Irish Massachusetts

Curley Statues across from City Hall The Boston Irish Tourism Association is offering guided walking tours of the Boston Irish Heritage Trail in celebration of Bloomsday, on Sunday, June 30, 2013, starting at 2:00 p.m. at the Boston Common Visitor Center at 147 Tremont Street in Downtown Boston. Cost of the tour is $15 per adult, $8 for children ages 6-12, and free for children under five. The 75 minute walking tour by an experienced tour guide covers over three centuries of Boston Irish history.  You’ll discover the Irish role in the Revolutionary War, learn about the 19th century Famine generation and the Irish part in the Civil War.  And you’ll discover famous and infamous politicians - from Curley and White to Collin and the Kennedys - who put their indelible stamp on the history of the city and the nation. You can purchase tickets the day of the tour at the front desk of the Boston Common Visitors Information Center. The Irish Heritage Tra...

Legendary Scottish folk singer Archie Fisher is performing in concert at the Burren Back Room Series in Davis Square Somerville on Wednesday, June 26, 2013 at 7:30 p.m.   Tickets to the show are $23 and can be purchased at the door. The concert is part of the Back Room Series at the Burren hosted by Brian O'Donovan of the Celtic Sojourn program on WGBH .   Read a profile of the Burren Pub and its owners, musicians Tommy McCarthy and Louise Costello.  You can find year round details on Irish music and culture in Massachusetts and the New England states by visiting IrishMassachusetts.com . For information about visiting Massachusetts, go to MassVacation.com and BostonUSA.com . 

The Boston Irish Tourism Association (BITA) has issued its annual summer Travel & Culture Guide , featuring a round-up of Irish and Scottish festivals, concerts and cultural activities taking place in Massachusetts , New Hampshire and Quebec City . The issue also includes details on participating in The Gathering, a global homecoming taking place in Ireland this summer;  reflections of the Boston Marathon; and a look back at President Kennedy's historic visit to Ireland in June 1963. The 28-page color magazine, distributed free at visitor kiosks and cultural venues throughout Massachusetts, provides details on traveler amenities like hotels and travel agencies, pubs and restaurants, gift shops and retail shops, museums and cultural associations.   Here is a list of distribution outlets to pick up your free copy. BITA was formed in 2000 to promote cultural tourism year round.  It publishes three issues of Travel & Culture Guide in March,...

Cassie and Maggie MacDonald   The 3rd annual Blackstone River Theatre's Summer Solstice Festival is taking place on Saturday, June 22, 2013 from 11:00 a.m. to 7:00 p..m. in Cumberland, RI. The all-day festival features some of the best Celtic performers in New England and beyond, including uilleann piper Paddy Keenan, singer Aoife Clancy, Mark Roberts and Sheila Falls, Cassie and Maggie MacDonald, and the popular local group, Devine's Diner, led by father-daughter fiddlers Jimmy and Hannah Devine, along with flutist Teddi Scobi. Tickets can be purchased at the festival: $15 general admission; $10 for seniors 65 and over; and $5 for children ages 5 and under.  The Summer Solstice Festival takes place at Diamond Hill Park, Route 114 in Cumberland RI. Here is information on directions and parking . Find year round detail on other Irish and Scottish festivals  in New England and Quebec this summer.  For year round details on Irish cultural activities i...

Congratulations to the Huntington Theatre Company of Boston, the 2013 winner of the Regional Theatre Tony Award presented in New York City on Sunday, June 9, 2013. Accepting the award on behalf of the Huntington were Michael Maso and Peter DeBois. Here is a video of the acceptance speech . Here are more details on this year's Tony Awards . Here is a schedule of the 2013/2014 season at Huntington Theatre Company . For year round details of cultural activities in Massachusetts visit IrishMassachusetts.com . For visitor information go to MassVacation.com and BostonUSA.com . 

The annual Boston Irish Festival is taking place on Saturday, June 8 and Sunday, June 9, at the Irish Cultural Centre in Canton, about 10 miles from Boston. And everyone’s welcome, you don’t have to be Irish! Now in its 23 nd year, the festival takes place on the spacious 46-acre grounds of the Centre, tucked away off Route 138 , not far from the interstate highways. It boasts state-of-the-art athletic fields, walking trails, a children’s play area, and an authentic Irish cottage built by craftsmen to traditional specifications – thatched roof and all. The festival’s main draw, of course, is great Irish music, on fiddles, accordions, pipes, flutes and guitars, taking place on various stages throughout the festival grounds. The opening performance by fiddle star Eileen Ivers and her band Immigrant Soul, was postponed on Friday, June 7, due to the rain.  Instead she will return to the Irish Cultural Centre for a concert on Friday, August 2, 2013. Throughout the...

A talented trio of traditional Irish musicians, fiddlers Grainne Murphy , Dylan Foley , and harpist Marta Cook , perform an afternoon concert at Club Passim on Saturday, June 8, 2013 at 3:30 p.m.  Tickets to the show are $12 and can be purchased online or at the venue. Murphy, from Lowell, Massachusetts was a student of fiddle master Seamus Connolly; she currently tours with Cherish the Ladies.  Three-time All Ireland champion Foley is a former student of Rose Flanagan in New York.  Chicago-born Cook has won the All-Ireland championship on harp and also a Grammy award for her performance with Yo Yo Ma and others. Find more information on upcoming concerts at Passim's , located at 47 Palmer Street in Harvard Square, Cambridge. For year round details on Irish cultural activities in Massachusetts, visit IrishMassachusetts.com . 

Two legendary musicians, accordionist Mick McAuley and fiddler Win Horan , both members of Solas , along with  Kilkenny-born guitarist, Colm O Caoimh , are appearing at the Burren Backroom Series at the Burren Pub in Davis Square, Somerville on Wednesday, June 5, 2013 at 7:30 p.m.  Tickets to the show are $23, and WGBH members receive a $5 discount.  Order tickets here .  Here is a schedule of upcoming concerts in the Burren Backroom Series . Find year round details on Irish cultural activities in greater Boston by visiting IrishBoston.org .  For visitor information go to MassVacation.com and BostonUSA.com .

Mai Hernon from County Sligo is leading a traditional Irish singing workshop at the Hibernian Cultural Center in Worcester on Saturday, June 1, 2013 from 1:00 to 4:00 p.m.  The three-hour workshop is $60 per person and includes group lesson and individual instruction, along with refreshments, lyric sheets, and admission to Ms. Hernon's concert at the Centre in the evening. Here is a calendar of upcoming events at the Hibernian Cultural Centre , which is run by Division 36 of the Ancient Order of Hibernians .  For details on year round Irish cultural activities in Massachusetts and the New England states, visit IrishMassachusetts.com For visitor information go to MassVacation.com .