Massachusetts Irish Community Commemorates the Shipwreck of Brig St. John in Cohasset on October 5, 2025

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The Father John Murphy Division of the Ancient Order of Hibernians in Cohasset, Massachusetts is holding its annual commemoration for victims of the Brig St. John on Sunday, October 5 from 2-4 p.m..

The event begins with a memorial mass at St. Anthony's Catholic Church on Summer Street in Cohasset, followed by a program featuring Amy Elisabeth Day, writer and composer of the acclaimed Irish folk musical In the Midst of Plenty, a production rooted in the history of the Great Hunger. 


Illustrations from Across the Sea from Galway by Leonard Everett Fisher, published by Four Winds Press

The annual event is a homage to passengers aboard the Brig St. John, which sank off the coast of Cohasset on the morning of Sunday, October 7, 1849, wrecked by a severe nor’easter that rocked the boat for hours before it sank. On board the ship were 127 passengers from Ireland, along with sixteen sailors. The majority of passengers were poor Irish immigrants fleeing the famine.


On May 30, 1914 the Ancient Order of Hibernians erected a 19 foot Celtic Cross in the town’s Central Cemetery to pay homage to the deceased.  Governor David I. Walsh gave the oratory that day before several thousand onlookers.  Read more about the unveiling.

“Love of the dead is one of the kindest traits of the Irish character; the memories of the dead are kept green and fragrant, and custom has been sanctified by religion,” Walsh said. “This memorial erected here upon the round-bound coast to those exiles cast upon the shore is evidence that the hearts of the American Irish are still true to the kindly and reverent traditions of the race.”

The Celtic Cross is part of the South Shore Irish Heritage Trail.





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