Irish Massachusetts

  Photo courtesy of Wally Gobetz Twenty-five years ago, on Wednesday, July 23, 1997, Ireland's President Mary Robinson officially helped dedicate the  Cambridge Irish Famine Memorial  in Cambridge, Massachusetts, a tribute to the 150th anniversary of Ireland's Great Hunger, known as An Gorta Mor. Nearly 4,000+ people attended the ceremony in the iconic Cambridge Common near Harvard Square, which also includes the Cambridge Civil War Monument designed by Irish immigrant Augustus Saint-Gaudens in 1870. The Cambridge Irish Famine Memorial was created by Maurice Harron of Derry, Northern Ireland, who said the sculpture "is meant to convey the tragedy, two people dying, two people escaping, the fearful guilt of leaving loved ones behind, and the will to carry on." At the dedication ceremony, President Robinson said, "Part of looking back and remembering was to link the Irish famine with modern famine and hunger and inequalities in our world.  It reinforced a very st...

Congrats to Boston's Father Dan Finn, recipient of the 2022 Great Immigrants Award from Carnegie Corporation of New York . The prestigious award is bestowed on the Fourth of July each year, to celebrate the exemplary contributions of immigrants to American life. Father Dan was one of 34 naturalized citizens whose contributions and actions have enriched and strengthened our society and our democracy. A native of County Cork, Finn moved with his family to Massachusetts as a teenager. He was ordained a priest in 1972, and became a US citizen in 1973. Along with Sister Veronica Dobson, Father Dan co-founded the Irish Pastoral Centre of Boston in 1987, when young Irish were emigrating due to a faltering economy. During the first 25 years, the Centre operated at St. Mark’s Parish in Dorchester and St. Columbkille in Brighton, then moved to Quincy for two years. In 2012 the Centre moved to St. Brendan’s Parish in Dorchester, and currently has its offices in Adams Village in Dorcheste...

House of Hamill The 27th celebration of    Glasgow Lands Scottish Festival  takes place on Saturday, July 16, 2022 in Florence, a village in Northampton, MA.  Located in Look Park, the festival runs from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and includes free park.     Purchase tickets here .  This year's festival features some of the top names in Celtic music, including Albannach, Enter the Haggis, House of Hamill and Sarah the Fiddler.  Here is full schedule of entertainment . The annual gathering of the Clans features prominent family names in Scottish history, from the Campbells and MacIntyres to the Stewarts and MacFarlanes.   See full list of clan families . In addition, the festival features a number of competitions in Highland Dancing, Pipe Bands and Solo Piping and Drum Major and Snare Drumming. Heavy Hammer Throw In athletics , this year's competitions include Braemer Stone, Open Stone, Light Weight for Distance, Heavy Hammer, Caber Toss...