Irish Massachusetts

Belfast and the Causeway Coast were named the Number One region in Lonely Planet’s Best in Travel for 2018.  Belfast and the Causeway shared the top ten list with other destinations like Alaska , Kii Peninsula in Japan , and Bahai in Brazil . Belfast was praised for its world-renowned restaurants, historical sites and the friendliness of people in Northern Ireland .  The Causeway Coast has magnificent castles, seascapes and natural wonders.  The Causeway has been a film location for the HBO series Game of Thrones. Lonely Planet wrote:  "From epic landscapes to hip hotels and doomed ships to fine food, Belfast & the Causeway Coast has plenty to attract visitors. Belfast , a city once defined by the Troubles, has a new and compelling energy. Old shipyards are giving way to gleaming new developments, while Victorian architecture and Titanic Belfast ensure history is never far from the surface. To the northwest is the Causeway Coast , a stretch of ru

Massport  recently joined local elected officials, friends and family of Tom Butler to officially unveil the Thomas J. Butler Memorial Park in South Boston. Joining Massport CEO Tom Glynn at the event were Governor Charlie Baker, Congressman Stephen Lynch, Boston Mayor Marty Walsh, state Senator Linda Dorcena Forry, state Representative Nick Collins, City Councilors Michael Flaherty and Bill Linehan and other local officials, as well as former officials like Ray Flynn, Bill Bulger and Jack Hart. The park is named to honor Tom Butler of South Boston, who was beloved in his neighborhood for his many decades of community service and charitable deeds to the town.  As Director of External Relations for Massport, Butler was also a well-respected public official who helped mitigate effects of Logan International Airport, Conley Terminal and Cruiseport Boston for the residents who lived nearby those facilities. "My father acted as a buffer for the  community he served in his cap

Inroads Ireland , a Seattle-based travel company, offers a number of customized, unique tours of Ireland each summer and fall.  Founded and operated by the husband-wife team of Carolyn Janette and Phil Ryan, Inroads Tours run from May through October 2018 and are divided into three segments: Go North, Go South, Go West. You can find details of the 2018 tours with dates here. Read more about Exploring Ireland here.

The Irish Cultural Centre of New England is holding its 27th annual Golf Tournament at the Brookmeadow Country Club in Canton at 11 a.m. on Monday, October 23, 2017. The golf tournament raises funds for year-round programming at the Cultural Centre. It is described as a day of golf, with music, raffles and a dinner afterwards. Opened in 1989, the 46 acre Irish Cultural Centre represents the Irish and Irish-American community year round, with regular cultural activities including music, dancing, theatre and lectures; a Irish pub and Irish cottage on site, and playing fields for Gaelic sports such as hurling, camogie and football. Find out more about the Centre here.

Tourism Ireland has created a new online film to highlight some of the many wonderful and unique locations that international visitors can enjoy throughout the island of Ireland. From the Wild Atlantic Way and Northern Ireland, to Ireland’s Ancient East, Belfast and Dublin, there is so much for visitors to enjoy about Ireland.  The film is being promoted through Tourism Ireland’s social platforms, including Facebook (4 million + fans worldwide), Twitter (440,500+ followers) and  YouTube . In 2016, Ireland welcomed approximately 10.3 million overseas visitors to the island of Ireland, delivering revenue of about €5.3 billion. For stories and information about going to Ireland from the New England region, read these stories on Ireland .  For  full details on visiting Ireland, go to Ireland.com . 

The final guided tour this season of Boston's Irish Heritage Trail takes place at 1 p.m. on Saturday, October 21, 2017, starting at the Boston Common Visitor Center . The tour is led by seasoned guide Ted Kulik , who covers ten stops along the trail that encompass over 300 years of Irish history in Boston.  Tickets are $15 for adults, and $12 for seniors, students and military.  You can purchase your ticket at the Visitor Information Center front counter prior to the tour. The 90 minute walk takes you through Boston Common, past the State House, Old Granary Burying Ground, down School Street, and over to City Hall and Faneuil Hall. The Irish Heritage Trail was created by Boston Irish Tourism Association as a way of sharing the illustrious history of the Irish in Boston from colonial times to the present. Find more about the Irish Heritage Trail here. For more details on the October 21 tour, contact Colette at BITA.

Renowned Celtic Harpist Patrick Ball is performing "A Pilgrimage to Yeats Country" at the Blackstone River Theatre in Cumberland, RI at 8 p.m. on Saturday, October 14, 2017. Tickets to the show are $15 and can be purchased at the venue the night of the show. Ball's show about the Irish poet W. B. Yeats combines the age-old traditions of storytelling, poetry and verse, and music  and dance.  Yeats, founder of Ireland's National Theatre, delved deeply into the culture of Ireland's peasantry when shaping his body of work, which helped him win a Nobel Prize for Literature in 1923. Here is a schedule of upcoming concerts at Blackstone River Theatre . For year round information on Irish cultural activities in New England, visit IrishMassachusetts.com .

Séamus Connolly, a 10-time All-Ireland fiddle champion and former Sullivan Artist in Residence at Boston College , returns to celebrate the one-year anniversary of the acclaimed  Séamus Connolly Collection of Irish Music  launched by the BC Libraries. Connolly will describe how his project—a digital collection that pays tribute to his early traditional music mentors—came together. The event takes place starting at 6 p.m. at the Cadigan Alumni Center at 2121 Commonwealth Avenue in Brighton.  Admission is $20 and registration is online .  The program is co-sponsored by the Boston College Libraries and the University Advancement Alumni Education Series. The evening will feature live music performances by Jimmy and Séamus Noonan on flute and tin whistle; Séamus Connolly on fiddle; and Shannon and Matt Heaton on vocals, flute, and guitar. Here is a profile on Seamus Connolly's Collection of Irish Music .  Find out about Irish cultural activities year round in

Graphic Courtesy of Providence Journal   There is significant joy around Southern New England these days, since T.F. Green International Airport in Providence became a regional hub from for travel to Ireland , Northern Ireland , Scotland and England .  The launch of Norwegian Air ’s new service from Providence  gave New Englanders a direct path to Belfast , Cork , Shannon, Dublin and Edinburgh . Find information about fall and winter  Norwegian Air flights to Ireland and the UK .      It turns out the Providence airport is ideally located to meet the ongoing needs of travelers looking for direct service at low cost.   T.F. Green is “an access point for a huge part of the Northeastern U.S. ,” industry analyst Michael Boyd told the Providence Journal this spring.  According to the Rhode Island Airport Corporation, 64% of New Englanders live within 75 miles of Green. Rhode Island – an Irish State Rhode Island ranks fifth in the country in terms of Irishne

The John F. Kennedy Presidential Library & Museum is airing a new documentary entitled, "In the Name of Peace: John Hume in America," at 6 p.m. on Tuesday, October 10, 2017. Admission is free, but registration is required. The screening has been named an "Event of the Week" by Boston Irish Tourism Association . The screening is followed by a discussion between filmmaker Maurice Fitzpatrick and former U.S. Senator George Mitchell, who was the Northern Ireland envoy during the Clinton Administration.  Boston Globe columnist Kevin Cullen is moderator. Former U.S. Senator Paul Kirk introduces the documentary and discussion. Here is a schedule of upcoming forums at the JFK Library . For year round information on Irish activities in Massachusetts, visit IrishMassachusetts.com .