Irish Massachusetts

Statue of Alexander Hamilton on Commonwealth Avenue Mall, Boston Secretary of the Commonwealth William F. Galvin has announced that a 1780 letter from Alexander Hamilton to the Marquis de Lafayette will be the feature piece of the Commonwealth Museum ’s annual 4th of July exhibit this year. The Hamilton letter, which is believed to have been stolen from the Massachusetts State Archives during World War II, was recently returned to the Commonwealth after a lengthy court battle. This will be the public’s first opportunity to view the letter on exhibit since it was returned to Massachusetts.  In celebration of Independence Day, the Hamilton letter will be featured alongside the Commonwealth’s original copy of the Declaration of Independence, signed by John Hancock. Visitors to the Commonwealth Museum on Independence Day, July 4th, will be able to read the Revolutionary War letter written by Hamilton, in his role as Aide de Camp to General George Washington, in which he warned of imminent

On June 28, 1998, the   Boston Irish Famine Memorial  was unveiled in downtown Boston, at the corner of Washington and School Street.   The effort was led by Irish immigrant and businessman   Thomas J. Flatley , whose committee included representatives from Boston's Irish community, artist community and from academia. More than 7,000 people attended the ceremony on a Sunday morning, including Ireland's Minister of State Seamus Brennan, Massachusetts Acting Governor Paul Cellucci, Boston Mayor Tom Menino, and leaders for numerous Irish organizations in Massachusetts. Stonehill College President Rev. Bartley MacPhaidin gave the invocation, and music was provided by the Boston Police Gaelic Column of Pipes and Drums.  The Memorial by artist  Robert Shure  juxtaposes an Irish family starving in Ireland with another Irish family striving for success in America.   Eight narrative plaques encircling the statues tell the story of the famine and the Irish triumph in America. A U.S. Meda

John Boyle O'Reilly , considered one of Boston’s true leaders in speaking, writing and campaigning for human rights, oppressed people and injustice, was born on June 28, 1844 in County Meath, Ireland.  Conscripted into the British Army as a young man, O'Reilly was charged with sedition against the British Crown and sentenced to life imprisonment in an Australian penal colony.  O’Reilly made a daring escape aboard a New Bedford whaler,  Catalpa , in 1868, a feat that helped shape his legend by the time he landed in America.   When he arrived in Boston in 1870, he was infatuated by the possibilities of democracy and liberty.   He spent the next twenty years of his life, until his death in 1890, speaking out on behalf of Irish, Blacks, Native Americans, Jews, Chinese and other beleaguered groups trying to make their way in America. As editor and then owner of  The Pilot ,  the leading Irish Catholic paper in America, O’Reilly used the paper as a bully pulpit to advance various cau

Easter Rising Monument in Scituate, MA   This summer, discover the South Shore Irish Heritage Trail , featuring nine scenic cities and towns south of Boston whose illustrious Irish and Irish American connections earned the region's nickname, "The Irish Riviera."  Inspired by the Wild Atlantic Way  in Ireland and the Boston Irish Heritage Trail , the South Shore Irish Heritage Trail takes you on a journey in history and heritage in some of Massachusetts' most beautiful coastal communities including Weymouth , Hingham , Hull , Cohasset , Scituate , Marshfield , Duxbury , Kingston and Plymouth.   Here is a list of sites to visit along the Trail  and the history of the Irish along the South Shore  from the 1700s to the present.  Find more  information about the South Shore Irish Heritage Trail. For information about visitor amenities in this area, go to seeplymouth.com , the official tourism site for the Town and County of Plymouth, Massachusetts.  For year-round infor

The Annual Milton Music Festival is taking place on the weekend of June 25-26, 2022 in the town of Milton, just outside of Boston.   The free, two-day festival is organized each year by  We Are Milton , and showcases local performers, vendors and small businesses. The festival takes place at Governor Hutchinson's Field on Adams Street, overlooking Boston Harbor.  Parking is limited and there are shuttle buses available from nearby, as well as wheelchair accessible coaches.  See website for more details. On Saturday, June 25, the festival opens at 4 p.m. with live performances starting at  6 p.m. including Pauline Wells and her All-Female Band and funk and rock band Booty Vortex.  Fireworks cap the evening starting at 9:45 p.m. Sunday, June 26 is devoted to Celtic music beginning at Noon and ending at 8 p.m..  This year's performers features NYC band Celtic Cross, and local favorites including DJ Bobby Brooks, The Fenian Sons, Erin's Melody, Sean & Caroline Brennan and

Thirty-five years ago, in spring 1987, Quinlin Campbell Publishers, a Boston-based publisher and distributer of books from Northern Ireland, published the Guide to the New England Irish , a compendium of Irish cultural activities, educational institutions, music and dance, media, services and organizations in the six New England states. The 178 page book included 500+ entires of Irish resources in the region, plus nearly 100 advertisers, ranging from Aer Lingus and Boston College to the Black Rose and Comhaltas Ceoltoiri Eireann.   In addition, the Guide included essays by local Irish-American public officials, academics, musicians and writers, including State Senate President William M. Bulger, Professor Thomas O'Connor, writers Bill O'Donnell, Frank Costello and Michael Connolly, pianist Thomas Garvey and publican Phil Sweeney. And finally, the Guide feature profiles of six notable Irish leaders, including John Boyle O'Reilly, Daniel Tobin, Patrick Sarsfield Gilmore, Bill

  Blackstone River Theatre 's annual Summer Solstice Festival returns on Saturday, June 18, from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. at Diamond Hill Park (Rt 114) in Cumberland, RI   Rain date is Sunday, June 19. Tickets are $20 adults, $15 seniors, $5 children, under-5 free!   Buy tix online . Four stages featuring Celtic & world music, including Atwater~Donnelly Trio, The Mari Black Band, John Doyle & Mick McCauley, Kevin Doyle, Eastern Medicine Singers, Genticorum, Winifred Horan Band, RUNA (pictured), Torrin Ryan, The Vox Hunters, Windborne, The Music of Jimmy Devine and an Irish session led by Bob Drouin.  In addition, 30 Craft & food vendors, Tir Na Nog Irish Dance, Kids activities are also in store.  Limited tickets  are available for the After-Festival evening session at Blackstone River Theatre: 8:30-11:30 p.m. Here is a schedule of other concerts coming up at the Blackstone River Theatre in Cumberland.