Irish Boston History & Heritage

(Image courtesy of 28th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry) The 28th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry - comprised of Irish-Americans and Irish emigrants - officially mustered into service on December 13, 1861 at Camp Cameron in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Governor John A. Andrew appointed Colonel William Monteith leader of the regiment. About 1,000 men were mustered on this day, the majority of them Irish-Americans and Irish emigrants.  They joined the state's other Irish fighting battalion, the 9th Regiment , and distinguished themselves in battle throughout the course of the American Civil War, fighting at Second Bull Run, Gettysburg, Frederickburg and Antietam.  One of the main supporters and fundraisers behind the formation of the 28th Regiment was Patrick Donahoe , publisher of the Boston Pilot newspaper.   In his book, Civil War Boston , Professor Thomas O'Connor writes that the soldiers voted to informally call themselves The Donahue Guard in honor of the...

The City of Boston marks November 16 as Goody Glover Day in Boston, in tribute to Goodwife Ann Glover, an Irish women accused of being a witch by Cotton Mather and other Boston Puritan leaders.   Glover was an Irish indentured servant sent to Barbados by Oliver Cromwell in the 1650s.  Her husband died there, and by 1680 she and her daughter were living in Boston, employed as housekeepers by John Goodwin.  In summer 1688 four of the five Goodwin children fell ill.  The doctor concluded "nothing but a hellish Witchcraft could be the Origin of these maladies."  Martha, the 13 year old daughter, confirmed the doctor's diagnosis by claiming she became ill right after she caught Glover stealing laundry. Glover was arrested and tried as a witch. In the courtroom there was confusion over Glover's testimony, since she refused to speak English, despite knowing the language.  According to Mather, "the court could have no answers from her, but in the Irish, whic...

Irish Harp by John Egan  Courtesy  of Museum of Fine Arts Boston ( Researched by Michael Quinlin ) One of the first Irish musicians cited in public records to perform and teach Irish music in early 19th century Boston was Matthew Wall, a blind harpist who emigrated to New Brunswick in 1830 before eventually making his way to Boston.    The Boston Evening Transcript, October 6, 1832 issue, ran a notice announcing Wall would be performing at the State Museum, corner of Court and Howard Streets in Downtown Boston near Scollay Square. Wall was described as "a celebrated performer upon the Irish Harp. As this is the first instrument of its kind ever in this country, the lovers of Music will do well to avail themselves of this opportunity to witness the sweetness of its tones...This was the instrument used by the bards of olden times, and is well calculated to touch and arouse the feelings." The same notice ran on page one of the October 12, 1832 issue. ...

On May 19, 1937, a group of Canadian expatriates living in Massachusetts came together to form the Canadian-American League.  According to a story in The Boston Globe published on the following day, the group was "seeking 1,000 charter members....(and) more than 200 attended" the first meeting. Attorney Joseph S. O'Neill, the organizer and first president of the Canadian-American League, was originally from 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. Judging from the many Scottish and Irish names cited in the Globe story, the organizers were largely comprised of immigrants who had come to the Boston area from the Maritime provinces. The Canadian-American League eventually became known as the Canadian American Club, which is celebrating its 75th anniversary in Watertown, Massachusetts the weekend of October 19-21, 2012. - Researched ...

Many people wonder why the Boston Celtics wear shamrocks on their green uniforms and have a giant leprechaun smoking a cigar as their team logo. And why the team mascot is a guy named Lucky who looks like he stepped out of a box of Lucky Charms? According to the Boston Celtic’s official web site, the name came about in 1946 when owner Walter Brown started the team. He and his public relations guy, Howie McHugh, were throwing out potential nicknames, including the Whirlwinds, Unicorns and Olympics. It was Brown who had the epiphany, saying, “Wait, I’ve got it – the Celtics. The name has a great basketball tradition from the old Original Celtics in New York (1920s). And Boston is full of Irishman. We’ll put them in green uniforms and call them the Boston Celtics.” Red Auerbach , the now legendary coach of the early Celtics, then commissioned his brother Zang, a graphic designer in the newspaper business, to come up with the famous Celtics logo in the early 1950s....

