Irish Boston History & Heritage

American historian David McCullough has done a great walking tour of some of Boston's historical statues, videoed by noted Boston Globe photographer and videographer David L. Ryan . For details on other landmarks and statues in greater Boston, visit IrishHeritageTrail.com .

Father Sean McManus, founder of the Irish National Caucus in Washington DC and long-time defender of human rights and peace with justice in Northern Ireland, is coming to the Boston area in June to talk about his new book, My American Struggle for Justice in Northern Ireland . Father McManus is appearing at the AOH Hall in Watertown, MA on Wednesday, June 8, 2011 at 8:00 p.m. and is being introduced by Ray Flynn , former Mayor of Boston and US Ambassador to the Vatican.  The event is being sponsored by the Massachusetts Ancient Order of Hibernians and AOH Division 14 of Watertown.  The AOH Hall is located at 151 Watertown Street. Then on Saturday, June 11, 2011, McManus is appearing at Noon at the Four Green Fields Pub & Restaurant at One Boston Place in Downtown Boston, where he will talk about his work and sign copies of his book.  Both events are free and open to the public. For more about the Irish National Caucus and Father McManus, visit IrishNati...

Local rock band Cover Up is playing at the Burren Pub in Davis Square, Somerville, on Friday, May 27, 2011 starting at 10:00 p.m. The popular Boston band plays a great mix of 70s rock, 80s metal and current hits.  To hear live track of We are the Champions, click here . The Burren is celebrating its 15th anniversary this year as one of America's best Irish pubs, with traditional Irish music seven days a week.  It was started by musicians Tommy McCarthy and Louise Costello . Check it out on Facebook to get more ongoing details on Burren activities.  For year round information on Boston's Irish community, visit IrishBoston.org .

Associated Press wrote an interesting story on how the Boston Irish responded to President Obama's trip to Ireland this week, by interviewing patrons at the famous Eire Pub in Boston. The story appeared in the Boston Globe .   Located at 795 Adams Street in the Adams Village section of Dorchester, the Eire Pub is a popular neighborhood pub in one of Boston's quintessentially Irish-American neighborhoods. Its popularity is far-reaching.  President Ronald Reagan had a Ballantine Ale the Eire Pub in 1983, according to a Boston Globe story , and in 1992, presidential candidate Bill Clinton also visited the pub with then-Boston Mayor Ray Flynn and sipped a pint of Guinness.  For year round details on Irish activities in greater Boston, visit IrishBoston.org .

The 19 th Annual Jose McIntyre’s Block Party is taking take place Thursday June 16, 2011  at Jose McIntyre ’s Back Entrance: 83 Central Street in downtown Boston. Tickets are $10 at the door and can also be ordered online .  All guests must be 21 or older.    The renowned event includes Boston’s famous U2 tribute band Joshua Tree as well as Ryan Palma, Devri Irish, Bearfight and big beats with DJ Littles, plus street performers, great prizes and more.  All proceeds benefit the local breast cancer non-profit organization Men With Heart . Sue Brady of Mix 104.1 is emcee for the night.  Jose McIntyre's is operated by the Glynn Hospitality Group , a family run business that includes some of Boston's finest pubs and restaurants, including the famous Black Rose Pub at Faneuil Hall. For year round details on Irish events in greater Boston, visit IrishBoston.org For tourist information, visit BostonUSA.com or MassVacation.com .  

Caroline Kennedy is presenting this year's Profiles in Courage Award at the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library on Monday, May 23, 2011 at 11:00 a.m. The JFK Library is making available a live web cast of the ceremony from 11:00 a.m. to Noon.  This year's recipients are Elizabeth Redenbaugh, a North Carolina school board member who battled racial segregation in school redistricting plans, and Wael Ghonim and the people of Egypt, whose courageous demand for democratic reform inspired similar movements across the Middle East. The Profiles in Courage Award was created in 1989 by members of the Kennedy Family to honor public servants and elected officials who choose principle over partisanship.  The award is named for President John F. Kennedy's book, Profiles in Courage , which won the Pulitzer Prize in 1957. For  more details on the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library & Museum, click here . For information on the Kennedy Family's Irish connections, vi...

Sharon Shannon    Irish accordion legend Sharon Shannon is one of the performers at the College Green Festival organized for President Barack Obama   and his wife Michelle Obama , to take place Monday afternoon, May 23, 2011 in Dublin, Ireland. You can get updated details on the festival, and line-up of musicians, by visiting the US Embassy in Ireland site. For year-round information on Irish cultural activities in greater Boston, visit IrishBoston.org .

