On November 5, 2013, Martin J. Walsh Wins Election as Next Mayor of Boston

(November 5, 2013) -- Martin J. Walsh, a Massachusetts state representative from Dorchester, has been elected as the next Mayor of Boston. He defeated his opponent, Boston City Councilor John R. Connolly.

Walsh, the son of Irish immigrants from County Galway, Ireland, vowed to make Boston an inclusive city where jobs, housing and educational opportunities are equally distributed across the city's neighborhoods.

Connolly was gracious in defeat, vowing to work closely with Mayor-elect Walsh in the coming term.

Elected as state representative in 1997, Walsh developed a powerful coalition of labor unions, neighborhood activists, elected officials and ordinary citizens who support his message of inclusion and opportunity for all.

At the campaign party at the Park Plaza Hotel in downtown Boston, the Dropkick Murphys performed during the night.

In April, the Galway Independent ran a profile of Walsh and his connections to Galway.

Walsh joins an illustrious line of Boston mayors with Irish heritage, including John "Honey Fitz" Fitzgerald, the grandfather of President John F. Kennedy; James Michael Curley; Maurice Tobin; Kevin White and Ray Flynn.

Here is a list of the Boston mayors of Irish descent, starting with Hugh O'Brien in 1885.

For more about Boston's Irish history, visit IrishHeritageTrail.com. For year round details on cultural activities, visit IrishBoston.org.

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