Irish Massachusetts

Ambassador Jean Kennedy Smith passed away on June 17,2020 at her home in New York City.  The JFK Foundation issued the following statement: "Ambassador Jean Kennedy Smith was an inspiration and a role model for our family. She played a central role in the Irish Peace Process, was a longtime Trustee at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, and carried forward our family’s work on behalf of people with intellectual disabilities as the founder of Very Special Arts. "With her husband, Stephen E. Smith, and her beloved brother Ted, she played a vital role in the life of the JFK Library, helping to establish the Library on Columbia Point and generously supporting the JFK Library Foundation. "Jean was always coming up with good ideas - and making sure that other people executed them. She was the person who first suggested that the JFK Library Foundation present an annual Profile in Courage Award as a way of honoring her brother’s memory. Thirty years later, the A...

Community leaders from Boston's Irish community are holding an online discussion of Black Lives Matter at Noon on Friday, June 19, 2020. The event is being sponsored by Irish Network Boston, Boston Irish and Rian Immigrant Center.   Among the panelists are Massachusetts State Senator Nick Collins, Suffolk County District Attorney Rachael Rollins, Ireland's Consul General Laoise Moore, Hon. Linda Dorcena Forry and Bill Forry, and Ronnie Miller.   Cristela Guerra, WBUR Arts and Culture reporter, is moderator.  To participate, please RSVP to msmith@riancenter.org.  Learn more about Rian Immigrant Center . 

The Consulate General of Ireland and the Irish Cultural Centre are celebrating the works of Irish author James Joyce with a luncheon at the Centre at 1 p.m. on Sunday, June 14, 2020. Tickets to the event are $20 and include a three-course lunch as well as songs and music by Maureen and Gerry McNally, and a special appearance by the 'Here Comes Everybody Players.' Bloomsday is an annual celebration around the world that pays tribute to Dublin-born James Joyce, whose novel, Ulysses, is proclaimed as one of the world's literary masterpieces. In that novel, Leopold Bloom is the main character who wanders around Dublin on June 16 as the novel unfolds over 18 episodes.  Dublin has a James Joyce Center  dedicated to Ireland's most famous writer.  Read more about Dublin, named as a City of Literature by UNESCO For information on traveling to Ireland, visit Ireland.com.

With Phase II of Reopening Massachusetts now underway, the Irish Cultural Centre in Canton is introducing outdoor dining, beginning on Sunday, June 14.  Reservations are required.  Please call 781-821-8291  or Email:  kryder@irishculture.org to make your reservations. Sunday, June 14 “Bloomsday Luncheon” | 1 p.m. -3:30 p.m. (Deadline for reservations is Friday, June 12 at Noon) Friday, June 19 – Two Seatings | 6 p.m. and 8 p.m. (Deadline for reservations is Wednesday, June 17 at 3pm) Saturday, June 20 – Two Seatings | 5 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. (Deadline for reservations is Thursday, June 18 at 3 p.m.) Here is more outdoor dining information from the Irish Cultural Centre: “Our top priority is the protection of our members and patrons. Your safety, health and comfort is of vital importance to us. We have initiated a number of new procedures to better protect you, these procedures comply with al...