Landmarks in Boston's Charlestown Neighborhood Celebrate the Irish Presence Here

 

Milmore's Civil War Monument in Winthrop Square, Charlestown

Boston's vibrant neighborhood of Charlestown has a rich Irish history that goes back to the American Revolution and continues today.  There are several landmarks in Charlestown that visitors can explore along the Boston Irish Heritage Trail.  Here are a few or our favorites.

Bunker Hill Monument, photo courtesy of Peter Drier

A Boston National Historic Park overseen by the National Park Service, the Bunker Hill Monument is one of the city's and nation's most iconic war memorials, the site where the famous battle between the British and New England colonists took place on June 17, 1775. Historian Michael O'Brien estimates that 176 Irish fought on the colonial side, many of them Scots-Irish from New Hampshire.

Bunker Hill Monument at Winthrop Square

Just down the street from the Monument are the Bunker Hill Tablets in Winthrop Square, which honors the Americans killed during the famous battle. They included General John Stark of New Hampshire, one of the heroes of the day-long conflict. Also fighting that day was Captain Ebenezer Sullivan, whose brothers James would become governor of Massachusetts and John, a general in Washington's Army, would force English troops to evacuate Boston on March 17, 1776. Henry Knox, George Washington's confidant and Commander of Artillery, was also at the battle. Major Andrew McClary of Epson, New Hampshire, whose parents were from County Tyrone, was killed at the very end of the battle after fighting bravely throughout the day.

Milmore's Civil War Monument in Winthrop Square, Charlestown

The centerpiece of Winthrop Square, once a training group for Boston militia groups, is the Charlestown Civil War memorial, unveiled in 1872 as a tribute to the young men who fought during the Civil War. The monument was created by Irish-born sculptor Martin Milmore, who alone with his brothers Joseph and James created some of New England's most outstanding Civil War statues. Irish rebel, poet and leader John Boyle O'Reilly lived right across the square, when the memorial was unveiled. He and his wife Mary Murphy, a Charlestown native, raised their four daughters, Mary, Elizabeth, Agnes and Blanid at 34 Winthrop Street, which today is a private residence.

John Boyle O'Reilly Park in Thompson Square, Charlestown

O'Reilly has a small parked named for him in Thompson Square, and at City Square Park, there's a medallion of O'Reilly along with other famous Charlestown residents.

Bunker Hill Cemetery, Celtic Cross, photo courtesy of Stephen O'Neill

Finally, visit the Bunker Hill Catholic Cemetery behind St. Francis DeSales Church on Bunker Hill Avenue, one of a dozen memorials honoring the Irish Famine. Bishop Benedict Fenwick opened the Bunker Hill Catholic Cemetery opened in May, 1832, with some resistance from local selectman.  But Fenwick prevailed, and the cemetery became a final resting places for thousands of Irish immigrants who came here in the 19th century.

Learn more about Irish landmarks throughout Boston's neighborhoods. 

Research, Photos + Text, Michael Quinlin