Irish Massachusetts

Celtic Nights   The Boston Irish Tourism Association  (BITA) is offering readers the chance to win free concert tickets to upcoming music and dance shows in New England in February and March leading up to the St. Patrick's Day season. Here is a list of the performers and venues to date: Ronan Tynan at the Palace Theatre in Manchester, NH Gaelic Storm at The Cabot Theatre in Beverly Dublin's Merry Ploughboys at Mechanics Hall in Worcester Dublin's Irish Dance "Stepping Out" at Mechanics Hall in Worcester Red Hot Chilli Pipers at the Palace Theatre in Manchester, NH St. Patrick's Day A Celtic Sojourn with Brian O'Donovan at The Cabot in Beverly The Chieftains at Lynn Auditorium in Lynn Celtic Nights - Oceans of Hope at The Cabot in Beverly You can enter any of these contests by following the instructions - and good luck!  Check back regularly at BITA contests as more concerts are listed. Here is our March 2018 schedule ...

Read about Norwegian Air's New England  hub - the T. F. Green Airport in Providence, RI. in the current issue of Travel & Culture Guide .  Since launching in July 2017, the airline has developed direct flights to a number of cities, including Cork, Shannon and Dublin in Ireland, Belfast in Northern Ireland and Edinburgh in Scotland.  Those flights increase in the spring and summer of 2018, according to the article.  Read more about Rhode Island's Irish Connections . The Norwegian planes have an image of Tom Crean on the tailfins of its plane, a tribute to the famous Irish explorer. Find more stories about traveling between New England and Ireland here. For more about cultural activities in New England, visit IrishMassachusetts.com .

Good news for travelers flying between New England and Ireland in 2018:  Delta Air Lines  will resume its daily nonstop service between Boston Logan International Airport and Dublin International Airport on May 24, 2018. The successful seasonal flights on Boeing 757-200s launched in May 2017, complementing Delta’s existing services to Dublin from New York-JFK and Atlanta . “ Boston has long-established ties with Ireland , and we are proud to make Dublin more accessible through this flight,” said Charlie Schewe, Delta’s Director of Sales – New England . “Delta has been flying to Ireland for more than 20 years, and Ireland is now Delta’s fifth-largest European market.” DL154 departs Boston at 9:29 p.m. and arrives in Dublin at 8:45 a.m. the following morning. DL155 departs Dublin at 10:25 a.m. and arrives in Boston at 12:50 p.m. Passengers traveling on Delta’s Boston service use U.S. pre-clearance facilities at Dublin Airport , comp...

The Boston Irish Tourism Association (BITA) has released its 2018 schedule of St. Patrick’s Day parades taking place in Massachusetts and Rhode Island in March.  See parade details here . The marching season kicks off on Saturday, March 10 with the Cape Cod St. Patrick’s Day Parade, and ends on Sunday, March 18, with the St. Patrick’s Day Parade in Abington, Boston , Holyoke and Scituate .  Also included are details of the Irish parade in Dublin , Ireland . Since one in five residents of both Massachusetts and Rhode Island claim Irish ancestry, the St. Patrick’s Day season is a chance for visitors to explore the state’s rich ethnic culture, history and heritage.  Here is information on other cultural activities taking place in March  2018.  BITA publishes three issues of  Travel & Culture  magazine in March, June and November.  The free magazine, available at tourism outlets, hotels and cultural venues, fo...

Looking to explore Ireland this summer off the beaten track?  Then check out Inroads Ireland , a tour company that has been leading tours to Ireland since 2006.  Run by the husband & wife team of Carolyn Janette and Phil Ryan, the Seattle-based company grew from the couple’s own design to find authenticity and unique experiences when they traveled. See  tour dates for 2018 .  Please note: these tours sell out quickly.  Phil, a Dublin native, and Carolyn, originally from Wisconsin , brought their passion and knowledge of travel to bear when forming Inroads Ireland.  Each year they conduct 13 tours between May and September, categorized by Go West, Go South & Go North .  Each of the tours are eight days and seven nights.  The tours are small – 14 people maximum – and focus on parts of Ireland not often seen in the travel guides.  The couple lead the tours themselves and have many repeat customers who appreciate th...