Irish Massachusetts

AOH Div 8 President Billy Sullivan The Irish community of Lawrence, Massachusetts is kicking of its annual Irish Heritage Month in the city with a flag raising ceremony on Common Street across from Lawrence City Hall at 11 a.m. on Friday, March 1, 2019.  Sponsored by Division 8 of the Ancient Order of Hibernians , Irish Heritage Month includes a full month of music and dance, lectures, film screenings and exhibits as well as luncheons and dinners to celebrate the city's distinct Irish heritage.  Here is a complete schedule of Irish Heritage Month activities .  Read this  profile on Billy Sulliva n, President of Division 8 and long time leader in the Irish community both in Massachusetts and across the United States.  Lawrence has a proud Irish heritage dating back to the founding of the city in the 1840s, when Irish immigrants fleeing Ireland's famine arrived in the city to work in the mills.  Lawrence is proudly referred to as an...

The Gnomes, a World-Folk-Fusion, performs at the Blackstone River Theatre in Cumberland, RI at 8 p.m. on Saturday, February 23, 2019.  Tickets are $18 at the door. The band features  Phil Edmonds, Cathy Clasper-Torch, Mike Fischman, Peter Breen , and  Matt Demick, whose  arrangements have been described as "exotic, fresh, and unique." Instrumentation includes fiddle, Irish whistles, er-hu, accordion, guitar, mandolin, bass, percussion, keyboard, and vocals.  Between sets, the Broad Street Fiddlers, led by Cathy Clasper-Torch, perform a set.  Here is a calendar of upcoming concerts at Blackstone River Theatre .  Find year-round Irish and Celtic cultural activities at IrishMassachusetts.com . 

The Irish Culture Center (ICC) together with the Boston Currach Rowing Club present a screening of the film, The Camino Voyage on February 23-24, 2019 at the ICC in Canton.  Tickets are $12 and can purchased online or at the ICC. The documentary is in Irish   with English subtitles, and describes  the 2,500 km voyage from Ireland to Santiago de Compostela on a  handmade traditional boat, called a ‘Naomhóg.’ Colm Coyne, President of the Boston Currach Rowing Club, will give a brief presentation before the screening. Here's a schedule of upcoming events at the Irish Cultural Centre , a year round facility that promotes Irish culture, language, sports, and learning throughout the year. Find year-round details of the Irish community in New England by visiting IrishMassachusetts.com . 

Danu , one of Ireland's top traditional music ensembles, is playing at the Shalin Liu Performance Center in Rockport on Saturday, March 9, 2019. The Boston Irish Tourism Association is giving away a free pair of tickets to the show.  Enter the contest here and check back for the winning name on March 6. Based in County Waterford in 1995, Danu has been performing around the world, thrilling audiences with its distinct sound and mastery of the music.   It has won numerous awards from Irish Music Magazine and the BBC.  Here is a schedule of upcoming concerts at Shalin Liu Performance Center. Find year round details on Irish activities in New England by visiting IrishMassachusetts.com . 

The Boston Irish Tourism Association (BITA) is giving away free pairs of tickets to a dozen performances in New England.  They include Danu, A St. Patrick's Day Celtic Sojourn,  Celtic Woman, Dougie MacLean, Eileen Ivers and Nathan Carter as well as the play Once and a new Irish film, Float like a Butterfly. Click here to see the contest descriptions . Venues include the Shalin Liu Performance Center in Rockport, Sanders Theatre in Cambridge, The Cabot in Beverly, Boston Center for the Arts in the South End, Somerville Theatre in Davis Square, Capitol Center for the Art in Concord, NH, Providence Performing Arts Center in RI, the Bushnell in Hartford, CT, the Hanover Theatre in Worcester and the Wilbur Theatre in Boston. BITA was formed in 2000 to promote the region's Irish cultural activities and to strengthen travel ties between New England and Ireland/Northern Ireland/Scotland. Here is a calendar of March activities for St. Patrick's Day season.

Multi-style violinist and champion fiddler Mari Black performs at Blackstone River Theatre at 8:00 p.m. on Saturday, February 16, 2019.   Tickets are $16 by reserving them at 401 725-9272, or $20 at the door the night of the concert.   A two-time U.S. National Scottish Fiddle Champion, Mari has won numerous titles, including   the Glenfiddich Scottish Fiddle Champion and Canadian Maritime Fiddle Champion. Joining Black onstage is three-time world accordion champion  CoryPesaturo , and together they play a variety of jazz tunes, klezmer horas, tangos, American rags, Celtic reels, and more.  Here is a schedule of upcoming concerts at Blackstone River Theatre , located in Cumberland, Rhode Island.

(BOSTON) -- The Boston Irish Tourism Association (BITA) has compiled the 2019 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 9 with the  Cape Cod  St. Patrick’s Day Parade, and ends on Sunday, March 24 with the newly announced St. Patrick’s Day Parade in Weymouth.  One highlight this year is the  Abington  parade, which is celebrating its 40th anniversary as one of the premier parades in New England. 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.  In addition, Ireland's  St. Patrick's Day festivities in Dublin  run from March 14-18. Here is information on other  New England Irish activities in March 2019 .  BI...

Courtesy Tampa Bay Buccaneers When he was drafted by the New England Patriots as sixth round pick in 2000, quarterback Tom Brady was actually returning to his ancestral family roots that began a century and a half earlier.   Brady’s family emigrated from Ireland in the mid-19 th century, fleeing the Irish famine, and settled in Boston before heading out to California where Brady was born and raised. Boston Globe reporter Bob Hohler wrote an excellent account of Brady’s family history , based on research by Jim McNiff, an amateur genealogist "who helped produce the first public evidence that Brady’s father’s paternal lineage extends deep into the history of Boston, where the Patriots great would gain his fame and fortune and make his home.” Hohler writes about Boston in the 1840s and 1850s: Hordes of Boston’s new Irish had survived treacherous Atlantic crossings on packed vessels called coffin ships because so many died. Many contracted typhus on the ...