:00 to 7:00 p.m..  Musicians and dancers are invited to attend this session, which features ceili, set and old time watzes. For year round details on Irish events in Massachusetts, visit IrishMassachusetts.com .

Celebrate New Year's at some of Boston's best Irish pubs and most stylish restaurants owned and operated by the Glynn Hospitality Group.  For tickets, click here . For more Irish pubs, hotel lounges and restaurants in Massachusetts, visit IrishBoston.org

The world-renowned Irish traditional music ensemble, Cherish the Ladies , is performing its holiday show, An Irish Christmas Celebration, at the Blackstone River Theatre on Friday, December 17, 2010 at 8:00 p.m. Tickets are $30 in advance and $35 the evening of the show. Led by flutist Joannie Madden, Cherish the Ladies has been one of the world's top Irish traditional bands over the past 25 years, playing for audiences around the world. For a full schedule of concerts at Blackstone River Theatre, click here . For year round Irish music in Massachusetts and the New England region, visit IrishMassachusetts.com

The Boston Irish Tourism Association has released its winter issue of Travel & Culture Guide , a selection of cultural activities in Massachusetts and the New England region. This issue features profiles of local Irish-Americans Helen Brady of Boston Symphony Hall and Tom Butler of Massport; details on upcoming Christmas concerts; and a preview of St. Patrick's Day activities in 2011.  Also included are dozens of Irish-American cultural groups, Irish pubs and gift shops as well as hotels, travel agencies, concert venues, hotels, museums throughout Massachusetts. The Guide is distributed free at local visitor centers on Boston Common and the Prudential Center; at the John F. Kennedy Library & Museum, Boston City Hall, and Lawrence State Heritage Park. And it is available at the Hibernian Cultural Center in Worcester, the Irish Cultural Center in Chicopee, AOH Hall in Watertown, Sons of Erin Club on Cape Cod, Blackstone River Theatre in Cumberland, RI and Boston Coll...

The Boston Irish Tourism Association is giving away a pair of tickets to see A Christmas Celtic Sojourn at Veterans Memorial Auditorium in Providence on Thursday, December 16, and at the Emerson Majestic Theatre in Boston on Friday, December 17, 2010. To enter the contest click here .  Now in its 8th year, A Christmas Celtic Sojourn is a journey back to how Christmas was celebrated in rural Ireland, complete with Irish traditional singing, music, dancing and storytelling. The popular show is hosted by Brian O'Donovan , whose radio program show, A Celtic Sojourn, is on WGBH-FM every Saturday.  For a full list of performers and show times for A Christmas Celtic Sojourn, click here . For a complete list of Irish cultural events year round, visit IrishMassachusetts.com .