Irish Boston History & Heritage

Today is a good day to reflect on President John F. Kennedy and his relationship to Ireland. The John F. Kennedy Presidential Library & Museum has an excellent summary of JFK's roots.  Here are other stories about President Kennedy, his family and the JFK Library, put together by the Boston Irish Tourism Association: Rose Kennedy's Family Album Welcome to Kennedy Country Tom McNaught - Preserving President Kennedy's Spirit (June '11) Jean Kennedy Smith - Contributions to Politics and the Arts (June '07) Charles U. Daly profile (June '08) Paul G. Kirk, Jr., - Clutch Player (Nov '09) Senator Edward_M. Kennedy (1932-2009) JFK Fitness Exhibit at JFK Library JFK in Ireland Happy St. Patrick's Day.

Take a guided tour of Boston's Irish Heritage Trail on Sunday, March 16 at 2:00 p.m.. The tour begins at the Boston Common Visitor Information Center   and winds its way through 300 years of the city's illustrious Irish history. Tickets are $15 for adults, $12 for students, military and seniors, and free for children under 12.  You can purchase your ticket at the visitor center the day of the tour.  Find more details of the tour here. The Irish Heritage Trail was created by the Boston Irish Tourism Association , a group formed in 2000 to promote the Irish history, heritage and culture of Massachusetts. 

Guided tours of Boston's Irish Heritage Trail are taking place on Saturday, March 15, Sunday, March 16 and Monday, March 17, 2014, beginning at the Boston Common Visitor Information Center at 2:00 p.m.  Also, there is an additional tour at 11:00 a.m. on Monday, March 17. Tickets are $15 for adults, $12 for students, military and seniors, and free for children under 12.  You can purchase your ticket at the visitor center the day of the tour.  Find more details of the tour here. The Irish Heritage Trail was created by the Boston Irish Tourism Association , a group formed in 2000 to promote the Irish history, heritage and culture of Massachusetts. 

John Boyle O'Reilly Memorial  © Boston Irish Tourism Association   Author Michael Quinlin has explored the rich history of Boston's Irish community in his book, Irish Boston: A Lively Look at Boston’s Colorful Irish Past , published by Globe Pequot Press .  Garnering material of famous people and places in his book, here is his list of top ten Irish sites in Boston to check out this St. Patrick’s Day, or any time of year.  All of these sites and more are listed on Boston’s Irish Heritage Trail , a walking map of 20 sites Quinlin created as a companion to his research for Irish Boston.  Quinlin is co-founder of Boston Irish Tourism Association  and is a frequent contributor to Irish America Magazine and the Irish Echo newspaper. For year round details on Irish cultural activities in Massachusetts and New England, visit IrishMassachusetts.com .  

The Massachusetts Historical Society has an exhibit called, "Tell it with Pride: the 54th Massachusetts Regiment and Augustus Saint-Gaudens' Shaw Memorial," through May 23, 2014.  The exhibit is free and open to the public. The exhibit, organized by the National Gallery of Art in Washington, DC,  conveys the magisterial monument to the nation's first Black military regiment, led by Colonel Robert Gould Shaw, as created by famed sculptor Augustus Saint-Gaudens.  The monument took fourteen years to complete, because of disagreement among patrons regarding how the piece should look.  Plus, the perfectionist artist approached the project in a painstaking manner, seeking out forty black men in New York to use as models, from which he chose 16 to appear on the final memorial.  The memorial was unveiled in 1897 at a ceremony attended by Booker T. Washington, philosopher William James, and the families of the soldiers.  It is located at the site...

Teddie Gallagher of Villanova University is giving a lecture entitled "The Life & Times of Rev. James T. O'Reilly, OSA" at the Lawrence Heritage State Park on Sunday, March 9, 2014 at 2:00 p.m. The event is free and open to the public. The lecture is sponsored by the White Fund and is part of Irish Heritage Month in the City of Lawrence, organized by Ancient Order of Hibernians and Ladies AOH, Division Eight.  The Lawrence AOH chapter is named to honor Reverend O'Reilly , who was an Augustinian (OSA)   priest. According to the Lawrence History Center , "O'Reilly was perhaps the most influential church leader in the history of Lawrence." In addition to presiding over the Irish congregation at St. Mary's Church, he also "helped create Catholic churches for Greeks, Syrians, Portuguese and Lithuanians."  He organized a "God and Country" parade in 1912 that drew over 100,000 people.  Here is a schedule of Ir...

Discover 300 years of Boston's Irish history on this guided tour of the Irish Heritage Trail , on March 15, 16 & 17, 2014. The tour starts at the visitor center on Boston Common and stops at memorials, statues, cemeteries and public buildings that tell the Boston Irish story. From the early colonists to the Famine Irish, and from James Michael Curley to the Kennedys, the Irish have made an illustrious contribution to Boston and its history. Tickets are $15 for adults, $12 for students, military and seniors, and free for children under 12.  You can purchase your ticket at the visitor center the day of the tour.  Find more details of the tour here. The Irish Heritage Trail was created by the Boston Irish Tourism Association , a group formed in 2000 to promote the Irish history, heritage and culture of Massachusetts.