The South Boston Historical Society is giving a free tour of Boston's oldest Catholic graveyard, St. Augustine's Cemetery, on Saturday, October 13, 2012, from 10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. The cemetery is the oldest Catholic burial ground in New England.  It opened in 1819.  A majority of Irish buried in the cemetery came from Cork, Tipperary and Kilkenny, followed by Donegal, Longford, Waterford and Wexford, according to a survey by George F. Dwyer cited in Irish Boston . Here is an interesting account of the cemetery's Irish connections by Lowell Irish . St. Augustine's Cemetery is one of the stop on the Boston Irish Heritage Trail, which explores the Irish experience in greater Boston dating back to the 18th century. Find more details on the Irish community in Massachusetts by visiting IrishMassachusetts.com .

Tara Ceili Band (photo courtesy of Tom Garvey) Click photo to enlarge In memory of Larry Reynolds , who died on October 3, 2012 after a distinguished 60 year career as an Irish traditional musician. Larry Reynolds arrived in Boston in 1953, and became involved in the Dudley Street Irish music scene in Boston's Roxbury neighborhood throughout the 1950s.  Larry joined the Tara Ceili Band, a popular dance band that formed in 1958, according to pianist Tom Garvey.  The band played Saturday and Sunday nights at the Intercolonial Hall on Dudley Street.   "The pay at Intercolonial was $8.00 per musician," Garvey recalls.  "I received $10, coming the furthest, from Andover." The Tara Ceili Band went through some personnel changes and played in Jamaica Plain, Dorchester and Brighton, and around greater Boston.  The photo above was taken in 1961 at Metropolitan Hall at 4 Hyde Park Avenue in Jamaica Plain  Run by Metropolitan Caterers, In...

The Democratic National Convention paid an emotional tribute to the late Massachusetts Senator Ted Kennedy in Charlotte, NC at the opening sessions on Tuesday, September 4, 2012. The video tribute was introduced by Joseph P. Kennedy III , who is running for the Fourth Congressional seat in Massachusetts. View the Tribute to Ted Kennedy here:

Sunday, September 16, 2012   31st Anniversary Re-Dedication   SOUTH BOSTON VIETNAM MEMORIAL   Mass at 10:30 a.m.   St Brigid's Church 845 East Broadway, South Boston Re-dedication of Memorial at 11:30 a.m. M Street Park , South Boston Guest Speaker - General Joseph Dunford    Assistant Commandant, US Marine Corps Original Dedication Ceremony Video Download

Toll Gate Cemetery Photo Courtesy of Remember Jamaica Plain? The Boston chapter of the Ancient Order of Hibernians is paying tribute to the fallen Civil War soldiers from Massachusetts' Irish regiments with a ceremony at Toll Gate Cemetery in Jamaica Plain, Boston, on Saturday, September 1, 2012 at 11:00 a.m. The event is free and open to the public. Monsignor Francis X. Kelly of nearby Sacred Heart Church will lead the ceremony in prayer. Organizer Kevin Durant says the AOH group, along with the local Boy Scouts, have been cleaning the cemetery grounds throughout the summer.  Durant says many soldiers from the Massachusetts 28th Voluntary Infantry , composed entirely of Irish and Irish-American soldiers, are buried in the cemetery. The 28th fought at the Battle of Second Bull Run on August 28-30, 1862. You can find more information on Boston's Irish heritage and history at IrishHeritageTrail.com .

  South Boston's James Brendan Connolly (1868-1957) was the first medalist in the Modern Olympic Games, taking first place in the triple jump held in Athens, Greece in 1896. The book  Irish Boston describes Connolly as "one of twelve children (including eight boys in a row) born in South Boston to immigrant parents John and Ann (O'Donnell) from Inis More, Aran Islands, off the coast of County Galway, Ireland." For insight into what Connolly's feat means to the people of South Boston today, read Patrick Rosso's story on James B. Connolly in The Boston Globe . For more about Boston Irish history, visit IrishHeritageTrail.com .

