Irish Massachusetts

The Burren Pub in Davis Square, Somerville, is proud to sponsor the 4th annual Benefit of Music for the Somerville Homeless Coalition , taking place at 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday, November 30,2016. Tickets are $35 and can be purchased at the door.  100% of the proceeds go to the Coalition. Tonight's event features great local musicians, including  Tommy McCarthy, Louise Costello with Sean Clohessy;  Christian McNeill; the  Bagboys;  Opera on Tap; George Woods;  Mary Casey and Lindsay O'Donovan;  Cast of Return of the Winemakers;  Jenna Moynihan and Mairi Chaimbeul plus surprise guests.  Brian O'Donovan is the master of ceremonies.  Find out more about Boston's Irish community by visiting IrishBoston.org . 

Irish traditional duo Niamh Parsons and Graham Dunne perform in concert at the Irish Cultural Centre in Canton on Saturday, December 3, 2016 at 7:30 p.m. Tickets to the show are $25 and can be purchased at the door or by calling 781 821-829. Parsons has "one of the most beautiful voices in Ireland," according to Irish Music Magazine, whose "ornamentation breathes new life into these beautiful songs," says legendary singer Andy Irvine.  She is also an All Ireland concertina player, while Dunne is a multi-instrumentalist and also a great singer. The duo are performing an evening of traditional melodies as well as some Christmas songs. Here is a calendar of upcoming events at the Irish Cultural Centre . For year round information on Boston's Irish scene, visit IrishBoston.org .

Spectators at the Patrick's Parade on Cape Cod The Boston Irish Tourism Association has released its 2017 schedule of St. Patrick's Day parades taking place in Massachusetts and Rhode Island.   The parade season begins on Saturday, March 4, with the Cape Cod Patrick's Parade , and finishes up on Sunday, March 19 with parades in Abington, Boston, Holyoke and Scituate. Stay tuned for updates on other parades taking place in the New England region. Here is a list of I rish cultural activities in March 2017 in New England. For year round information on Irish cultural events and organizations, visit IrishMassachusetts.com .

Acclaimed Irish tenor John McDermott performs a benefit concert to aid the St. John's Food for the Poor program  in Worcester at 6:00 p.m. on Sunday, November 20, 2016. The concert takes place at Fiddler's Green Pub in the Worcester Hibernian Cultural Centre at 19 Temple Street.  Tickets are $25 at the door. McDermott  gained international fame as a member of the Irish Tenors and has since had a successful solo career.  He is well-known for his devotion to charitable causes, from helping veterans get housing and health care to providing for poor and homeless citizens in Canada and the United States. Here is a profile of McDermott from 2015 . Find year round details on Irish activities in Massachusetts at IrishMassachusetts.com .

Once: The Musical is coming to the Fine Arts Center at University of Massachusetts in Amherst at 7:30 p.m.  on Thursday, December 1, 2016. The Boston Irish Tourism Association is giving away a free pair of tickets to see the show.   Enter the contest here . Or, you can purchase tickets directly online to see this Broadway hit. Winner of eight Tony Awards, including best musical, Once is an engaging, heartwarming story of two musicians who meet on the streets of Dublin and pursue their hopes and dreams. For more details on Irish cultural events taking place in Massachusetts, visit IrishMassachusetts.com .

( Boston ) - The Boston Irish Tourism Association (BITA) released its  Travel & Culture Guide  (2016-17 winter issue) of cultural activities in Massachusetts and Ireland . The 28-page color magazine details upcoming holiday concerts, dances and theatre in Massachusetts and the New England region from November 2016 to March 2017. It lists selected Irish pubs, gift shops and cultural groups in the Bay State plus hotels and travel agencies for visitors from out-of-town. Read the digital version here .  Among the features in this issue are profiles of  Ray Flynn , who was honored recently by the City of Boston for his distinguished career, and  Séamus Connolly , whose much awaited collection of Irish music was posted at Boston College . Also featured: details on celebrating Christmas and New Year’s in Dublin , Ireland , and a preview of new direct air routes from New England to Ireland in 2017. The Guide is available for free a...

Author Ellen Alder is speaking about her book “Yours Faithfully, Florence Burke” at the Irish Cultural Centre at 7:00 pm, on Friday, November 18, 2016. Alder's book is based on the life and times of Florence Burke from County Cork, Ireland - the author's great, great grandfather, who fought in the Union Army during the American Civil War.   Details here. Click here for a full schedule of upcoming events at the Irish Cultural Centre. For year-round activities in Massachusetts, visit IrishMassachusetts.com .

The Boston Irish Tourism Association (BITA) is giving away choice tickets to some of the best Christmas holiday shows in New England this December. Here is the full schedule . Acts range from Once: The Musical and the Vienna Boys Choir to Irish holiday shows like A Christmas Celtic Sojourn with Brian O'Donovan; A Joyful Christmas with Eileen Ivers ; Irish tenor Ronan Tynan ; and a great new Irish duo, Eamonn McCrystal and Chloe Agnew . In addition to the contests, BITA has a full December calendar listing dozens of great shows, from the Boston Pops Holiday series and Reagle Theater's to Christmas in Newport and Blackstone River Theatre's Holiday Spectacular. Find full details on cultural events taking place year round at IrishBoston.org .

This Saturday, November 12, 2016, state and city officials, business leaders, tourism officials, labor activists, community leaders, family and friends and South Boston neighbors are gathering to officially dedicate the Raymond L. Flynn Marine Park in the South Boston Seaport District.   The ceremony takes place at 11 a.m. at 660 Summer Street.  Among the officials attending are Boston Mayor Marty Walsh, US Congressman Steve Lynch, State Senator Linda Dorcena-Forry, State Representative Nick Collins, City Councilors Bill Linehan and Michael Flaherty and others. Flynn, who served as Boston mayor from 1984 to 1993, and U.S. Ambassador to the Vatican from 1993-1997, is an iconic figure in the Boston community, with a lifelong commitment to public service, speaking out for the underdog, and fighting for people from South Boston and Roxbury to Poland and Northern Ireland. Flynn is also known as a gifted athlete, a devout Catholic, and a politician who helped to heal...

Lonely Planet , one of the world's leading travel authorities, has named the Skellig Ring Drive in Ireland as one of the world's best destinations in its recently released Best in Travel 2017, according to Tourism Ireland .   The Skellig Ring is a coastal drive that is an extension of the famous Ring of Kerry on the Wild Atlantic Way – described in Lonely Planet's Best in Travel 2017 as "perhaps Ireland 's most charismatically wild and emerald stretch of coastline". Other destinations on Lonely Planet's  2017 winners include Taranaki in New Zealand , the Azores in Portugal , Aysén in Chile , the Tuamotus in French Polynesia, Coastal Georgia in the USA and   Choquequiro in Peru.  Skellig Michael was one of the film locations for Star Wars: The Force Awakens . It is also a UNESCO World Heritage site.  Here is more information about visiting Ireland .  

Irish singer and concertina champion Ann Kirrane is performing with guitarist and singer Gabriel Donohue at the Irish Cultural Centre in Canton at 7:30 p.m. on Friday, November 4, 2016.  Tickets can be purchased at the door the evening of the concert.  Call 781 821-8291 for more information. A member of the notable Bellharbour, County Clare family of traditional musicians, Ann is three time winner of the All Ireland Championships on the concertina.  Her new CD is Behind Yon Mountain . Galway native Gabriel Donohue is a master musician and singer/songwriter who is a noted guitarist, pianist and bouzouki player.   Here are more upcoming events at the Irish Cultural Centre . For year round Irish activities in Massachusetts, visit IrishMassachusetts.com .