Irish Massachusetts

IL DIVO , one of the world’s most successful classical-pop cross-over groups, performs at the Orpheum Theatre in Boston on Thursday, April 4, as part of its nationwide “Timeless” tour. It is a concert you won’t want to miss. BITA has a pair of tickets to offer to its followers to enjoy this exquisite night of artistic beauty and entertainment. Enter to win tickets here , and check back on April 3 when we reveal the winner. Or, cut to the chase and order your tickets online now, to guarantee seats at what promises to be a memorable night of songs from Il Divo’s most recent album, Timeless, as well as hits from Il Divo’s vast catalog of songs.

SpeakEasyTheatre  has extended its production of  Once  at the Boston Center for the Arts through April 7, 2019.  The Broadway hit musical won 8 Emmys Awards and was made into movie.  Purchase your tickets online  now to secure your seat to this exciting production. Once  is an enchanting tale of an unexpected romance between a down-on-his-luck Dublin street musician and a lively, determined Czech immigrant, who make beautiful music together while confronting their own demons having to do with love, freedom, family obligations and artistic expression.    The cast includes well-regarded actors from New England, including Billy Meledy from Dublin, Nile Scott Hawver, Mackenzie Lesser-Roy, Ellie Van Amerongen and others.  A non-profit theatre, SpeakEasy is the Calderwood Pavilion Resident Theater for the Boston Center for the Arts.  It produces 28 weeks of new plays and musicals each season. ...

Delta’s successful Boston-Dublin route kicks off its third season on March 30, 2019.  First launched in May 2017, the seasonal non-stop between Boston's Logan International Airport and Dublin International Airport has been so popular that Delta is upgrading the plane this year from a 757 to a 767 to meet the growing demand. Read about things to do in Dublin. Passengers traveling on Delta’s Boston-Dublin service use U.S. pre-clearance facilities at Dublin Airport, completing the necessary immigration and customs checks prior to departure. When they arrive in Boston, passengers can readily depart the airport with minimum wait time. Delta’s growing presence as one of Boston’s primary carriers has value for visitors arriving at Logan International Airport, since they can connect to more than 200 Delta destinations throughout North America, Latin America and the Caribbean. New England travelers reap the benefits of both increased international expansion but also domestic ...

One of the enduring musical acts coming out of Ireland in the 21 st century is Celtic Woman , a celebrated ensemble of Irish female singers.  Celtic Woman made its debut on PBS in 2005, with a wonderful mixture of traditional Irish melodies and popular songs.  Since then, Celtic Woman has traveled to 23 countries in six continents, selling 10 million + CDs and DVDs.  This spring, Celtic Women perform four concerts in New England, including: Capitol Center for the Arts, Concord, NH on March 29 Providence Performing Arts Center, Providence, RI on April 2 The Bushnell, Hartford, CT on April 3, and  Hanover Theatre, Worcester, MA on April 9 Purchase tickets online to enjoy any of these shows.  The women are performing songs from their latest PBS TV Special and album, Ancient Land, released in November 2018.  Celtic Women features vocalists Mairéad Carlin, Éabha McMahon and Megan Walsh along with Tara McNeill on fidd...

Irish Heritage Month continues in Massachusetts, with three St. Patrick's Day parades scheduled to take place the weekend of March 23-24, 2019. Saturday, March 23 The City of Lawrence in Merrimack Valley holds its annual St. Patrick's Day Parade , beginning at 1 p.m. at the corner of Essex and Amesbury Streets.  It ends at Reliefs' In, One Market Street.  The parade includes dozens of marching bands from local high schools, Irish step dancers and sponsors of the parade, including trade unions and local businesses.  Sunday, March 24 The 2.1 mile Worcester County St. Patricks Parade , which was postponed from an earlier date due to weather, starts at noon at Mill Street and Park Avenue.  It ends at Elm Park on Highland Street. Also, there's a 5K race starting at 11 a.m. Sunday, March 24 A brand new event, the Weymouth St. Patrick's Day Parade kicks off at 11 a.m. on Union Street, from Central Street to Camelot Way.  Afterwards there'...