Patrick S. Gilmore staged the largest concert in history in Boston from June 17 through July 4, 1872, called the World Peace Jubilee and International Music Festival. Read about Gilmore's Jubilee in BITA's current issue of Travel & Culture Guide , a round-up of Irish and other cultural activities and travel opportunities in Massachusetts and Ireland this summer and fall.  It's available for free at visitor centers and cultural venues throughout the state. Gilmore was born in Ballygar, County Galway in 1829 and emigrated to Boston in 1849, where he went on to become the most influential bandleader and impresario of his generation.  Read more about P.S. Gilmore . The Irish Music Center at Boston College currently has an exhibit on Gilmore's World Peace Jubilee at the John J. Burns Library on campus through July 6, 2012. Learn more about Irish history in Boston by visiting  IrishHeritageTrail.com . For year round details on Irish activities, visit Ir...

Guided tours of the Boston Irish Heritage Trail are starting up on Saturday,  June 16, 2012, leaving at 2:00 p.m. from the Visitor Center on Boston Common along Tremont Street, the Boston Irish Tourism Association has announced. The 75 minute walk takes you to over 300 years of Boston Irish history, from the colonial times, through the 19th century Famine immigration era, to the Civil War, and up to the present time.  Tickets are $15 for adults and $8 for children, and can be purchased online or at the Visitor Center the day of the walk. The summer schedule is as follows: Every Wednesday and Thursday, from June 20 through August 30 Every third Saturday of the month (June 16, July 21, August 18) All tours leave at 2:00 p.m. from the Boston Common Visitors Center. For more information about the Irish Heritage Trail and the tour itself, please call the Boston Irish Tourism Association at 617 696 9880 or email to irishmassachusetts@comcast.net . For year...

Mayor John F. "Honey Fitz" Fitzgerald waves to the fans at Fenway Park, 1912   Read the article by Michael Quinlin in the June/July 2012 issue of Irish America Magazine entitled From Honey Fitz to Sweet Caroline: A Century of Fenway . And read this story in the Irish Echo entitled Fenway Park Marks a Very Green Century . And finally, here's a profile of Charles E. Logue , the Irish immigrant from County Derry who built Fenway Park, breaking ground on September 25, 1911, and finishing the park by April, 1912 for the opening of the Red Sox season. Fenway Park is one of 20 landmarks on Boston's Irish Heritage Trail .

" The very first Opening Day at Fenway Park, April 20, 1912, had the appearance of an old-fashioned Irish field day.   Bucky O’Brien was on the pitcher’s mound. Umpire Tommy Connolly was behind home plate, and ace sports reporter Timothy Murnane was scribbling for the Boston Globe .  Mayor John “Honey Fitz” Fitzgerald, the grandfather of President John F. Kennedy, threw out the first pitch, officially kicking off the first major league game to take place at Fenway Park. ..." Read the entire story in this week's Irish Echo . Read about Charles E. Logue , the immigrant from County Derry, who built Fenway Park. Fenway Park is located along Boston's Irish Heritage Trail , a three-mile walk over 300 years of Boston Irish history.   For year round details on Irish cultural activities in Massachusetts and the New England region, visit IrishMassachusetts.com . For visitor information, go to MassVacation.com and BostonUSA.com .

The first Boston Marathon was held on April 19,1897, inspired by the first modern Olympic Games held the previous year in Athens, Greece.  The race was sponsored by the Boston Athletic Association , and the initial field consisted of fifteen runners, of which ten finished the race. John J. McDermott of the Pastime Athletic Club of New York won the race, finishing in two hours, fifty-five minutes and ten seconds. Thomas E. Burke , who won first place in the 100 and 440 yard races at the Athens Olympics in 1896, was the official starter of the race. The race started in Ashland and finished at Irvington Oval near Copley Square in Boston, which had a 220 yard track.  There BAA officials had organized an entire track and field meet in the spirit of the Olympic Games the previous year. Among the most talked about races was the 100 yard dash, which had a stellar field that included Tom Burke of Boston University, J.S. Quinn  and W.J. Holland from Boston Coll...

