Irish Boston History & Heritage

The fountain today, Photo Credit:  Fairmont Park Horticultural Cente r Margaret F. Foley (1827-1877) was a highly-praised 19th century cameo artist and sculptor, who lived in Vermont, Lowell and Boston, Massachusetts before moving to Rome, Italy where she spent the final 17 years of her life. She was widely known for her exquisite and intricate cameos of leading personages from singer Jenny Lind and poet Henry Longfellow to Senator Charles Sumner and Julia Ward Howe. She was born in Dorset, Vermont to a working class family and lived in the town of Vergennes near Middlebury College. Her father was a farm hand, and she worked as a maid, then taught art at a local grammar school. At age 14, she moved to Lowell, Massachusetts to work in the spinning mills, where she continued carving cameos. According to a story in the Boston Evening Transcript, "One day the overseer, Walter Wright, discovered her whittling an acorn out of chalk. He stopped and asked where her model was. "In m

  The debut of Ireland's renowned Abbey Theatre took place on September 23, 1911 at the Plymouth Theatre in Boston, with three plays, "The Shadow of the Glen" by J. M. Synge,"Birthright" by T. C. Murray  and "Hyacinth Halvey" by Lady Gregory. The theatre group was embarking on a six-month North American tour to promote the new Irish National Theatre of William B. Yeats, Lady Gregory and others.  The Boston Evening Transcript  framed the historic occasion this way, "Mr. Yeats, Lady Gregory and the players of the Irish National Theatre will land in Boston for their first visit to America, for their first outside the British Isles, for their first lengthy absence in the season from their own house in Dublin....at the opening of the new Plymouth Theatre, they will act for the first time on this side of thr Atlantic."  "Yeats, the Irish poet and dramatist, and Lenox Robinson, manager of the Abbey Theatre, Dublin, and the author of several co

Photo Credit: Digital Commonwealth For the second time in a decade, a resplendent bronze statue honoring Irish-born Civil War Colonel Thomas Cass was unveiled on the Public Garden in Boston on September 22, 1899. Cass was commander of the 9th Irish Regiment, and died in July 1862 from wounds at Malvern Hill, VA. An Illustration of the new statue appeared in The Boston Globe Several thousand people attended the unveiling, including Boston Mayor Josiah Quincy along with Mrs. C. B. Craib, the daughter of Colonel Cass, who unveiled the statue to great applause. Major Daniel G McNamara, a member of the 9th who served with Cass in the 9th Regiment, was the orator for the day. The bronze statue by sculptor Richard Edwin Brooks was hailed as a brilliant and fitting depicting of Cass, a larger-than-life leader who was beloved by his men. Mayor Quincy called the sculpture "a work of art as well as a memorial to the brave colonel, and must be considered by all as such." The statue, Qui

  Photo Credit: National Park Service/ Nathan King On Saturday, September 20, 1924, the Nuns of the Battlefield Memorial was unveiled in Washington, DC before thousands of people who attended the ceremony from around the nation. The monument is listed on the National Mall and Memorial Parks of the National Park Service  The memorial honors the Catholic nuns who worked in the battlefields and on floating ships during the Civil War to aid wounded and dying soldiers regardless of what side the fought on. By the time it was unveiled in 1924, the memorial was also relevant to those caregivers who served during World War I. The 12 orders of nuns represented on the relief include Sisters of St. Joseph, Carmelites, Dominican Order, Ursulines, Sisters of the Holy Cross, Poor Sisters of St. Francis, Sisters of Mercy, Congregation of the Sisters of Our Lady of Mercy, Daughters of Charity of St. Vincent de Paul, Sisters of Charity of Nazareth, Sisters of Providence of Saint Mary-of-the-Woods, an

Myles Standish Monument in Duxbury, MA Dublin-born sculptor  Stephen J. O'Kelly  (1850-98) was a successful artist in late 19th century United States, creating several important memorials that still stand today.  Born in Dublin, he studied art in Paris and opened a studio in London before immigrating to Boston, where he lived for much of his adult life. He had Roscommon roots, and his brother, J. J. O'Kelly, was a Member of Parliament representing County Roscommon.   Sculptor John Horrigan repairs Myles Standish statue. Photo Credit:  Duxbury Rural & Historical Society The most prominent is the  14-foot statue of Pilgrim leader  Myles Standish , which sits atop a 116 foot monument on top of Captain's Hill in South Duxbury, one of the distinctive landmarks along the seacoast South of Boston.   Standish, who landed aboard the Mayflower in 1620, is depicted in the statue holding  the Plymouth Colony charter as he gazes across the Bay.   S hortly before his death in 1898  O

  Worcester Celtic Cross in Summer, 2024. Photo credit: Devin Quinlin On Sunday, September 18, 1977, the Irish community of Worcester and Central Massachusetts unveiled a 15 foot Celtic Cross at City Hall, to mark the 150th anniversary of the Irish settlement in Worcester, which took place in 1826. A  series of events took place the weekend of September 16-18, starting with a Memorial Ball on Friday night at the Sheraton Lincoln Inn, featuring the Paddy Noonan Irish Dance Band of New York. On Saturday, a Memorial Mass was held at St. John's Church on Temple Street, with principal celebrant Bernard J. Flanagan, Bishop of Worcester, and Reverend Edward T. Connors.  Music was provided by the Blessed Sacrament Church Choir and the Worcester State College Community Orchestra.  Program Book for the September 18, 1977 Celtic Cross Unveiling At the dedication ceremony on Sunday, an Irish Dance exhibition started the proceedings with the Jug of Punch folk group, then an invocation by Revere