[null, null, null, null, {"document_url": "https://irishboston.blogspot.com/", "unformatted_src": "https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-v2eTNYWw_zo/W8oQB17ZGKI/AAAAAAAASBY/n7ilBTMyWIsc4vxb9tNYNirbvFVwOia3gCLcBGAs/s400/Aer%2BLingus%2BOctober%2B1958.jpg", "src": "https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-v2eTNYWw_zo/W8oQB17ZGKI/AAAAAAAASBY/n7ilBTMyWIsc4vxb9tNYNirbvFVwOia3gCLcBGAs/s400/Aer%2BLingus%2BOctober%2B1958.jpg", "formatted_filename": "Aer BLingus BOctober B", "rendered_width": 308, "rendered_height": 400}, null, null, {"document_url": "https://irishboston.blogspot.com/", "unformatted_src": "https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-R6kXgteqTP4/W7zSQUA_0TI/AAAAAAAAR-E/wyLK7kVUzjIFxqMN02agkJggfw301lEMwCLcBGAs/s320/Boston%2BPolice%2Bpipes.jpg", "src": "https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-R6kXgteqTP4/W7zSQUA_0TI/AAAAAAAAR-E/wyLK7kVUzjIFxqMN02agkJggfw301lEMwCLcBGAs/s320/Boston%2BPolice%2Bpipes.jpg", "formatted_filename": "Boston BPolice Bpipes", "rendered_width": 320, "rendered_height": 320}, null, null, {"document_url": "https://irishboston.blogspot.com/", "unformatted_src": "https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-gQpO0kOowIQ/W7vijg9XBwI/AAAAAAAAR94/zXGz-QpwyC4GZQSvYL4r07YajAfMHwxYQCLcBGAs/s1600/W.B.%2BYeats.jpg", "src": "https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-gQpO0kOowIQ/W7vijg9XBwI/AAAAAAAAR94/zXGz-QpwyC4GZQSvYL4r07YajAfMHwxYQCLcBGAs/s1600/W.B.%2BYeats.jpg"}, null, null, {"document_url": "https://irishboston.blogspot.com/", "unformatted_src": "https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-KYMc44dOnSc/W6AnSXs6-VI/AAAAAAAAR3U/lo9YMCQtSPcpJsubw3qcwPz4oTHdhl7mQCEwYBhgL/s320/Patrick%2BCollins.jpg", "src": "https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-KYMc44dOnSc/W6AnSXs6-VI/AAAAAAAAR3U/lo9YMCQtSPcpJsubw3qcwPz4oTHdhl7mQCEwYBhgL/s320/Patrick%2BCollins.jpg", "formatted_filename": "Patrick BCollins", "rendered_width": 221, "rendered_height": 320}, null, null, {"document_url": "https://irishboston.blogspot.com/", "unformatted_src": "https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Pxne1xy-jF0/W5w5dPJBkzI/AAAAAAAAR14/o4PxhswWxdseFk52BhR7e0UHQ8aOmE_NgCLcBGAs/s320/John%2BBarry.jpg", "src": "https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Pxne1xy-jF0/W5w5dPJBkzI/AAAAAAAAR14/o4PxhswWxdseFk52BhR7e0UHQ8aOmE_NgCLcBGAs/s320/John%2BBarry.jpg", "formatted_filename": "John BBarry", "rendered_width": 276, "rendered_height": 320}, null, null, null, {"document_url": "https://irishboston.blogspot.com/", "unformatted_src": "https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-kmWNPb0iq7s/W41vpNYg38I/AAAAAAAARuY/xgYMKIGHw-cxRmx5GdZKAFVFX9sQyK1gQCLcBGAs/s320/Maurice%2BTobin_Wife.jpg", "src": "https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-kmWNPb0iq7s/W41vpNYg38I/AAAAAAAARuY/xgYMKIGHw-cxRmx5GdZKAFVFX9sQyK1gQCLcBGAs/s320/Maurice%2BTobin_Wife.jpg", "formatted_filename": "Maurice BTobin Wife", "rendered_width": 299, "rendered_height": 320}, null, null, {"document_url": "https://irishboston.blogspot.com/", "unformatted_src": "https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-O1p-vMF4p28/W4MmSMjJwoI/AAAAAAAARog/8TKpWuowyhcbU81bJVDlGP5eXUyUz-lXgCLcBGAs/s400/Quincy%2BMarket.JPG", "src": "https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-O1p-vMF4p28/W4MmSMjJwoI/AAAAAAAARog/8TKpWuowyhcbU81bJVDlGP5eXUyUz-lXgCLcBGAs/s400/Quincy%2BMarket.JPG", "formatted_filename": "Quincy BMarket", "rendered_width": 400, "rendered_height": 266}, null, null, {"document_url": "https://irishboston.blogspot.com/", "unformatted_src": "https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-fIBvVgZRtfk/W22IcOkv1uI/AAAAAAAARe0/tdoEIMHogq07Ipb1Bpb5MiI8668wI7cbQCLcBGAs/s320/John%2BB%2BO%2527Reilly_photo%2Bby%2BMcCormack%2Band%2BHeald.jpg", "src": "https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-fIBvVgZRtfk/W22IcOkv1uI/AAAAAAAARe0/tdoEIMHogq07Ipb1Bpb5MiI8668wI7cbQCLcBGAs/s320/John%2BB%2BO%2527Reilly_photo%2Bby%2BMcCormack%2Band%2BHeald.jpg", "formatted_filename": "John BB BO Reilly photo Bby BMcCormack Band BHeald", "rendered_width": 252, "rendered_height": 320}, null, {"document_url": "https://irishboston.blogspot.com/", "unformatted_src": "https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-G0ySwQ8qjjc/TgoHZXxojaI/AAAAAAAABG0/E6Wa_P8Lv88H7IdX_1Ob3VGxfmSDkTYFQCPcBGAYYCw/s320/Oreillymemorial.jpg", "src": "https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-G0ySwQ8qjjc/TgoHZXxojaI/AAAAAAAABG0/E6Wa_P8Lv88H7IdX_1Ob3VGxfmSDkTYFQCPcBGAYYCw/s320/Oreillymemorial.jpg", "formatted_filename": "Oreillymemorial", "rendered_width": 239, "rendered_height": 320}, null, null, {"document_url": "https://irishboston.blogspot.com/", "unformatted_src": "https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-3guWkXDEHcc/W214I72mc5I/AAAAAAAAReo/3lZK0UzHlYMlhe-6fAHrmeAeQeHhIr7JwCLcBGAs/s320/Della-Mae-410.jpg", "src": "https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-3guWkXDEHcc/W214I72mc5I/AAAAAAAAReo/3lZK0UzHlYMlhe-6fAHrmeAeQeHhIr7JwCLcBGAs/s320/Della-Mae-410.jpg", "formatted_filename": "Della Mae", "rendered_width": 320, "rendered_height": 251}, null, null, null, {"document_url": "https://irishboston.blogspot.com/", "unformatted_src": "//lh4.googleusercontent.com/-p1OeD4S4TYI/AAAAAAAAAAI/AAAAAAAAMeI/YlMRuCfYRz8/s80-c/photo.jpg", "src": "http://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-p1OeD4S4TYI/AAAAAAAAAAI/AAAAAAAAMeI/YlMRuCfYRz8/s80-c/photo.jpg", "formatted_filename": "photo", "alt_text": "My photo", "rendered_width": 80, "rendered_height": 80}, null, null]
Photo (l-r) Front Row: Timothy Hurley, Patrick Houlihan, Timothy Driscoll.  Back Row: John J. O’Neill, Patrick Wallace, Patrick J. Gordan.