Photo Courtesy of Boston Public Library For the 116th running of the Boston Marathon taking place on Monday, April 16, 2012, our thoughts turn to John Adelbert  Kelley, who holds the record for running more Boston Marathons than any other athlete.  Kelley was born in 1907 in West Medford, outside of Boston, and traces his ancestry to County Wexford.  "My father's people left to go to Australia," he told The Boston Globe in 1981, when he was preparing for his 50 th race.  "The boat stopped in Boston and they never left."  Kelley ran his first marathons in 1928 and 1932 but did not finish either race.  He ran again in 1933 and has competed in every single race through 1992!  He finished in the top 10 eighteen times, taking first place in 1935 and again in1945.  He owns the record for the most races started (61) and the most finished (58).  His best time was two hours and thirty minutes, posted in 1943.  He was ...

Kevin White Statue at Faneuil Hall The Boston Irish Tourism Association is offering guided walking tours of the Boston Irish Heritage Trail in celebration of St. Patrick's Day.  The tours runs on Sunday, March 18, 2012, starting at 12:30 p.m. daily at the Boston Common Visitor Center at 147 Tremont Street in Downtown Boston. Cost of the tour is $15 per adult, $8 for children ages 6-12, and free for children under five. The 75 minute walking tour by an experienced tour guide covers 13 of the 20 stops along the way (sites 1-13 on the map).  You’ll discover the Irish role in the Revolutionary War, learn about the 19th century Famine generation and the Irish part in the Civil War.  And you’ll discover famous and infamous politicians - from Curley and White to Collin and the Kennedys - who put their indelible stamp on the history of the city and the nation. Reserve your spot on the tour by filling out the reservation form .  Or, ...

  Celebrate St. Patrick’s Day by taking a guided tour of the Boston Irish Heritage Trail . The tour is offered on Saturday, March 17 and Sunday, March 18, 2012 at 12:30 p.m., starting at the Boston Common Visitor Information Center.   Tickets are $15 for adults and $8 for children ages 6-12. Children under six are free. You can purchase tickets at the Visitor Information Center on Boston Common or make your reservation online . The 75 minute walk led by an experienced tour guide takes you on 300 fascinating years of Boston’s unique Irish history and heritage.    You’ll discover the Irish role in the Revolutionary War, learn about the 19 th century Famine generation and the Irish part in the Civil War.  And you’ll discover famous and infamous politicians - from Curley and White to Collin and the Kennedys - who put their indelible stamp on the history of the city and the nation.   For more information, call 617 696 9880 o...

Curley Statues, Union Park   The Boston Irish Tourism Association is offering guided walking tours of the Boston Irish Heritage Trail in celebration of St. Patrick's Day. The tours run from Wednesday, March 14 through Sunday, March 18, 2012, starting at 12:30 p.m. daily at the Boston Common Visitor Center at 147 Tremont Street in Downtown Boston. Cost of the tour is $15 per adult, $8 for children ages 6-12, and free for children under five. The 75 minute walking tour by an experienced tour guide covers 13 of the 20 stops along the way (sites 1-13 on the map).  You’ll discover the Irish role in the Revolutionary War, learn about the 19th century Famine generation and the Irish part in the Civil War.  And you’ll discover famous and infamous politicians - from Curley and White to Collin and the Kennedys - who put their indelible stamp on the history of the city and the nation. Reserve your spot on the tour by filling out the reservation...

Just in time for St. Patrick's Day, the Boston Irish Tourism Association has issued its Spring issue of Travel & Culture Guide , a round-up of Irish cultural activities taking place in Boston and throughout the region from March through June 2012.  The 28 page magazine is available for free at visitor centers around Massachusetts, and at select Irish stores, cultural venues, museums and hotels.  It lists parade schedules, concerts and cultural events, as well as select Irish pubs and gift shops in Massachusetts. See Distribution sheet to find a copy near you.  You can also request that a Guide be mailed to you (postage/handling applies) .  For year round details on cultural activities throughout Massachusetts and the region, as well as details on visiting Ireland, go to IrishMassachusetts.com For tourist information, visit MassVacation.com and BostonaUSA.com .

The Bostonian Society is commemorating the 242nd anniversary of the Boston Massacre this Saturday, March 10, 2012 with a series of lectures, programs and a re-enactment at the Old State House on State Street in downtown Boston. Click for a list of scheduled events . Irish immigrant Patrick Carr was one of the five victims in the Massacre, according to Irish Boston: A Lively Look at Boston's Colorful Irish Past .   Carr and the other victims are buried at the Old Granary Burying Grounds on Tremont Street, which is listed on the Boston Irish Heritage Trail . For year round information on the Irish community in Boston, including pubs, gift shops, festivals, parades, concerts and cultural activities,  visit IrishBoston.org For visitor information, go to MassVacation or BostonUS A.

