Irish Massachusetts

The string and vocal trio  Low Lily   performs at the Blackstone River Theatre in Cumberland, RI at 8 p.m. on Saturday, March 31, 2018.  They are joined by traditional Irish music duo Vox Hunters.  Tickets to the show are $16 and can be purchased at the door or by calling 401 725-9272.  Low Lily explores the roots and branches of American folk music with traditional influences and modern inspiration that weaves together a unique brand of acoustic music.  See Low Lily video here. Vox Hunters, comprised of  Armand Aromin   and   Benedict Gagliardi, bring an exciting   repertoire of driving dance tunes blended with an unorthodox collection of interesting songs in this concert's first set. Find out more about Blackstone River Theatre here. For year round details on Irish cultural activities in New England, visit IrishMassachusetts.com .

    The April Verch Band is performing at the Blackstone River Theatre at 8 p.m. on Saturday, March 24, 2018.  Verch is joined by bassist and clawhammer banjo player Cody Walters, and guitarist Alex Rubin. Tickets to the show are $22 and can be purchased at the venue or by calling 401 725-9272. Verch is an excellent fiddler who also step-dances and sings while playing the instrument. The band is performing songs from her 11th album,  The April Verch Anthology. Blackstone River Theatre is located at 549  Broad Street in   Cumberland ,  RI.

The big weekend is here for this year's  Irish Film Festival Boston .  The 2018 festival, which began on March 22, showcases a wealth of amazing movies, shorts and documentaries coming out of Ireland .  Here are the two films over the weekend. Saturday, March 24 @ 4:30 p.m. THE FARTHEST Global Vision Documentary Award Winner The Farthest celebrates the magnificent Voyager, a spacecraft that is out in the galaxy and will be for millions of years, bearing images and life on Earth. View trailer  |  Buy Tix 2017/Ireland (122 mins) | Director: Emer Reynolds is attending this screening. Sunday, March 25 @ 6:00 p.m. NOEL HILL - BROKEN DREAM Directed by Paddy Hayes, Broken Dreams is a searing portrait of one of Ireland ’s most renowned traditional musicians, concertina player Noel Hill, as he recovers from a serious assault that left him a battered shadow of his former self. Buy Tix 2017/Ireland (122 mins) | Director: Paddy Hayes ...

The Cabot  in Beverly, is presenting "Oceans of Hope" by Celtic Night , a special show that captures the essence of the Irish Diaspora, on Saturday, March 24, 2018 at 8 p.m. Boston Irish Tourism Association is giving away a free pair of tickets to see the show.  Click here to enter the contest, and check back on March 22 to see if you're a winner. Or, you can  buy your tix  online now to guarantee your seats to this powerful saga of immigrants moving across oceans to America, Canada, Australia and New Zealand. It is a journey of hope, conveyed through song, music, dance and narration. The originators of Oceans of Hope call it “the story of people moving across Oceans from all the nations to free themselves from hunger, war, persecution and famine to find a better place. This is their story told through Irish eyes…..Oceans of Hope is not only about the past, it’s about now and the future.” Here is a schedule of upcomin...

In celebration of Irish Heritage Month, the  Greater Boston Stage Company  in Stoneham presents "The Irish And How They Got That Way," a musical celebration of Irish heritage. Created by Pulitzer Prize winning author, Frank McCourt (Angela’s Ashes), the revue is a celebration of a heritage that confronts adversity with determination, good humor, music, and a love of life. McCourt’s wit, insight and boundless love for the Irish are underscored by music extending from Irish folk ballads to World War II standards, and beyond. Original musical arrangements by Rusty Magee. Presented by special arrangement with The Irish Repertory Theatre Company, Inc. The show runs through March 25, with multiple performances, including matinees. For year round information on Irish culture in Massachusetts, visit IrishMassachusetts.com .

The Young Irelanders , an ensemble of top traditional Irish musicians, singers and dancers, is giving a concert at the Rogers Center for the Arts at Merrimack College at 3 p.m. on Sunday, March 18. Tickets to the performance are available online or at the venue the day of the concert. The Young Irelanders group is assembled each year by the Irish Cultural Academy, and consists of champion artists on their instruments and in dancing.  Find year information on Irish cultural events in Massachusetts by visiting IrishMassachusetts.com . 

The Chieftains, one of Ireland's premier traditional music ensembles, perform at the  Lynn Auditorium  at 7 p.m. on Sunday, March 18. Boston Irish Tourism Association is giving away a free pair of tickets to see the show.  Enter the contest here and check back on Saturday to see the winner. On the other hand, if you don’t want to take a chance to miss seeing this incredible show, then you can  purchase tix online here . Six time Grammy winners, The Chieftains, are recognized for bringing traditional Irish music to the world’s attention. Here is a story on The Chieftains in Irish America Magazine.  Click here  for a full schedule of upcoming concerts at The Lynn Auditorium.