The Gaelic Athletic Association's Boston chapter held its 3rd annual ball and concert at Hibernian Hall in Roxbury on October 26, 1926.  Players on the hurling and football clubs were present.

Among the teams that were presented awards were the Wolf Tones Hurling Club of South Boston and ’s Own Hurling Club of Brighton.

Two orchestras provided the music for both “modern and Gaelic dancing,” and an American-Irish vaudeville show was presented at intermission, according to The Boston Globe.


Posted by Irish Massachusetts at 5:55 PM 

Aer Lingus Began its Boston-Ireland Direct Flight in October 1958 Sixty years ago this month, Ireland's airlines, Aer Lingus, launched its Boston to Shannon air service on Sunday, October 5, 1958, ushering in a new era of travel between New England and Ireland.

A 2003 story in the Boston Business Journal by Michael Quinlin reports the following:

"Aer Lingus' entry into the Boston market carried a symbolic significance. TWA and Pan Am were already flying the Boston-Ireland route, but the arrival of Ireland's national airlines captured the imagination of the city's large Irish-American population, which accounted for nearly a third of all residents. Most had never been to Ireland, and Aer Lingus, with its distinctive green shamrock logo on every plane, inspired them to make the journey, which took about 12 hours, twice as long as today's flights.

"Four days after leaving Boston, St. Brendan (the airplane, not the monk) returned in tow with Irish dignitaries such as Dublin mayor Robert Briscoe and Sean Lemass, Ireland's commerce minister. The Irish got a chance to observe local tourist campaigns, which touted autumn leaves, seaside towns and historical sites.