Fenway Park , which celebrates its 100th anniversary in April 2012 as America's most distinguished baseball park, has been placed in the National Register of Historic Places , according to William Galvin , Secretary of Massachusetts, in an announcement today. Galvin said the Massachusetts Historical Commission , nominated Fenway Park to the Register in December, and that the nomination was confirmed. Fenway Park was built by Chalres E. Logue , an Irish immigrant from County Derry who built numerous Boston landmarks in the beginning of the 20th century..   Read about Mr. Logue and the building of Fenway Park here . For more about Boston's Irish history, visit IrishHeritageTrail.com . For tourism information visit MassVacation.com or BostonUSA.com .

Charles E. Logue at Fenway Park, April 20, 2012 (courtesy of the Logue Family) The Charitable Irish Society is hosting an event called "The Irishmen Who Built Fenway Park" at the Bleacher Bar in Fenway Park on Thursday, March 1, 2012 from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. Admission is $35 and includes appetizers, cash bar, author book signing and a raffle. Featured speakers of the evening are Glenn Stout , author of the new book, Fenway 1912: The Birth of a Ballpark , and Dick Flavin, television personality and author of the one-man show According to Tip Special guests of the night will be the Logue family, whose ancestor Charles E. Logue , an immigrant from Derry, was the contractor who built the famous ballpark.  Mr. Logue built many of the city's Catholic Churches and part of the Boston College campus.  His descendants have carried on the family business with their firm, Logue Engineering , located in Hingham, Massachusetts Fenway Park is the final s...

Poet, lyricist and musician Thomas Moore, who wrote compelling lyrics to many of Ireland's ancient melodies, died on this day on February 25, 1852. His ten-volume collection of Moore's Melodies , published between 1808 and 1834, helped revitalize interest in Irish music that was in danger of being marginalized and forgotten.  For a full story on Moore's achievements, read Ireland's Minstrel Boy Gets His Encore in the Irish Echo. In Boston, Moore's Melodies quickly found their way into the city's musical community; with several of his songs published as early as 1811.  His songs, especially Last Rose of Summer , were performed as part of Boston's musical repertoire by famous visiting performers like singer Jenny Lind and violinist Ole Bull . Upon learning of his death in 1852, Patrick Donahoe and other Boston leaders formed a Thomas Moore Club to perpetuate his music.  In 1869, Patrick S. Gilmore featured Moore's songs in the National Peace...

A reception to raise funds for the Deer Island Irish Memorial project in Boston's Harbor Islands is taking place at the Aisling Gallery on Rt. 3A in Hingham on Friday, February 24, 2012 from 7:00 to 9:30 p.m. The event is free and open to the public. The fundraiser is being organized by Dr. Bill and Rita O'Connell, who head a committee to place a permanent memorial to the 850 Irish immigrants who were buried at the Rest Haven Cemetery in the 1840s. In May, 1847, city officials set up a quarantine station on Deer Island to tend to thousands of Irish refugees fleeing the Irish Famine were coming to Boston Harbor on crowded ships.  Many of them were suffering from typhus, cholera and other transferable diseases. Today Deer Island is home to the region's sewerage treatment facility , with parkland and walkways along the perimeter of the island. Here is more information on the Deer Island Irish Memorial Project . Find out more about Boston's Irish history...

Mike King Kelly , one of the premier baseball players of the late 19th century, signed a deal to play for the Boston Beaneaters on February 14, 1887 for a record $10,000, the highest price paid for a professional athlete up to that time.   The Boston Globe reported that Kelly left the Chicago White Stockings in a deal negotiated on Valentine's Day in Poughkeepsie, NY between Kelly and Beaneater treasurer J.B. Billings. "Diamonds cannot be bought with shoestrings," Kelly said as "he toyed with a diminutive cane and puffed at a Sweet Caporal cigarette," according to the Globe.  Kelly had three great years with the Beaneaters, then went on to coach and play for the Boston Reds in the short-lived Players League.  Described as a larger-than-life character, Kelly was as notorious off the field as on.  A great base runner, he had his own song, Slide Kelly Slide , a popular ditty written by J.W. Kelly and sung by Maggie Kline.  Along with Boston Globe ...