Maeve Gilchrist The Boston Irish Tourism Association is giving away a free pair of tickets to see the matinee show of St. Patrick's Day Celtic Sojourn at Saunders Theatre in Cambridge on Saturday, March 17 at 3 p.m. Enter the contest here and check back as we announce the winner on Friday afternoon, March 16. Or, purchase tickets online today to enjoy one of the most popular St. Patrick's concerts in New England year after year.  This year's line-up features top traditional music ensemble Open the Door, Scottish harpist and Berklee grad Maeve Gilchrist, concertina champion Brenda Castles and Newfoundland guitar master Keith Murphy. Find year round information on Irish and Celtic events in New England by visiting  IrishMassachusetts.com .

Chronicle , the popular nightly television program on WCVB-TV Channel Five, devoted its March 14, 2018 show to a feature called the Airing of the Green as a lead-up to St. Patrick's Day weekend. One segment features Boston's Irish Heritage Trail , a walking trail of  20 sites created by author Michael Quinlin .  The Chronicle segment visited several of the sites, including the Rose Kennedy Garden, statues of Mayors Kevin White and James Michael Curley, the Boston Irish Famine Memorial, Old City Hall, the Omni Parker House, Old Granary Burying Grounds, Shaw Memorial, Massachusetts State House, Commodore John Barry plaque, Copley Square, the Boston Public Library and Fenway Park. View the video here . Chronicle also covered other local Irish topics, such as the Irish Cultural Centre in Canton, photographer Bill Brett, milliner Marie Galvin and the Harney Academy of Irish Dance led by champion dancer Liam Harney. You can take a guided tour of ten stops along the Bost...

Open the Door Thanks to our friends at The Cabot in Beverly, Boston Irish Tourism Association is happy to give away a pair of free tickets to see the show, A St. Patrick's Day Celtic Sojourn , with WGBH radio host Brian O'Donovan, on Thursday, March 15, 2018. Enter the contest here and submit the form.  We'll notify winners on Wednesday, March 14. Or, you can purchase tickets online to see this fantastic show at The Cabot, a great concert venue with a distinguished history as a vaudeville theater.  Read about The Cabot here .  This year's show is terrific, with top traditional music ensemble Open the Door, Scottish harpist and Berklee grad Maeve Gilchrist, concertina champion Brenda Castles and Newfoundland guitar master Keith Murphy. Find year round information on Irish and Celtic events in New England by visiting IrishMassachusetts.com .

On Monday, March 12 at 6 p.m., the Edward M. Kennedy Institute presents author and filmmaker Maurice Fitzpatrick to speak about his new book, John Hume in America: From Derry to D.C.   The book traces Hume’s historic role leveraging Irish-America and U.S. politics to become Ireland’s greatest peace-maker.  Admission is free but registration is required.  In a moderated conversation, Fitzpatrick will discuss the threads of Hume’s philosophy of non-violence, his political vision and sense of diplomacy, and efforts to engage American politicians to help create a framework for peace in Northern Ireland . Find more about Irish activities at IrishMassachusetts.com .

New England travelers heading to Ireland in 2018 are excited by having  Delta Air Lines  as a prime choice for the second straight summer season!  Beginning May 24, 2018, Delta resumes its daily nonstop service between BostonLogan InternationalAirport and Dublin International Airport . Traveling from Terminal A at Logan on Boeing 757-200s, 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. Read the full story on Delta in the new issue of BITA's Travel & Culture magazine, available for free at Irish venues and tourism outlets in Massachusetts.  Read about how Delta is growing its presence in Boston to service the New England region.  Read stories about Ireland from the Boston Irish Tourism Association . 

Dublin Irish Dance PARADE Worcester County St. Patrick's Parade , kicks off at noon, corner of Mill and Park. Grand Marshal is Bill Riley, who manages St. John's Panty for the Poor program in Worcester. MUSIC & CULTURE Sligo-based traditional Irish band Teada performs at the Irish Cultural Centre in Canton at 2 p.m. Music Worcester Presents Dublin Irish Dance: Stepping Out at 4 p.m. in Mechanics Hall, Worcester. The High Kings perform two shows at 4 p.m. and 8 p.m. at the Blackstone River Theatre in Cumberland, RI. THEATER & LITERARY Greater Boston Stage Company Presents "The Irish and How They Got That Way" at 2 p.m. in Stoneham. Lawrence Irish Heritage Month welcomes Penn Rhoden, author of "Peacerunner" at 2  p.m. Take a self-guided tour of  Boston's Irish Heritage Trail .  Free maps are available at the Boston Common  Visitor Information Center  on Tremont Street in downtown Boston.   Here is a calendar of ...

