Boston's Irish Famine Memorial Unveiled on June 28, 1998

The Boston Irish Famine Memorial was unveiled on Sunday, June 28, 1998, before 7,000 people, including the governor of Massachusetts, mayor of Boston and government officials from Ireland. A Vietnamese and Rwandan were among the speakers of the day, an acknowledgment of modern day refugees who continue to seek solace in Boston.

The Memorial by artist Robert Shure juxtaposes an Irish family starving in Ireland with another Irish family striving for success in America. Eight narrative plaques encircling the statues tell the story of the famine and the Irish triumph in America.

The $1 million memorial park commemorates the 150^th anniversary of the Irish Famine (1845-49), during which one million people died of starvation or disease and nearly two million fled Ireland to avoid death. Over 100,000 Irish refugees arrived in Boston during this time, transforming the city.

Their arrival revealed deep-seeded hostility among some Bostonians, prompting an anti-immigrant nativist movement in the 1850s known as the Know Nothing Party. "No Irish Need Apply" signs were regularly posted in newspapers and in store windows. There were reports of Irish families sleeping in the bushes on Boston Common, or dying of typhus in basement apartments along Broad Street.

Unjust political reigns and economic instability in Ireland prompted a steady stream of Irish emigrants to Boston and other parts of North America. The tribulations of the Famine generation were ultimately vindicated by the success of Irish-Americans, culminating in the election of President John F. Kennedy in 1960, whose eight great grandparents all left Ireland during the Famine years to find a better life in Boston.

Located at the corner of Washington and School Streets in downtown Boston, across from the Old South Meeting House. The Memorial is along the city's Freedom Trail and is part of Boston's Irish Heritage Trail, a self-guided walk covering over 300 years of Boston Irish history.

Comments

The Boston Celtics : The Story Behind Their Irish Green Theme

Bill Russell played for the Boston Celtics from 1956 to 1959 (This story was updated in March 2024) 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 is the team mascot 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 d...

Boston Mayors of Irish Descent, 1885-2021

(Originally published in 2013, this post was updated in 2021) Here are the Mayors of Boston Claiming Irish Heritage: Hugh O’Brien 1885–88 Patrick Collins 1902–05 John F. Fitzgerald 1906–07, 1910–13 James M. Curley 1914–17, 1922–25, 1930–33, 1946–49 Frederick W. Mansfield 1934–37 Maurice Tobin 1938–41, 1941-44 John Kerrigan 1945 John B. Hynes 1950–59 John Collins 1960–68 Kevin H. White 1968–83 Raymond L. Flynn 1984–93 Martin J. Walsh 2014- 2021 The lineage of Boston mayors with Irish ancestry dates back to 1885, when Irish immigrant Hugh O'Brien of County Cork assumed office and became the first Irish-born mayor elected in Boston, serving four one-year terms (1885-88). O'Brien was followed by Irish-born Patrick Collins (1902-05), also of County Cork, who died in office in 1905. He was replaced by John F. Fitzgerald, who became the first American-born mayor of Irish descent, serving two terms. A noteworthy...

Visit these Public Memorials to John Boyle O'Reilly throughout Massachusetts

Born 180 years ago on June 28, 1844, John Boyle O’Reilly helped shape the history or Ireland and America in the late 19th century in powerful ways. Today, O'Reilly’s stature as a seminal figure in Irish and Irish-American history is particularly evident in his beloved birthplace of Dowth, County Meath; in Freemantle, Australia where he was imprisoned; and indeed, throughout the Irish Diaspora. O'REILLY LANDMARKS IN MASSACHUSETTS O’Reilly remains popular in Boston, New Bedford, Hull and Springfield where there is a selection of memorials and plaques, parks and city squares, library collections and Irish organizations honoring O’Reilly’s memory. In Boston, the John Boyle O’Reilly Memorial at the corner of Boylston Street and The Fens, not far from Fenway Park, was unveiled in 1896 by famed Concord sculptor Daniel French. The Memorial is part of Boston’s Irish Heritage Trail. In Charlestown, O’Reilly lived at 34 Winthrop Street, where there is a plaque in his honor. In 1988 t...

Irish Boston History & Heritage

Search This Blog