Irish Massachusetts

(January 24, 2022) - The Irish Government has announced today that almost all Covid-19 public health restrictions will come to an end. From tomorrow, restaurants and bars can resume normal trading hours; and restrictions on indoor and outdoor events, including sporting fixtures, will be lifted. Niall Gibbons, Chief Executive of Tourism Ireland , said: “The announcement that most Covid-19 restrictions in Ireland will come to an end is excellent news for tourism and hospitality. It means that we can now move forward and begin planning holidays in Ireland with confidence for the year ahead. We can now look to the future with optimism. Tourism Ireland’s priority for 2022 is to restart overseas tourism to the island of Ireland. We will be pulling out all the stops to set Ireland apart from our competitor destinations, to drive bookings and revenues for tourism businesses. Together with our industry partners, we will undertake our most extensive marketing campaign ever in 2022. Our message –

  Photo from the 2021 Cape Cod St. Patrick's Parade (January 18, 2022) - The Boston Irish Tourism Association has issued its  Schedule of Saint Patrick's Day parades taking place in Massachusetts, Rhode Island and Connecticut in March 2022.   Attended by millions of residents and visitors, these annual parades honor the patron saint of Ireland, Saint Patrick, while also celebrating the arrival of spring.    The parades are also part of Irish Heritage Month celebrations taking place in Ireland, the United States and Canada and in dozens of countries around the world.  Kicking off the 2022 parade season in New England is the 17th Annual  Cape Cod St Patrick's Parade  on Saturday, March 5.  The popular two-mile parade begins at 11 a.m. at Route 28 and Long Pond Drive in South Yarmouth, and proceeds on Route 28 to West Yarmouth, where it ends at Higgins Crowell Road.  Here is the schedule to date. Check back for updates and new entries at IrishMassachusetts.com . Cape Cod, MA

Statue of James Joyce in Dublin, courtesy of  Tourism Ireland Dublin, Ireland is gearing up for some massive literary festivities this year, as the city celebrates the centenary of James Joyce's novel, Ulysses , which was first published on February 2, 1922. Hailed as a masterpiece work of fiction by literary critics everywhere, Ulysses is set in Dublin and revolves around a single day, June 16, 1904. Dublin is one of 42 UNESCO Cities of Literature around the world, hailed for its numerous poets, novelists, essayists and playwrights, bookstores and colleges, book festivals and literary activities.   Read more details here .   Ireland itself has produced four Nobel Prize winners in literature:  William B. Yeats in 1923, George B. Shaw in 1925, Samuel Becket in 1969 and Seamus Heaney in 1995. Tourism Ireland , the agency that promotes travel to Ireland, promises "a program of events, readings, food and walking tours, exhibitions, music, theatre and more, as Dubliners celebrat