Ireland is the first stop for President Barack Obama , who is stopping there on Monday, May 23, 2011, as part of a series of meetings across Europe.  For President John F. Kennedy , Ireland was the last leg on a similar European trip  in June 1963.  He arrived in Dublin on June 26 and left on June 30, 1963. For more about President Obama's trip to Ireland, click here . For more about President Kennedy's trip to Ireland, click here , or visit the web site of the John F. Kennedy Library & Museum. For year round Irish cultural events in Massachusetts and the New England states, visit IrishMassachusetts.com . For details on Irish-Americans who support President Obama, click here .

Irish-American leaders from Boston's AOH, James Michael Curley Division One are convening the third annual An Gorta Mor (The Great Hunger) commemoration at the Boston Irish Famine Memorial on Sunday, May 22, 2011 at 2:00 p.m. The Memorial, located at the corner of School and Washington Street in downtown Boston, was unveiled in 1998 to commemorate Ireland's famine, a series of potato crop failures between 1845-49 that was made worse by the inability of British administrators to provide adequate relief.   Nearly one million people starved and another two million were forced to flee the country. There will be a wreath-laying ceremony followed by prayers at the Memorial site, and the public is welcome to attend. For more details on the Boston Irish Famine Memorial, click here . For year round details on Irish cultural activities in greater Boston, visit IrishBoston.org .

President Barack Obama is coming to Boston on Wednesday, May 18, 2011 for a kick off of the Obama Victory Fund campaign for 2012 The President is appearing at the Cyclorama, Boston Center for the Arts , at 539 Tremont Street in Boston's South End, at 3:00 p.m. For more details, visit Obama for America website. For year round details on Irish activities in greater Boston, visit IrishBoston.org .

The Boston Public Library is kicking off a city-wide, eight month long commemoration of the 150th anniversary of the American Civil War.  Activities include exhibitions of rare archival material from the Civil War, plus lectures, films, tours and live performances exploring the many dimensions of the war. The Library has set up a dedicated web site with the details and schedule of events. For a calendar of events click here . Among the highlights: the display of about 375 Civil War photos taken by Matthew Brady, his colleague Alexander Gardner and others from Brady's studio.  They'll be on display in the Rare Books Lobby from May 20 through September 30, 2011. The Library is also making available links to digitized BPL holdings, including the Anti-Slavery Manuscripts Collection. For information on Boston Irish history and heritage, visit IrishHeritageTrail.com For Irish cultural information for Boston and Massachusetts, visit IrishBoston.org .

(May 7, 1896) - The Boston athletes who triumphed in the first Modern Olympics in Athens, Greece in April, 1896, were feted by an enthusiastic crowd of family, friends and supporters with a reception in their honor at Faneuil Hall, followed by a banquet at the Vendrome Hotel. Local poet Henry O'Meara wrote a special tribute, To Our Laureled Sons, which was recited and later sung by Irish tenor Joseph White. The team's manager was John Graham , and the track and field athletes were Thomas E. Burke , Ellery H. Clark , Thomas P. Curtis , W.W. Hoyt   and Arthur Blake , representing the Boston Athletic Association; and James Brendan Connolly , representing the Suffolk Athletic Club in South Boston.  Attending the banquet with other dignitaries were Governor Roger Wolcott and Boston Mayor Josiah Quincy , according to a story in the Boston Globe . For more information, read I rish Boston: A Lively Look at Boston's Colorful Irish Past .   Posted by Boston Irish Tou...

In 1845, classical musician Thomas Ryan  (1827-1903) emigrated from County Cork to Boston, Massachusetts.  He was 17 years old. In his excellent book, Recollections of an Old Musician , published in 1899, Ryan recalled his first glimpse of Boston from aboard the ship: "I think I shall never forget my first sight of the city which has been my home for so many years - it was rapture.  Early morning was just dawning when we made Boston Light.  The rising sun was shedding its rosy beams on the dome of the State House.  The splendid bay and harbor, the picturesque, pleasant homes on the shores, seemed so beautiful in the clear early  morning atmosphere....I was full of faith that everything and every face was to smile on me - and did smile on me." Ryan went on to have a brilliant career as a professional musician.  He formed the Mendelssohn Quintette in 1849, which helped to spread the beauty of classical music in United States.  The Quintett...