The Red Hot Chilli Pipers - featuring some of best Scottish musicians in the world - bring their infectious style of feel good music to St. Patrick's Day season.  The Pipers perform on Wednesday, March 14 at the Palace Theatre in Manchester, NH. You can win a free pair of tickets to the show from Boston Irish Tourism Association.  To enter to win, click on the contest page , and submit your entry.  Check back on Monday, March 12 to see if you are the winner. Or, purchase your tickets online to make sure you catch this unique fusion of traditional pipe tunes - like The Flowers of Scotland, The Hills of Argyll, and Amazing Grace -- and contemporary anthems like Queen’s We Will Rock You, Clocks by Coldplay, Chasing Cars by Snow Patrol, Let Me Entertain You by Robbie Williams, and a fantastic rock medley of Deep Purple's Smoke on the Water, and AC/DC’s Thunderstruck. Find more about St. Patrick...

Check out these great Irish events on Saturday,  March 10, 2018 compiled by the  Boston Irish Tourism Association  (BITA).   PARADES The  Cape Cod St Patrick's Parade  begins at 11 a.m. this morning at Skull Island on Route 28 in S. Yarmouth.  Weatherman Mike Kelley is this year's grand marshal.  The  Providence St. Patrick's Day Parade  begins at noon at Smith Street and Hill Top Avenue.  Dr. Scott Molly is grand marshal.  The  Lawrence St. Patrick's Day Parade  begins at 1 p.m. at Amesbury and Common Streets.  Grand marshal is Brian Farrell. MUSIC & CULTURE Karan Casey The Irish Balladeers perform at the  John F. Kennedy Presidential Library & Museum  at 10:30, a free show for children and families.  Renowned Irish singer Karan Casey performs at the  Blackstone River Theatre  in Cumberland, RI at 8 p.m. this evening.  LITERARY ...

( BOSTON ) -- Just in time for St. Patrick’s Day, the Boston Irish Tourism Association (BITA) has issued its 2018 annual spring issue of Travel & Culture magazine, a compendium of parades and festivals, concerts and dances, literary and film events and other cultural activities taking place in Massachusetts and throughout New England . The 28-page color magazine is distributed free at visitor kiosks and cultural venues in Massachusetts and is available in  online digital format. Pick up a free copy  here . This issue has stories on Boston Pops Orchestra conductor Keith Lockhart and the Pops spring season; Ryan Kelly, original member of the hit group, Celtic Thunder; and local promoters Brian O’Donovan, Russell Gusetti, Sue Auclair and Dawn Morrisey.  It provides a roundup of St. Patrick’s Day parades in  New England  and hundreds of cultural activities taking place through the spring. The spring issue includes a ...

Music Worcester is staging the popular show Dublin Irish Dance: Stepping Out at Mechanics Hall in Worcester at 4 p.m. on Sunday, March 11, 2018.  Win a free pair of tickets from the Boston Irish Tourism Association, or purchase your tickets online to ensure you don't miss this great show.  Stepping Out celebrates the incredible evolution of Irish traditional dance and music, showcasing the new pioneers who will define the new standard of traditional Irish music and dance. Here is a calendar of upcoming shows from Music Worcester .

Young Irelanders 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 during the St. Patrick's Day season. Here is a list of the performers and venues in March: 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  at The Cabot in Beverly  St. Patrick's Day A Celtic Sojourn at Sanders Theatre in Cambridge The Chieftains at Lynn Auditorium  in Lynn  The Young Irelanders at the Rogers Center for the Arts at  Merrimack College in N. Andover   The Irish and How They Got That Way at the Greater Boston Stage Company in Stonehan The Irish Film Festival at Somerville Theatre in Somerville Celtic Nights - Oceans of Hope at The Cabot  in Beverly You can enter any of these contests by fo...

The Blackstone River Theatre in Cumberland, RI is kicking off Irish Heritage Month in Rhode Island with two great Irish acts this weekend. On Saturday, March 3, Runa, a celebrated Celtic music band, performs at 8:00 p.m.  Tickets are $25 and can be purchased at the venue or by calling 401 725-9272. The band released its fifth album, "Runa - Live" in 2016, which the Celtic Crier called "an incredible masterpiece." On Sunday, March 4, Robbie O'Connell and Rose Clancy perform at 7:00 p.m. Tickets are $16 in advance or $18 the night of the concert. Robbie is a sought-after guitarist as well as a singer and composer, while Rose is an accomplished fiddle player as well as a fiddle maker and concert promoter. Here is a full schedule of concerts at Blackstone River Theater this spring. Find year round details on Irish events in New England at IrishMassachusetts.com .

Irish tenor Paul Byrom, formerly of Celtic Thunder, performs at the Irish Cultural Centre in Canton on Saturday, March 3 2018.  Tickets are $35 and can be purchased at the venue.  The concert was chosen by Boston Irish Tourism Association as the Event of the Week .  Often hailed as Ireland ’s premier young tenor and with good reason, the Dublin-born tenor began voice study and training when he was just seven years old. Byrom recorded his first album The Golden Voice as a boy soprano aged 14. Then, debuting in 2007 in Dublin , Celtic Thunder, with which Byrom was a soloist, took the United States by storm, their first three albums reaching the top 10 in the charts. You can catch him live at the ICC as he pursues his new solo career. See March 2018 calendar of Irish activities taking place in Massachusetts.