Irish Massachusetts

 The Comhaltas Boston Music School 's fall registration period for taking classes in traditional Irish music instruments is now open through September 5, 2022. Organized by the Boston chapter of Comhaltas Ceoltoiri Eireann, the fall semester includes ten weeks of instruction in banjo/mandolin, bodhran, button accordion, concertina, flute, guitar, harp, sean nos singing in English and Irish, tin whistle and uilleann pipes.  Classes start on Saturday, September 17 from 9 a.m. to Noon, and take place via Zoom.  Here is a summary of rates and fees .  Classes are divided by introductory, beginner, advanced beginner, intermediate and advanced.  The  Boston chapter of Comhaltas Ceoltoiri Eireann  was founded in 1975 and currently is one of the largest local chapters in the world. Read story in Irish America Magazine about the origins of Comhaltas, formed in 1951 in Mullingar, County Westmeath to promote traditional Irish culture, especially music, dan...

  The third annual Rockport Celtic Festival - Exploring Celtic Roots and Branches is taking place on August 19-21 at the Shalin Liu Performance Center in Rockport, Massachusetts.  The festival is presented in partnership with Rockport Music by GBH Host Brian O'Donovan, in collaboration with Artistic Director Maeve Gilchrist. This year's festival focuses on Celtic music's broad and vibrant range with an emphasis on musical influences from Scandinavia. The festival brings crossover and collaborative work between musicians from different genres including classical, jazz, and American Traditional. The musical lineup includes: Nordic Fiddler’s Bloc Alasdair Fraser, fiddle & Natalie Haas, cello Doug Wieselman , clarinet Neave Trio Hanz Araki , flute, whistle, singer Lily Henley and Duncan Wickel , fiddle/vocals Kevin Henderson/Neil Pearlman , fiddle, mandolin/piano David Coffin , singer/narrator Murphy Beds Tony McManus , guitar For admission prices to each show, click her...

John Boyle O'Reilly , the famous Irish rebel who lived in Boston from 1870 until his death, died suddenly at his home in Hull, Massachusetts on August 10, 1890,  from an accidental overdose of medication.  He was taken back to St. Mary's Church in Charlestown for the funeral, one of the largest in Boston's history. "The greatest of Irish-Americans" is dead, proclaimed  The Boston Pilot .  Born on June 28, 1844 at Dowth Castle in County Meath along the River Boyne, O'Reilly was conscripted into the British Army as a young man.  He was later 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.   Arriving in Boston in 1870, he spent the next 20 years reconciling th...

David McCullough , a prize-winning writer and historian, died on Sunday, August 7 in Hingham, MA. He was 89. McCullough won Pulitzer Prizes for two presidential biographies, “Truman” (1992) and “John Adams” (2001), according to  The New York Times.   He received National Book Awards for “The Path Between the Seas: The Creation of the Panama Canal” (1977) and “Mornings on Horseback” (1981), about the young Theodore Roosevelt and his family. He was called a "master of the art of narrative history." Born in 1933, McCullough grew up in the Point Breeze section of Pittsburgh, and attended Shady Side Academy before leaving for Yale University.  According to those who knew him, McCullough considered himself a Pittsburgher at heart. “David McCullough’s intelligence, research and writing may have wandered across the country and the globe but his heart never wandered far from Pittsburgh,” said David Shribman, executive editor emeritus of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette . In a...

Dine Out Boston , a perennially favorite summer culinary celebration in greater Boston, kicks off on Sunday, August 7 and runs through Saturday, August 20, 2022.   Dozens of restaurants, hotels, cafes and pubs are participating in downtown Boston and neighborhoods and in nearby Brookline, Cambridge and Somerville.  Here is a list of  Participating restaurants . Dine Out Boston provides diners with amazing culinary choices: each restaurant creates a  prix fixe menu for lunch and dinner, designed by its chef and kitchen.  The restaurant select one of three Dine Out Boston price options:   Lunch: $22, $27, $32 and Dinner: $36, $41, $46 (exclusive of beverage, tax and gratuity) Then it is up to the diners themselves to select their favorite dishes, eateries or neighborhood, and to go and enjoy the food, ambiance and summer vibes.   Re-visit one of your favorite restaurants, or go to a new place you've heard about and are eager to try. ...