Irish Massachusetts

  This week, Ireland’s  An Post  (Post Office) unveiled a special new stamp to mark 75 years of  Comhaltas Ceoltóirí Éireann , an organization that promotes traditional Irish culture throughout Ireland and around the world, especially music and dance. Created by  DesignWorks Ireland , the stamp was designed and illustrated in-house by Louise Nichols and Aoife Carroll, according to Martin Gafney, who along with Rocky Grennell represented DesignWorks Ireland. The stamp features a stylized fiddle reimagined as a patchwork of color and texture, with each section symbolizing the diverse communities, traditions and experiences brought together through Comhaltas. An Post’s stamp commission team was led by Aileen Mooney and Dave Mulholland.  An unveiling of the special stamp held in Dublin included Minister for Culture, Communications and Sports, Patrick O’Donovan, TD; Minister of State Charlie McConalogue, TD; and Comhaltas Ceoltóirí Éireann officials Labhrás Ó Mu...

  Bacchante and Infant Faun at BPL by sculptor Frederick MacMonnies Bacchante and Infant Faun Boston Public Library Courtyard This controversial masterpiece was created in 1893 by American-born sculptor Frederick MacMonnies (1863-1937), the son of William and Julinana Eudora (West) MacMonnies. His father William emigrated to New York from the Isle of Whithorn in Dumfries, Scotland and became a successful grain merchant. Frederick gave the original casting of Bacchante to his friend, architect Charles Follen McKim , whose own masterpiece, the Boston Public Library, was being built. When the statue was unveiled at Boston Public Library, an outcry ensued from puritanical opponents who objected to the nudity of Bacchante, the Goddess of Wine.  McKim withdrew the gift, giving it instead to the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City, where the original piece still resides. The controversy over the censorship of the artwork gained MacMonnies a certain notoriety, and he mad...

The coastal towns along Boston's South Shore constitutes one of the most Irish-American regions in the United States a place where Irish immigrants and Irish-Americans have settled for generations. To celebrate, local historians, community leaders and See Plymouth, a regional tourism agency that promotes Plymouth County,  have created the South Shore Irish Heritage Trail , a fascinating trek through Irish heritage of nine scenic towns: Weymouth, Hingham, Hull, Cohasset, Scituate, Marshfield, Kingston, Duxbury and Plymouth. According to Boston.com, Plymouth County has the second-highest percentage of Irish descendants in the United States, with 30.1% of residents claiming Irish ancestry. The Trail includes dozens of landmarks, museums, public parks and cultural venues where the illustrious story of the Irish is told. A recent landmark is the Dublin Heritage Marker unveiled in December 2025 on Water Street, where an Irish immigrant neighborhood once flourished. In 2026, Ireland’s pr...