Irish Massachusetts

  (An Irish-American Reflection on President John F. Kennedy) President John F. Kennedy’s thousand days in office marked an epoch in the Boston Irish story:  one man stepping forth from a marginalized community that had struggled mightily for so many generations, facing hostility and surviving on the edge of society, driven to success by fear of hunger and anger at prejudice, determined to right the wrongs for the sake of the children and future generations.  JFK was the future generation that his parents, grandparents and great-grandparents had daydreamed about as they were toiling in America, saving their pennies, getting stronger, wiser, and more confident. He may have represented the hopes and dreams of the world, and of a nation, but JFK also represented the pinnacle of immigrant dreams for millions of Irish around the world.  Kennedy’s optimism and resolve was emblematic of the American mind of the twentieth century, but he also brought a new level of sophistic...

As part of Native American Heritage Month across the United States, the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum in Dorchester presents a virtual performance the Wampanoag Nation Singers and Dancers on Saturday, November 20, starting at 11:30 a.m.   The event is free but registration is required . A link to the virtual program will be provided to those who register.  The performers share stories of both their history and modern culture, culminating with a dance of honor of Heritage Month.  It is an ideal opportunity for families to join in learning new movements and words in this ancient tradition.  Learn about more activities at the JFK Library .

Rockport Music  is presenting acclaimed Celtic music duo  Alasdair Fraser and Natalie Haas   in concert at the Shalin Liu Performance Center in Rockport MA at 5 p.m. on Sunday, November 21, 2021.   Tickets to the show are $29 - $39 and can be  purchased online .  Haas , a California native, and  Fraser , from Scotland, have been performing around the world for over a decade, and have released several albums together.  They are each respected soloists in their own right.  Fraser, a two-time Scottish National Fiddle Champion, and esteemed long-time veteran of the traditional Celtic music scene, is regarded as 'one of the finest fiddle players Scotland ever produced.'  He fiddle playing has been featured on major movies such as Braveheart, the Titanic and Last of the Mohicans.  Hass was one of student of Fraser's, and has since become a sought-after concert and studio musician across a wide spectrum of musical genres because ...

 Aer Lingus just announced Black Friday deals to Ireland, from Boston to Dublin and Shannon! Take up to $100 off roundtrip Economy fares or $200 off Business Class fares.  Book by November 30, 2021 at aerlingus.com . More good news: Aer Lingus will re-introduce flights between Boston Logan International Airport and Shannon International Airport in March 2022. 

Image courtesy of the John J. Burns Library Irish poet William Butler Yeats was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for Literature on November 14, 1923, in recognition of his accomplished and influential poetry, as well as his efforts with others to amplify Ireland’s literary theater while cultivating a cultural nationalism that supported political goals of independence.  In his presentation of the prize to Yeats in Stockholm on December 15, 1923, Nobel Committee Chairman Per Hallstrom said that Yeats “has been able to follow the spirit that early appointed him the interpreter of his country, a country that had long waited for someone to bestow on it a voice. It is not too much to call such a life’s work great.”   The title of Yeats’ acceptance speech was The Irish Dramatist Movement, in which he gave the Swedish Academy a fascinating recap of the modern literature of Ireland, starting with Douglas Hyde’s founding of the Gaelic League, to Lady Gregory and her work with the ...

Irish-born and Irish-American veterans have a distinguished tradition of military service in Massachusetts, going back to the Revolutionary War in the 18th century.  Here is a selection of monuments in Boston that you can visit: Commodore John Barry Plaque on Boston Common Colonel Thomas Cass , 9th Irish Regiment in the Public Garden Lt. General Edward Logan at Boston Logan International Airport World War II Memorial in South Boston For more details on Irish heritage in Massachusetts, visit IrishHeritageTrail.com . 

  On Sunday, November 14, Rockport Music presents the Hanneke Cassel Band at the Shalin Liu Performance Center in Rockport, Massachusetts starting at 5 p.m.. This cutting-edge Celtic band consists of two fiddlers - Hanneke Cassel and Jenna Moynihan - along with guitarist Keith Murphy. Together they perform an amazing spectrum of music from the Celtic traditions representing Scotland, Ireland, the Isle of Skye, Nova Scotia and Cape Breton. All virtuoso musicians in their own right, the trio blends traditional tunes and ancient melodies in an innovative and inventive way. Here is a calendar of upcoming events at Shalin Liu Performance Center .

  James Brendan Connolly , Olympic champion, writer and adventurer, was born in South Boston on October 28, 1868, one of twelve children of Irish immigrants John Connolly and Anne O’Donnell, from Inis Mor on the Aran Islands off the coast of Galway.   According to family records, the parents immigrated to the US in 1860, with their two children, John and Martin, settling first in the seaside village of Rockport, north of Boston, before moving to South Boston in 1862 and raising their family at 50 G Street.  Fishing was the family trade, and as and a boy, Connolly learned to sail, fish, survive storms, repair rigs, and to understand and appreciate the ways of fishermen everywhere. Later in his life, Connolly became a noted writer on the sea, publishing 25+ novels and short story collections.  Growing up in South Boston, sports were a central part of Connolly's life.  In his writings, he fondly recalled the days of his youth running across open fields, jumpi...

In one of his final acts as Mayor of Boston, James Michael Curley dedicated a bronze memorial on Boston Common to Revolutionary War hero Commodore John Barry, on October 16, 1949.     A few weeks later, Curley lost his final bid for re-election to a fifth term as mayor, losing to John B. Hynes.     Barry, a naval hero of the Revolutionary War, was born in Tacumshane, County Wexford in 1745, and is a long-standing favorite historical figure of Irish-Americans across the United States.  They claim Barry as the Father of the American Navy, while others say that title belongs to John Paul Jones.   The idea for the Barry memorial in Boston was first announced by the Central Council of Irish County Clubs on September 23, 1945, at the city’s annual Barry Day banquet at the Copley Plaza Hotel commemorating the 200 th anniversary of Barry’s birth in Wexford.      Four years later, at the  Charitable Irish Society  annual dinne...

On Monday, October 16, 1989, Boston citizens came together to officially dedicate the Richard Cardinal Cushing Memorial Park in Bowdoin Square, in tribute to one of the city’s most distinguished leaders.  The park first opened in 1981 with a bust of the Cardinal by sculptor James Rosati, and the newly designed $450,000 upgrade in 1989 was overseen by Architect Graham Gund, who added benches and greenery, making it a more welcoming space.  Public officials at the dedication included Senator Ted Kennedy and Boston Mayor Ray Flynn, along with family and friends of Cardinal Cushing and parishioners from St. Joseph's Church in the West End.   Born in South Boston to Irish immigrant parents from County Cork, Richard James Cushing (1895-1970) was a proud Bostonian. He once told reporters, "I was born in Boston. I was bred in Boston. I'm for everything that promotes Boston's welfare."  Ordained a priest in 1921, Cushing rose through the ranks, ultimately serving as A...