Irish Boston History & Heritage

One of the most accomplished Irish-Americans of New England's colonial era was James Sullivan (1744-1808), a heralded lawyer, orator and statesman, who served as both Attorney General, from 1790 to 1807 and was Governor of Massachusetts for two one-year terms in 1807 and 1808. Born in Berwick, Maine on April 22, 1744, James was the fourth of five sons born to Owen Sullivan of Limerick and Margery Browne of Cork, who both indentured servants from Ireland. James and his brothers were home-schooled by their father, who had been a teacher in Ireland and spoke numerous languages. Sullivan worked for and studied law in his brother’s legal firm, and later served as a justice for the Massachusetts Supreme Court from 1776 to 1782, as well as serving as a probate judge for Suffolk County from 1788 to 1790. According to the National Governors Association , Sullivan entered into a political career in 1774, serving as a member of the Provincial Congress of Massachusetts, a position he held un...

Two months after Jeremiah O'Brien committed the "first act of colonial piracy" by capturing the British cutter Margaretta on June 12, 1775 in Machias Bay, Maine,  the Massachusetts House of Representatives  appointed O'Brien as "Commander of the armed schooner Diligent and the sloop Machias Liberty , now lying in the harbor of Machias, fixed for the purpose of guarding the seacoast," according to records at the Massachusetts Archives . O'Brien, along with his four brothers and fellow townsmen, had led an attack on the British cutter  Margaretta  on June 12, 1775 in  Machias , Maine , defeating the British crew and taking its munitions as bounty.  Maine was part of the Massachusetts Colony until 1820.  The Massachusetts House of Representatives—functioning as a wartime legislature known as the Provincial Congress—met in Watertown, Massachusetts on August 23, 1775 and agreed to pay O'Brien "the sum of 160 pounds lawful money in this colony, for...

  On April 21, 1986, city officials led by Boston Mayor Ray Flynn and Veterans Services Director Tom Lyons, along with Henry Lee of the Friends of the Public Garden and members of the Paget family, placed this plaque on the bridge crossing the lagoon on the  Public Garden , in memory of Charlestown native Second Lieutenant Michael Patrick Quinn, a US Marine who was killed in action in Vietnam on August 29,1969.  Quinn worked summers on the swan boats on the Public Garden lagoon.  He  graduated from Boston Latin School in 1964 and attended Holy Cross College in Worcester.  Read more about Lt. Quinn, who was awarded a Purple Heart, on the Wall of Faces .  The Michael Patrick Quinn plaque, along with the Swan Boats , are being added to Boston's Irish Heritage Trail , a collection of public landmarks that chronicle the Irish experience in Boston from the 17th century to the present.  

  Photo courtesy of patriots.com Congratulations to legendary quarterback Tom Brady, whose larger-than-life  bronze statue  was unveiled on August 8, 2025 at  Gillette Stadium  in  Foxborough, MA , where Brady led the  New England Patriots  to six Super Bowl titles and 17 division championships in his 20 years here. Brady attended the unveiling ceremony with his parents, Tom Brady, Sr. and  Galynn , sisters and three children, and they were joined by team owner  Robert K. Kraft , former teammates, and thousands of enthusiastic fans who came out to honor their football hero. Sculptor  Jeff Buccacio  working on the Tom Brady statue Sculptor Jeff Buccacio and his team of artisans and technicians spent more than 20,000 hours on the  Tom Brady project  as they sought to create “a timeless and iconic representation of a legendary player.”  Buccacio said the Patriots provided him with “a selection of photographs to use ...

Twenty-five years ago this summer, the newly formed Boston Irish Tourism Association (BITA) launched an advertising campaign to promote Irish culture and heritage in Massachusetts to the visitor industry.  The goal was to form a coalition of local travel and tourism groups, hospitality entities such as hotels and restaurants, and cultural venues including museums, concert halls, festivals, cultural venues and universities, to brand Massachusetts as The Capital of Irish America.  The Association printed 50,000 copies of a full color, oversized brochure that featured cultural events, festivals, tall ships and other summer festivities, plus information on local Irish organizations, gift shops, museums and heritage sites.   It was distributed at hundreds of visitor and cultural outlets in New England and sent to national media, travel agencies and cultural venues across North America.  The campaign was supported with a grant from the Massachusetts Office of Travel & ...

The National Peace Jubilee, a gigantic music celebration of peace after the American Civil War, took place in Boston on June 15-19, 1869. The event was organized by Patrick S. Gilmore, celebrated cornetist and bandleader who emigrated from Ballygar, Galway to Boston in 1849.   Over 1,000 musicians and 10,000 vocalists participated in the National Peace Jubilee inside of a giant coliseum built especially for the festival.  The building itself measured 500 x 300 feet, with a height of 86 feet.  There were 12 entrances, each 24 feet wide, to accommodate the 50,000 people who attended each day.  According to newspaper accounts, two million feet of timber was used to build the stadium, and 20 tons of iron nails, bolts and bars. The coliseum was originally sought for Boston Common, but strong opposition from local residents and city leaders prevented it.  Instead it moved to the Back Bay near where Trinity Church and the Prudential Building stand today. Among...