Irish Boston History & Heritage

Image courtesy of Canadian-American Club On May 19, 1937, a group of Canadian expatriates living in Massachusetts came together to form the Canadian-American League. The Boston Globe reported that the group was "seeking 1,000 charter members....(and) more than 200 attended" the first meeting. Three weeks later, on June 16, 1937, the group met again at Intercolonial Hall on Dudley Street in Roxbury, which was a regular gathering spot of Canadian immigrants. Attorney Joseph S. O'Neill, the organizer and first president of the Canadian-American League, was originally from Charlotteville, Prince Edward Island, according to his obituary in The Boston Globe published on August 20, 1938. He worked at the Dolan, O'Neill and Balch law firm in Boston. Other officers included Alexander C. Chisholm, treasurer; Mrs Colin W. MacDonald, secretary and Jeannette C. Chisholm, assistant secretary. "The purpose of the organization is to unite the great number of Canadi...

Image Courtesy of Boston Public Library Special Collections On March 6, 1927 Eamon De Valera visited the United States after an absence of six and a half years. The purpose of his visit, according to the New York Times , was to testify in the Irish Republican bonds litigation being tried on March 9, 1927 before the Supreme Court of the State of New York. "The funds in question amount to more than $2,500,000 and represent the unexpended balance of the first and second external loans of the Irish Republican Government and were raised by me, in the capacity of the first President of the Irish Republic, and by my colleagues, during our visit to the United States in 1919 and 1921,” he said. During his trip, deValera visited New York City, Philadelphia, Washington, DC, Pittsburgh, Cleveland, Kansas City, Chicago, San Francisco and Los Angeles among other places.   At the end of the 7-week tour, he returned to New York City for a final farewell, in which he declared, "The republic...

Photos Courtesy of The Music of Skuabh Luachra Ellen O'Byrne DeWitt (1875-1926), an Irish immigrant from Cloontumper, Co. Leitrim,  emigrated to New York City as a teenager and in her 20s, she opened an Irish music record shop that flourished for more than half a century in New York City and Boston's Roxbury neighborhood. Ellen and her husband, Dutch immigrant Justus DeWitt, had two sons, Justus Jr. (1899-1983) and James (b.1902).  They ran a small travel company for several years before Ellen decided to open the small Irish music shop at 1398 Third Avenue near 79th Street.   With the swift rise of the recording industry in the early 20th century, Ellen was among the first to recognize that the burgeoning Irish immigrant population would always be looking out for music from back home, and she convinced several record companies such as Columbia, Victor and Decca Records to add Irish artists to their catalogs. Eventually the company began seeking out New York-based immigr...

Portrait of James Sullivan, painted in 1807 by Gilbert Stuart James Sullivan (1744-1808), a heralded lawyer, orator and statesman during the American Revolution,  including two terms as Governor of Massachusetts, was born in Berwick, Maine on April 22, 1744.  He was the fourth of five sons born to Owen Sullivan of Limerick and Margery Browne of Cork, who were 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.  Sullivan's brother John Sullivan was a general in the American Revolution and a close aide to George Washington.  His other brother,  Ebenezer Sullivan raised his own militia of soldiers and fought as a captain in the Battle ...

The Catalpa, Photo courtesy of City of New Bedford The 150th anniversary of the Catalpa rescue mission is being celebrated this month in cities around the world, including New Bedford, Massachusetts, Dublin, Ireland and Rockingham, Western Australia.  On April 17, 2026, New Bedford Mayor Jon Mitchell, the Friendly Sons of St. Patrick, and the New Bedford Port Society commemorate the 150th anniversary of the Catalpa rescue mission by raising a replica of the American flag Captain Anthony hoisted during the rescue mission. The ceremony takes place at New Bedford City Hall at 5 p.m. Afterwards, author Peter Stevens gives a lecture on the Catalpa at Seamen’s Bethel. Click  here  to register. Catalpa Memorial, Rockingham, Photo Credit Chris Doyle Earlier this month, on April 6, the Australian Irish Heritage Association held " a commemoration of oration, song, theatre and verse" at the Catalpa Wild Geese Memorial at Palm Beach, Rockingham.  Image courtesy of the National ...

The Cobh of Cork from Queenstown, ca 1856 On  April 12, 1847, the USS Jamestown arrived in Queenstown (now Cobh), County Cork, carrying 800 tons of supplies for the victims of the Irish Famine.  The ship had left Charlestown Navy Yard in Boston Harbor 15 days earlier, on March 28, 1847, and had encountered foul weather, with rain, sleet and fog throughout the voyage.  The humanitarian mission was led by Captain  Robert Bennet Forbes , a wealthy sea merchant living in Milton, MA. With Forbes on the journey were 38 crew members who had signed on to help. In February, Forbes had petitioned the US Congress for the loan of a naval ship to bring supplies, and permission to use the USS Jamestown had been granted. Boston newspapers enthusiastically reported on the voyage, which captured the world's imagination at the time, and ever since. Reverend R.C. Waterson later wrote, "I consider the mission of the Jamestown as one of the grandest events in the history of our country....