Mayor Kevin White, Mayor of Boston from 1968-1984, passed away on Friday, January 27, 2012, at age 82.  He had suffered from Alzheimer's Disease since 2003. The Boston Irish Tourism Association published a profile on Mayor White on the occasion of his statue being unveiled at Faneuil Hall in Boston on November 1, 2006.  Mayor White's statue is part of Boston's Irish Heritage Trail , a three mile walk of twenty landmarks that tell the story of 300 years of Boston Irish history.

Scotland's poet and bard Robert Burns (January 25, 1759 – July 21,1796) is honored in Boston with a statue at Winthrop Square in Boston's Financial District. Best known for composing  the unofficial anthem to New Year's Eve, Auld Lang Syne , Burns was a prolific poet who wrote over 300 poems, as well as various epistles and ballads. He was prolific in other ways too, fathering fourteen children. The Boston statue was created by sculptor Henry Hudson Kitson and was unveiled by Governor Calvin Coolidge on January 1, 1920.  It was originally unveiled in the Fens, near the Westland Avenue entrance, not far from the John Boyle O'Reilly Memorial to Ireland's famous 19th century poet.  The statue was moved to Winthrop Square in 1975 where it remains today.  It depicts Burns walking with his collie and a book of poetry in his hand. Kitson was a well-regarded artist who created a number of important statues in Boston, including the memorial to Patrick Co...

George M. Cohan , Broadway song and dance man whose songs helped define the World War I generation, is honored in his home town of Providence RI with a statue, according to a story in Irish America Magazine . The statue was created by noted sculptor Robert Shure , who also created the Irish Famine Memorial in Boston and Providence . Cohan (1878-1942) was the son of Jeremiah Cohan from Boston and Nellie Costigan from Providence.  They met met on the vaudeville circuit and married in 1874.  George and his sister Josephine became part of a successful family troupe, named the Four Cohans, which traveled around the country on the minstrel circuit, performing a cabaret of songs, dances, jokes and comedy routines popular at the time. In 1893 George settled in New York City and soon became the toast of Broadway , writing popular tunes like  Yankee Doodle Dandy, You're a Grand Old Flag, and Over There, a trio of songs that resonated with Americans during World War I. ...

Patsy Touhey  "The first concert of the Irish Pipers' Club of Boston was held in Wells Memorial Hall on Tuesday, January 11, 1910," according to The Republic Newspaper published on January 15, 1910. The hall was located at 978 Washington Street in Boston's South End, then a heavily Irish neighborhood.   The concert was significant for Irish music historians because it included notable uilleann pipers Michael and William Hanafin and John Nolan.  And guests in the audience were identified as Sergeant James Early of the Irish Music Club of Chicago and Patsy Touhey , who was born in Galway and grew up in South Boston. Touhey was considered by many to be the finest piper of his generation. Other performers included singer Peter O'Neill, Irish step dancer James Cahill and the Irish Choral Society, led by director Charles F. Forrester. The Republic Newspaper was owned by John "Honey Fitz" Fitzgerald, the grandfather of President John F. Kenn...

On Monday, January 5, 1885, Hugh O'Brien was sworn-in as the city of Boston's first Irish-born Mayor, launching an era of Irish-American dominance of Boston City Hall that continued through the 20th century. O'Brien was born in County Cork, Ireland on July 13, 1827, and emigrated with his family to Boston in 1832 when he was five years old.  He learned the printing trade at the Boston Courier newspaper and at fifteen became foreman of a printing office, before starting his own publication, the Shipping and Commercial List.  He has a successful career as a businessman and gained the respect of city leaders as well as the Irish immigrant community that struggled to gain a foothold in Boston. O'Brien launched his political career in 1875 on the Board of Alderman, and in 1884 ran against and defeated incumbent Boston Mayor Augustus Martin.  At that time, the term of office was one year, so O'Brien ran and won again in 1885, 1886, 1887 and 1888 before narrowly ...