Irish Massachusetts

Irish traditional musicians Cillian Vallely and Ryan McGiver are performing a concert at 2:00 p.m. on Sunday, April 28 at the Chatham Fiddle Company in Chatham, Cape Cod. Suggested donation is $20 and tickets can be purchased at the venue. Located at 875 Main Street, The Chatham Fiddle Company sells a variety of hand-made traditional stringed musical instruments and carvings, and offers music lessons on several instruments.  The shop presents high quality music concerts throughout the year.  For directions click here . Find year round details on Irish music and culture in Massachusetts by visiting IrishMassachusetts.com.

The Massachusetts Ancient Order of Hibernians is holding a commemoration in memory of Ireland’s Great Hunger On Sunday, April 28, 2013 at 2:00 p.m., at the Immaculate ConceptionCemetery on Baker Street in Metheun, Massachusetts. The event, hosted by the AOH, Division Eight and Ladies AOH of Lawrence, is free and open the public.   Chaplain William Walters is leading a prayer service, followed by the laying of a wreath on the An Gorta Mor (Great Hunger) Memorial, which was installed at the cemetery in May 2006.     Local historians will also speak about the Irish Famine of the 1840s, which forced over two million Irish to flee Ireland, many of them arriving in the United States, including Massachusetts and the City of Lawrence. The An Gorta Mor Memorial in Lawrence was formally unveiled on May 6, 2006, thanks to the efforts of the late Dave Burke , Division Eight President William J. Sullivan and members of Division 8 AOH, who raised over $40,000 to...

Boston's Irish dance community is coming together to raise funds for the Richard family of Dorchester, whose lives were severely affected by the Boston Marathon bombing. The event, Dance for Jane ,  is taking place on Saturday, April 27, 2013 at 7:00 p.m. at the John Hancock Hall in Boston's Back Bay.  Tickets to the event, which must be purchased in advance, are $26.20 and can be ordered online . The Richard family is well-known and beloved in Dorchester for its community work and friendship, and suffered severely from the bombing.  Eight year old son Martin Richard was killed at the scene.  His seven year old sister, Jane, lost her leg. She is a stepdancer at the Clifton Academy of Irish Dance in Milton.Their mother Denise suffered head injuries at the finish line where they were standing. To find out more information, visit the Dance for Jane Facebook page.   If you are unable to attend and would like to donate, please send a check to Salem ...

Seamus Connolly , All-Ireland fiddle champion and Sullivan Artist-in-Residence at Boston College , is leading an Irish Ceiling Dance at Gasson Hall on BC's Chestnut Hill campus on Wednesday, April 17, 2013, from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m.  Admission is free. Connolly, who heads up the Gaelic Roots program, which is part of the Center for Irish Programs at BC,  is being joined by Boston College students who are studying Irish musical instruments and ceili dancing, as well as musicians and dancers from the local Boston scene. Also at the college is an exhibit entitled The Musical Roots of Seamus Connolly , on display at the John J. Burns Library, running through May 23, 2013. To read more about Connolly's work as a musician, composer, and collector of Irish traditional music, read this profile on Connolly from BITA's Travel & Culture Guide.  Find year round details on Irish cultural activities in Massachusetts by visiting IrishMassachusetts.com .

Boston Irish Tourism Association is offering a chance to win a Culinary Getaway Package to the Newport Restaurant Week taking place April 5-14, 2013 in Newport, Rhode Island.  The prize includes overnight stay, admission passes to local museums, mansions and wineries, and a $100 gift certificate at a participating restaurant. Enter the contest here , then submit your entry.  We'll notify winners on Friday, April 5, 2013, so be sure to check back! Here is a list of participating restaurants in this year's Newport Restaurant Week . The ten-day celebration offers prix-fixe, three-course lunches for just $16, and three-course dinners for just $30 in over 50 participating restaurants. Find out more about Newport this season and any time of year by visiting DiscoverNewport.

MCCA's Jim Rooney with Irish Dancers Congratulations to the thousands of dancers who competed in the 43rd annual World Irish Dancing Championships in Boston, Massachusetts this week.  It has been an incredible gathering of dancers from around the world and a showcase of Irish culture and heritage.   Everyone came out a winner. Read this story on the event in the current issue of BITA's Travel & Culture Guide .  The championships run from March 24-31 at the Hynes Convention Center in Boston's Back Bay. For more about the Irish community in Massachusetts visit IrishMassachusetts.com . For visitor information go to BostonUSA.com and MassVacation.com .

The 4th annual Le Défilé de la St-Patrick de Québec is taking place on Saturday, March 23, 2013, starting at 1:30 p.m. in Quebec City in Canada. Here is a map of  the parade route , which goes right through the heart of the historic city.   It begins at St. Patrick’s High School on Avenue de Salaberry, heads along rue St-Jean, through the historic gate, and finishes up on rue des Jardins, near   the Notre Dame Basilica Cathedral. The parade site's historical time line shows the Irish first arrived in Quebec City as members of the French Army in 1760.  The first St. Patrick’s Day procession took place in Quebec City in 1837 and continued off and on through 1926.    Marching in this year's parade is the Boston Police Gaelic Column of Pipes and Drums .   For details on hotel lodging, transportation, and other travel questions, visit Quebec City Tourism , located at 399, Saint-Joseph Est, Québec, QC G1K 8E2 Canada, or ca...

One of the interesting new shows this St. Patrick's Day is  The Fiddler of Innisbofin, a musical romantic comedy. It is the brainchild of Tommy McCarthy , co-owner of the Burren Pub and fiddler extraordinaire.   It’s premiering at the Burren Pub on March 13-16, featuring, naturally enough some great fiddling as well as singing and romantic hijinks. Purchase tickets online . Inis Bo Finne (Island of the White Cow) is an island seven miles off the coast of the Galway, with a long legacy of traditional music.   “I came about the idea for the play two years ago,” McCarthy says.   “When I was at a musician’s birthday party on Inishbofin, a local fiddler from the island sat on one of the visiting musician’s fiddle.  But it did not turn into a love story quiet the opposite. So my wild romantic mind put pen to paper.” McCarthy collaborated with Peter Charles Holm, a local writer and producer who is directing the play.   They selected an all-Iri...

Governor Deval Patrick proclaimed March 2013 as Irish Heritage Month in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. With nearly 24% of the state's popular claiming Irish ancestry, Massachusetts is considered the most Irish-American state in the United States, according to the US Census . For details on Irish cultural activities taking place in Massachusetts this March, click here . For more about Irish cultural groups, pubs and restaurants, gift shops, travel agencies and year round activities, visit IrishMassachusetts.com . To find out about Irish history and heritage, visit Boston's Irish Heritage Trail . For tourist information, got MassVacation.com and BostonUSA.com .

The fun-loving, rocking Saw Doctors from Tuam, County Galway, are in Boston on Saturday, March 16, 2013 for a concert at the famous House of Blues . on Lansdowne Street next to Fenway Park. Tickets to the show are $29.50 - $45.00 and can be purchased online or at the door. The concert starts at 8:00 p.m. and doors open at 7:00 p.m. Find a full schedule of music at the House of Blues here. Here is a selection of other Irish music concerts in Massachusetts . Find year round information on the Irish community in Massachusetts at IrishMassachusetts.com .