John Boyle O'Reilly, Irish Rebel and Boston Hero, Born June 28, 1844

John Boyle O'Reilly, the famous Irish rebel who lived in Boston from 1870 until his death in 1890, was born on June 28, 1844 in Dowth Castle along the River Boyne.

In Boston, he became a respected poet, orator, journalist and defender of the downtrodden. He helped to move Boston from a plutocracy to a democracy by demanding equal rights for all citizens and challenging the status quo of the privileged.

The O'Reilly Memorial, located in Boston's Fens along the Boston Irish Heritage Trail, was created by sculptor Daniel Chester French.

For year round details on Boston Irish history, heritage and cultural activities, visit IrishBoston.org.

For more about O'Reilly and other Boston Irish heroes, read Irish Boston: A Lively Look at Boston's Colorful Irish Past, available from Globe Pequot Press.

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Born 180 years ago on June 28, 1844, John Boyle O’Reilly helped shape the history or Ireland and America in the late 19th century in powerful ways. Today, O'Reilly’s stature as a seminal figure in Irish and Irish-American history is particularly evident in his beloved birthplace of Dowth, County Meath; in Freemantle, Australia where he was imprisoned; and indeed, throughout the Irish Diaspora. O'REILLY LANDMARKS IN MASSACHUSETTS O’Reilly remains popular in Boston, New Bedford, Hull and Springfield where there is a selection of memorials and plaques, parks and city squares, library collections and Irish organizations honoring O’Reilly’s memory. In Boston, the John Boyle O’Reilly Memorial at the corner of Boylston Street and The Fens, not far from Fenway Park, was unveiled in 1896 by famed Concord sculptor Daniel French. The Memorial is part of Boston’s Irish Heritage Trail. In Charlestown, O’Reilly lived at 34 Winthrop Street, where there is a plaque in his honor. In 1988 t...

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