Ever wonder why the  Boston Celtics  wear shamrocks on their green uniforms and have a giant leprechaun smoking a pipe as their team logo?  And why the team mascot is a guy named Lucky who looks like he stepped out of a box of Lucky Charms? According to the Boston Celtic’s official web site, the name came about in 1946 when owner Walter Brown started the team. He and his public relations guy, Howie McHugh, were throwing out potential nicknames, including the Whirlwinds, Unicorns and Olympics. It was Brown who had the epiphany, saying, “Wait, I’ve got it – the Celtics. The name has a great basketball tradition from the old Original Celtics in New York (1920s). And Boston is full of Irishman. We’ll put them in green uniforms and call them the Boston Celtics.” Red Auerbach , the now legendary coach of the early Celtics, then commissioned his brother Zang, a graphic designer in the newspaper business, to come up with the famous Celtics logo in the early 1950s. The logo m...

The St. Patrick's Day weekend, March 16-17, 2019, features five parades in New England.  Newport, RI hosts its parade on Saturday, March 16, followed by parades in Abington, South Boston, Holyoke and Scituate, all in Massachusetts, on Sunday, March 17. See details by visiting  IrishBoston.org , compiled by the Boston Irish Tourism Association.   These events are all free and open to the public. Here is a calendar of Irish cultural events in New England in March 2019 . Find year round details on Irish culture in New England by visiting IrishMassachusetts.com .

Rockport Music  presents an Irish concert,  St Patrick's Ceildh with Matt & Shannon Heaton , on Friday, March 15, at the Shalin Liu Performance Center in Rockport. Tickets are $10 general admission and $15 for seated admission, and can be purchased at the door. The show is part of the Center's Upstairs on Main series which features great local artists. Based in Boston, the husband-wife duo offer well-travelled Irish music from the heart. Steeped in sessions in County Clare and brewed in the acoustic music scenes of Chicago and Boston, their flute/guitar/bouzouki instrumentals and sweet harmony singing draw deeply from the Irish tradition. Here is a schedule of upcoming concerts at Shalin Liu Performance Center .  Find year-round Irish cultural activities in New England by visiting IrishMassachusetts.com . 

Voices of the Foyle, a dynamic contemporary choir from Derry, Northern Ireland, performs at the Irish Cultural Centre in Canton from 7:30 to 9 p.m. on Friday, March 15th.  Admission is $15, and ICC members pay $10.  For more information call 781-821-8291.  Voices of the Foyle ~ Glórtha an Fheabail  performs a lively set of folk & traditional classics with a modern twist. They also cover a wide range of pop & contemporary songs.  Here is a schedule of activities at the Irish Cultural Centre this month.  Find year round cultural activities in New England by visiting IrishMassachusetts.com . 

One of the great pleasures of the St. Patrick’s Day season each year is the  Irish Film Festival Boston   (IFFB), taking place  at the Somerville Theatre, Davis Square, on Friday, March 22. This year's festival features the New England premieres of   Float Like A Butterfly,   2019 Director’s Choice Feature and   Late Afternoon , 2019 Director’s Choice Short Film!  BITA is proud to partner with IFFB to offer five pairs of free tickets to this year’s screenings. Enter the contest  h ere for a chance to win . Float Like A Butterfly  won the International Federation of Film Critics (FIPRESCI) Prize for the  Discovery Program  at the 2018 Toronto Film Festival and  Late   Afternoon was nominated for Best Animated Short at this year's Oscars.  Find out more about the Irish Film Festival Boston   For year round details on Irish activities in New England, visit IrishMassachusetts.com . 

March is Irish Heritage Month and also Women’s History Month in Massachusetts.  In honor of both,  the Boston Irish Tourism Association (BITA) compiled this selection of 15 Irish women from the 17th century to the 20th century who have had an impact here in the Bay State. Read about these fascinating women here .  For more on Irish history in Massachusetts, visit IrishHeritageTrail.com . 

Tourism Ireland has unveiled an online film for St Patrick’s Day 2019, to encourage prospective holiday makers to come and visit Ireland this year. The video celebrates the legacy of St. Patrick, Ireland’s famous patron saint, as people everywhere get ready to celebrate St Patrick’s Day. The film includes footage shot around the island of Ireland and urges people everywhere to check out why they need to put a visit to Ireland on their holiday wish list for 2019. The film is being promoted through Tourism Ireland’s social platforms, including Facebook (around 4.34m fans worldwide), Twitter (507,000 followers) and YouTube . Find stories from IrishMassachusetts.com about what to do in Ireland  and how to get to Ireland from New England.