Boston's Purple Shamrock, James Michael Curley, died on November 12, 1958

Twin Curley statues at Union Park on Congress Street, Boston

James Michael Curley, the larger-than-life political figure who dominated Boston and Massachusetts politics for half a century, died on November 12, 1958.

Over 100,000 people passed by his coffin at the Hall of Flags in the Massachusetts State House, according to a story in The Boston Globe.

“The rich and the humble, Democrats and Republicans, bared the depth of their tribune in whispered prayers and unrestrained tears,” wrote the Globe.

Then a final process drove Curley's body through the streets of Boston and then to Holy Cross Cathedral in the South End, where his son, Reverend Francis S. Curley, S.J., celebrated mass along with Richard Cardinal Cushing of South Boston.

Curley is buried the Old Calvary Cemetery in Boston.

Born on November 20, 1874 on Northampton Street in Roxbury, Curley's political career was unparalleled. Curley served four four-year terms as mayor of Boston, in 1914, 1922, 1930 and 1946. He was Governor of Massachusetts from 1935-37, and also served as US Congressman from 1911-14.

Curley got the nickname Purple Shamrock from his biographer, Joseph F. Dineen, author of The Purple Shamrock: The Hon. James Michael Curley of Boston, who noted that purple represented Curley's royal mannerisms and the shamrock represented his Irish ancestry.

Ray Flynn, former mayor of Boston and US Ambassador to the Vatican, praised Curley for "helping the poor and needy of Boston." Read Flynn's column on Curley in The Boston Herald.

Mayor Marty Walsh now uses the original desk of Mayor Curley in his office on the 5th floor of Boston City Hall. "It's about history," Walsh told the Globe.

The City of Boston Archives has a significant Mayor James M. Curley Collection of Curley's political papers and materials, including correspondence, scrapbooks, speeches, writings and other memorabilia.

In 1980, twin bronze statues of James M. Curley, created by artist Lloyd Lillie, were unveiled by Mayor Kevin White along Congress Street in front of Boston City Hall.

Find out more about Boston's Irish history at IrishHeritageTrail.com.

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