Irish Boston History & Heritage

Newsweek editor and columnist Jonathan Alter discusses his new book, The Promise: President Obama Year One, with his colleague Eleanor Clift, on Tuesday, June 1, 2010.  The event takes place from 5:30 to 7:00 p.m. at the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library in Boston. The event is free and open to the public. The JFK Library Forums are a series of public affairs programs that foster public discussion on a diverse range of interests.   They are presented as conversations rather than lectures. John F. Kennedy Presidential Library & Museum Columbia Point Boston 617 514-1600 http://www.jfklibrary.org/ Related Sites: IrishAmericansforObamaBiden IrishMassachusetts.com

The Ancient Order of Hibernians (AOH) is holding a wreath-laying ceremony at the Boston Irish Famine Memorial on Sunday, May 23, 2010, at 2:00 p.m.  Father Peter Nolan, Pastor of Most Precious Blood Parish in Hyde Park, is conducting the prayer service, which pays tribute to the victims of the 19th century Irish Famine. The event is organized by the James Michael Curley Division One of the AOH. Attending the event are Kevin Durant, chairman of AOH Division One, as well as Michael Cummings and Phil Haughey of the Boston Irish Famine Memorial committee , the group that built the memorial park.  Unveiled on June 28, 1998 , the Boston Irish Famine Memorial is part of the worldwide commemoration of the Irish Famine of the 1840s, also known as An Gorta Mor (The Great Hunger), where one million people died of starvation and disease and another two million refugees fled Ireland, coming to cities like Boston. The Famine Memorial is part of Boston's Irish Heritage Trail , and...

Painting of USS Jamestown in Boston Harbor, by Ted Walker , Marine Artist On this day in history, the USS Jamestown returned to Boston Harbor after carrying food, medical supplies and clothing to the people of Cork during the height of the Irish Famine.  The journey was headed by Captain Robert Bennet Forbes , a wealth China trade merchant from Milton, MA, who had left Boston on March 28, 1847 with a crew of 38 men and 800 tons of supplies. Henry Lee's book, Massachusetts Helps to Ireland During the Great Famine , gives a masterful account of this extraordinary episode in Boston's history. "Contributions of food continued to arrive from all over New England," Lee wrote.  "The cargo consisted largely of Indian corn and bread but included also hams, prok, oatmeal, potatoes, flour, rye, beans, rice, fish and sixteen barrels of clothing." The fifteen day voyage faced foul weather and a blend of rain, sleet, wind and fog requisite for that time of year, bu...

Ireland's good time rock band, the Saw Doctors , are playing at the House of Blues in Boston on Saturday, May 15, at 7:00 p.m.  Doors open at 6:00 p.m. The veteran band from Tuam, County Galway is joined at the House by  Gandalf Murphy and the Slambovian Circus of Dreams. Tickets are $27.50 and available through Ticketmaster . House of Blues 15 Lansdowne Street Boston 1 888 693-2583 For year round Irish events in the Boston area, visit IrishBoston.org .

Conan O'Brien, TV talk show host and comedian, has been elected to the John F. Kennedy Library Foundation Board of Directors, along with these other new members: John B. Adams, Adrienne Arsht, Blake Jordan, Clive F. Palmer and Ronald L. Sargent. O'Brien is originally from Brookline, Massachusetts, where President John F. Kennedy was born and raised, according to Tom McNaught, Deputy Director of the Foundation.  President Kennedy's birthplace is now a National Historic Site managed by the U.S. National Park Service. The Foundation, which provides financial support, staffing and creative resources to the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum in Dorchester, presents the annual Profiles in Courage Award and works on numerous other educational and public service activities throughout the year.  For more information, visit Jfklibrary.org/ Submitted by Boston Irish Tourism Association .