"Lemass saw the potential bonanza of tapping into a vast Irish-American diaspora and developing a tourism infrastructure like New England's. He promised the Irish government that if it could provide "well-equipped hotels, properly developed holiday resorts, well-built tourist roads and easily accessible shrines of historic and religious significance, (tourism) would continue to grow.""

Ireland's tourism industry did continue to grow, and set new records for American visitors in recent years.   Ireland's Minister for Tourism Paschal Donohoe was in Boston in September and told audiences that, "In 2013, alone, one million US visitors spent $1 billion in the Irish economy.  This demonstrates the importance of further developing Irish market share of the US tourism market, which is a central policy agenda of the government."

For more information about traveling to Ireland, visit Ireland.com.

For more about the Irish community in Massachusetts, visit IrishMassachusetts.com.
Posted by Irish Massachusetts at 1:12 PM 

New England Council presents New Englander of the Year Awards on October 11 The New England Council’s Annual Dinner is taking place on Thursday, October 11 at the Seaport Boston Hotel.  President & CEO James Brett will present “New Englander of the Year” awards to four prestigious recipients for their commitment and contributions in their fields of work, as well as their leadership and impact on the region’s quality of life and economy.

In addition, the popular Boston Police Gaelic Column of Pipes & Drums will perform.

Posted by Irish Massachusetts at 12:07 PM 

Boston's Patrick Collins - US Congressman, Boston Mayor, US Ambassador Patrick  A. Collins (1844-1905), the city's second Irish-born Mayor, died suddenly while on vacation at , at 10:15 on September 14, 1905. The cause of death was acute gastritis, an ailment he had endured for some time.  His son Paul was at the bedside with him when he died.

His sudden death shocked 's political establishment and its residents, as well as the Irish-American community, because Collins was considered one of the city's great statesmen.

Born in 1844 in Ballinafauna, a townland outside of Fermoy, , Collins came to  in March 1848, with his widowed mother, part of the mass exodus from  due to the Irish Famine.  They settled in , where the anti-Irish Know Nothing movement was fully blown in the 1850s.  Patrick got a job as an office boy with Robert Morris, an African-American lawyer, and later become a lawyer himself.  He entered into an upholstery apprenticeship, where he eventually became foreman.  All the while he was attending classes at  while studying at the Boston Public Library evenings.

Collins made his first foray into American politics when he became a state representative from  in 1868-69,and a state senator in 1870-71.  He became the first Irish Catholic elected as a US Congressman (1883-85).  He campaigned for President Grover Cleveland and was appointed as Consul General in  from 1893-97.

As Mayor, Collins was praised for mastering the business of the city, and noted for his protection of historical spaces such as Boston Common, Faneuil Hall, Old South Meeting House, and Old Granary and Copps Hill burying grounds.

Funds for a memorial were collected by public donations within a week of Collins' death, and the memorial was created by noted sculptors Henry and Theo Kitson.  The bronze memorial was unveiled in 1908, and contained a bust of Collins along with twin statues on each side depicting Erin and , representing Collins' native and adopted lands.

The Boston Irish Heritage Trail includes the Memorial to Patrick Andrew Collins. It was originally sited at Charlesgate West, and in 1968 was moved to its present location  on Commonwealth Avenue Mall, between Clarendon and Dartmouth Streets.

Patrick Collins is buried at Holyhood Cemetery in .

Here is a list of Boston mayors of Irish descent.

For more on Boston Irish history, visit IrishHeritageTrail.com, or read Irish Boston, published by Globe Pequot Press.

For year round activities on the Boston Irish, visit IrishBoston.org.

Posted by Irish Massachusetts at 6:22 PM 

Irish-Born US Naval Hero Commodore John Barry, Shipping out of Boston Commodore John Barry (March 25, 1745 – September 13, 1803) was a naval hero of the American Revolutionary War.  Born in  Tacumshane, County Wexford in 1745, Barry emigrated to Philadelphia in 1760.  He joined the American forces at the outbreak of the war, and was the first Catholic appointed to command a vessel by the Continental Congress.  Barry's ship, Lexington, was the first to capture a British vessel under the American flag.

During much of the war, Barry commanded ships out of Boston Harbor, including the Delaware and the Alliance. After the war, President George Washington assigned Barry to help create the United States Navy.   Barry settled in Philadelphia and died there at age 59.  He is buried at St. Mary's Churchyard on S. Fourth Street.

