Irish Massachusetts

Read about plans by Aer Lingus to launch new round trip service between Hartford, CT and Dublin, Ireland in September, 2016. The article appears in the spring 2016 issue of BITA's Travel & Culture Guide , a free magazine focused on the region's Irish activities as well as travel between New England and Ireland/Northern Ireland. Here is an historical perspective on Aer Lingus' Boston-Ireland connections  dating back to 1958. Find current information about traveling to Ireland in 2016 . For year round information on the Irish community in New England, visit IrishMassachusetts.com .

The Massachusetts Ancient Order of Hibernians and Irish Cultural Centre of New England are holding these commemorative events to mark the 100th anniversary of the 1916 Irish Rising in Dublin: April 23 Centenary Celebration of the 1916 Rising Sponsored by James A. Curran Division One of MA  AOH Activities taking place include a flag raising ceremony at 1:00 p.m.at Holyoke City Hall , a mass at 4:00 p.m. at  St. Jerome ’s Church and a fundraising dance for the Sisters of St. Joseph at the Wherehouse Restaurant, with music by the Noel Henry Showband.   April 24 Remembering the Easter Rising of 1916 Irish Cultural Centre of New England , Canton Speakers include  Ireland ’s Consul General Fionnuala Quinlan & Father Oliver Rafferty , BC Irish Studies. April 24 1916 Easter Rising Commemoration & 40th Anniversary of Worcester’s Irish Immigration Memorial Activities include a mass at 10:00 a.m. at St. John’s Church, followed by a processio...

The US Department of Transportation tentatively cleared the way for a new direct route between Boston, Massachusetts and Cork City, Ireland on low-cost carrier Norwegian Air . The service is expected to launch this summer and fly four or five times a week between Cork Airport and Boston Logan International Airport , according to officials. Niall MacCarthy, managing director of Cork Airport, told Breaking News Ireland , "This is absolutely fantastic news for the airport, the airline and the region." In Boston, local Irish organizations expressed delight that the new route will further strengthen ties between the tourism industries in Massachusetts and Ireland. "The Boston-Cork route adds another option for American and Irish consumers traveling between these two great destinations," said Colette Quinlin, managing director of the Boston Irish Tourism Association .  "In addition, Boston and Cork share many amenities that appeal to visitors: a rich a...

RIVERDANCE , the internationally-acclaimed celebration of Irish music, song and dance, is coming to Boston , part its 20th Anniversary World Tour. Boston Irish Tourism Association is giving away a pair of tickets to the opening show on Tuesday, May 10th.  Enter the contest here .  The lucky winner will be notified and announced on Friday, May 6th, so be sure to check back for the exciting, winning announcement! You can also purchase tickets online to any of the seven Boston shows.   Find year round details on Irish events in greater Boston at IrishBoston.org . 

A landmark documentary, 1916: The Irish Rebellio n is being show at the Lawrence Heritage State Park in Lawrence, Massachusetts at 10:30 a.m. on Saturday, April 16, 2016. Narrated by actor Liam Neeson, the film describes the events surround the famous Easter 1916 Uprising in Dublin, Ireland.   The screening, presented by Division 8 of the Ancient Order of Hibernians , is free to the public. The 80 minute documentary was created by the Irish Studies program at the University of Notre Dame in South Bend, Indiana.  It contains rarely seen archival footage of the uprising itself, and sheds new light on the role of the Irish-American community in supporting and initiating the rising. Here is information on other Irish Rising activities taking place in Massachusetts this spring. Find year round details on the Irish community in Massachusetts by visiting IrishMassachusetts.com .

Donnell Leahy and Natalie MacMaster Boston Irish Tourism Association has issued a calendar of Irish/Scottish/Celtic festivals and musical performances taking place this summer in Massachusetts, Rhode Island and New Hampshire. The festival season begins on June 4-5, with the Boston Irish Festival of Music in Canton, Massachusetts and continues through September 16-18 with the New Hampshire Highland Games on Loon Mountain in New Hampshire. Among the headlining artists this summer: fiddle maestro Eileen Ivers and Irish tenor Michael Landra, Cape Breton stars Natalie MacMaster and Donnell Leahy, Canada's Irish tenor John McDermott, the Wolf Tones, the John Doyle Band, Enter the Haggis, Alasdair Fraser and Natalie Haas, Soulsha and Girsa, Check back for further updates to the schedule. Find a full calendar of monthly events by visiting IrishMassachusetts.com .

The profile of the week from the Boston Irish Tourism Association is Sara Stanton, owner of Cara Group Travel in Quincy.  The native of County Mayo is organizing an Ireland Pilgrimage: Boston to Knock this July. Among the participants are Cardinal Sean O'Malley , Mayor Marty Walsh , and former US Ambassador and Boston Mayor Ray Flynn . Read an interview with Sara here. For year round information on Boston's Irish community, visit IrishBoston.org .

Bates Hall, Boston Public Library  As part of the centennial commemorations marking the Irish Rising of 1916, Boston Irish Tourism Association  has complied this list of scholarly resources in the Greater Boston area.  The  Boston Athenaeum  has numerous books, magazines and newspapers from the period, plus a rare British recruitment poster entitled: The Call to Arms, Irishmen Don’t You Hear it? The Rare Book Collection at Boston Public Library  has over 3,000 pamphlets, posters, photographs, scrapbooks and press clippings that related to the creation of the Irish Free State in 1922, including Home Rule, the 1916 Irish Rising, and the Irish Civil War.  The John J. Burns Library at  Boston   College  has papers of several 1916 leaders, including Thomas Clarke, Thomas MacDonagh, Roger Casement and Joseph M. Plunkett, plus relevant papers of Mary Boyle O’Reilly, Shane Leslie, and Eskine Childers.  T...

The Avett Brothers are performing at the DCU Center in Worcester at 7:30 p.m. on Sunday, April 10, 2016. You can  purchase tix here . The North Carolina based band combines bluegrass, country, punk, pop melodies, folk, rock and roll, indie rock, honky tonk, and ragtime to produce a novel sound described by the San Francisco Chronicle as having the "heavy sadness of Townes Van Zandt, the light pop concision of Buddy Holly, the tuneful jangle of the Beatles, the raw energy of the Ramones." The band is made up of brothers, Scott Avett (banjo) and Seth (guitar), as well as Bob Crawford (double bass) and Joe Kwon (cello). Mike Marsh (drums), Tania Elizabeth (violin) and Paul Defiglia (keyboard) are touring members of the band. Here is a video of Avett Brothers .  Find other upcoming musical performances at IrishMassachusetts.com . 

Irish traditional musicians  Cillian Vallely  and   Kevin Crawford   are performing at the   Gaelic Roots Music Series   at Boston College on April 7, 2016.  The free concert takes place from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. at the Cadigan Alumni Center on the Brighton campus, located at 2121 Commonwealth Avenue. Here is more information about the Gaelic Roots program,founded by Irish fiddle champion  Seamus Connolly  and now run by director  Sheila Falls .  Find year round information on Irish cultural activities at  IrishMassachusetts.com .