In 1949, Boston Mayor James Michael Curley spoke at the Charitable Irish Society annual dinner on March 17, and  vowed to build a memorial to Barry in 60 days, saying Barry had been ignored for too long.  The project got underway immediately, and the bronze memorial was actually unveiled seven months later, on October 16, 1949. Then on April 5, 1975, some local college students stole the bronze plaque as a prank, and a stone version of the plaque was put in its place. Contrition set in a few years later and the students anonymously returned the plaque to the Massachusetts Ancient Order of Hibernians, who returned it to the city.  The original was put in storage at the L Street Bathhouse in South Boston.  On Saturday, September 12, 1981, the Barry memorial was transferred from the Boston Arts Commission to the National Parks Service for permanent display at the Charlestown Navy Yard, where it remains today.

Visitors can see the Commodore John Barry Memorial on Boston Common, located along Tremont Street between Lafayette Mall and the Visitor Information Center.  The plaque is part of Boston's Irish Heritage Trail,  a sequence of public landmarks that tell the illustrious story of the Irish in Boston from the 1700s to the present time.

President John F. Kennedy was a great admirer of Commodore Barry.  He owned John Barry's sword and displayed it in office at the White House.  In addition to sharing a love of the sea and sailing, both men traced their lineage to County Wexford.   When he visited Ireland in June 1963, President Kennedy placed a wreath at the John Barry Memorial in Wexford.

To find out more about Boston Irish history, visit IrishHeritageTrail.com or read Irish Boston, available from Globe Pequot Press and from Amazon, Barnes & Noble and other outlets.
Posted by Irish Massachusetts at 6:44 PM 

Boston's Maurice Tobin, U.S. Secretary of Labor under Harry S. Truman Maurice Tobin and his wife Helen

Photo Courtesy of Harry S. Truman Presidential Library

This Labor Day, the Boston Irish Tourism Association pays tribute to Boston native Maurice Tobin (1901-53), who served as mayor of Boston and governor of Massachusetts before being named US Secretary of Labor by President Harry S. Truman.
Born in Roxbury's Mission Hill,  he was the son of immigrants from Clogheen, Tipperary.
Tobin became Massachusetts' youngest state representative at age 25, and in 1937 made a surprise run for mayor against his mentor, James Michael Curley. Tobin defeated Curley in 1937 and again in 1941, serving through 1944.  He then won the race for Governor of Massachusetts, and served as Governor from 1944-46.  Governor Tobin advocated for the Fair Employment Practices Bill, and helped increase unemployment insurance and benefits for workers.
He helped campaign for President Truman, who appointed Tobin as US Secretary of Labor from 1948 to 1953, where he continued to advocate on behalf of America's working people.
Tobin died of a heart attack in July 1953 and is buried at Holyhood Cemetery in Brookline.
Sculptor Emilius R. Ciampa created the Tobin Memorial Sculptor in 1958, which is at the Boston Esplanade, next to the Hatchshell.  In 1967, Massachusetts named the Mystic River Bridge the Maurice J. Tobin Memorial bridge in his honor.
For more about Boston's colorful Irish history, read  Irish Boston, available from Globe Pequot Press and from Amazon, Barnes & Noble and other book stores.
Posted by Irish Massachusetts at 1:21 PM 
On this day in 1826, celebrated the grand opening of the Faneuil Hall, commonly known as QuincyMarketplace. Located on the site that had long served as 's public market, the three massive buildings dominated the harbor and were hailed as a sign of the city's prosperity and civic pride, according to Mass Moments, published by Mass Humanities.

The project was propelled by Boston Mayor Josiah Quincy, who initially faced resistance from local merchants and citizens who thought the project too costly.  But Quincy prevailed, and the new market was quickly referred to as Quincy Market.

Writes Mass Moments, "At the grand opening, crowds gathered to hear the bell that would signify the opening of what one local merchant called "the market of all markets on the globe." According to one newspaper, the new market "was thronged from morning till night, and many visitors from other parts of the expressed much gratification in witnessing the extent and arrangement of this noble institution.""

The Boston Traveller wrote, "Of all the projects for improving our city conceived by the combined wisdom of the present generation, the New Market, for boldness of design, energy of execution and promise of public benefit ust rank first  This spacious and magnificent structure (is) at once the pride and boast of the metropolis."

Today, Quincy Market is one of the region's most popular tourist sites and is also popular with local residents.
 Rockport Music presents the Nashville-based string band Della Mae at the in Rockport on Wednesday, August 15, 2018.  Tickets are available online.

Since forming in Boston in 2009, Della Mae was named IBMA’s Emerging Artists of the Year in 2013, GRAMMY Nominees in 2014 for their debut album on Rounder Records, named among Rolling Stone’s “10 bands to watch for in 2015.” The band has traveled with the US State Department to over 18 countries spreading peace and understanding through music.

Here is a schedule of upcoming concerts at the Shalin Liu Performance Center.

For year round details on Irish, Celtic and folk music in New England, visit IrishMassachusetts.com.
