Irish Boston History & Heritage

The Gaelic Athletic Association in Boston held it first reunion, reception and ball at Hibernian Hall in Dudley Square, Roxbury, on Monday April 17, 1922.  According to The Boston Globe, the association in Boston was 'composed of eight Gaelic football clubs and eight hurling teams which have done much to promote Irish athletic games in greater Boston and which have won several championships." Trophies, cups, prizes and shields won by the teams were on display at Hibernian Hall.  A concert of Irish and American airs was planned, followed by Irish dancing in one hall and modern dancing in another.  During this time, the GAA was playing at several facilities around Boston, including: North Brighton Playground, Sullivan Square Grounds in Charlestown and the South End Grounds at the corner of Columbus Ave and Walpole Street in Boston, also referred to as old National League Grounds where the Boston Braves once played baseball. Today, the Boston/Northeast GAA Division is based ...

On Monday, April 18, 1949,  Ireland  officially became the  Republic  of  Ireland  and severed its ties to the  British Commonwealth .  But the six counties known as Northern Ireland remained part of Great Britain.  The previous December 1948, the Irish Parliament passed the Republic of Ireland Act, in tandem with the British Nationality Act, declaring that “People born in Eire in the future will be  Eire  subjects and not British subjects.” In Dublin, 200,000 people jammed onto O'Connell Street to celebrate the new Republic, noted  The Boston Globe , writing, "The choice of Easter Monday for Independence Day and the O'Connell Bridge to glorify it were tied up in the little state's colorful past."  The  Globe  added that "The celebration was marred only by the opposition of Eamon deValera's Fianna Fail Party, which holds that there can be no republic as long as the partition of north and south Ireland continues."...

On April 15, 1861,  threes days after the attack on Ft. Sumter in Charleston, South Carolina, by Rebel forces,  President Abraham Lincoln issued a proclamation seeking 75,000 volunteers to join the Union Army.   Two  days later, the  Boston Evening Transcript  reported, "Upon the application of several prominent adopted citizens, Governor John Andrew empowered Dr. T.R Smith to raise an Irish regiment of 1,000 men. A large number have already volunteered." Irish immigrant  Thomas Cass   of Boston's North End began recruiting Irish immigrants to form the Massachusetts 9th regiment.  The volunteers came largely from Boston and the nearby towns of Salem, Milford, Marlboro and Stoughton. A total of 1,727 men enlisted. The Irish volunteers encamped on Long Island in Boston Harbor through May, and on June 11 the Regiment was mustered into service. The 9th enjoyed a big send-off on  June 25, 1861 , when the troops made their way from Long I...

Cove of Cork painting, circa 1856 On this day in history, April 12, 1847, the   USS Jamestown  arrived at the  Harbor in Cork,  bringing  food, medical supplies and clothing to the people of Ireland during the height of the Irish Famine.  It anchored at the lighthouse in the outer harbor at White Bay, exactly 15 days and three hours after leaving the Charlestown Navy Yard. The journey was headed by  Captain Robert Bennet Forbes , a wealth China trade merchant from Milton, MA, who had left Charlestown on March 28, 1847 with a crew of 38 men and 800 tons of supplies. The fifteen day voyage faced foul weather and a blend of rain, sleet, wind and fog requisite for that time of year, but finally, they arrived in Queenstown Harbor. Henry Lee's book,  Massachusetts Helps to Ireland During the Great Famine , gives a masterful account of this extraordinary episode in Boston's history. "Contributions of food continued to arrive from all over New E...

Fenway Park in Boston has many pleasant associations with the Irish-American community over the past 110 years since it officially opened in 1912.   The park was built by   Charles E. Logue , a renowned builder who immigrated from County Derry, Ireland to Boston in 1881 at the age of 23.  He founded a successful company that built many of the city's schools, hospitals and college campuses over the next four decades. His company, now called   Logue Engineering ,  is still in operation five generations later. The architect for Fenway Park was  James E. McLaughlin , who was born in Nova Scotia to a Canadian father and Ireland-born mother, Mary Mulcahy, born in Ireland.  The family emigrated to Boston in 1885. McLaughlin designed other famous buildings, such as the Boston Latin School and the Police Station on D Street in South Boston. On opening day, April 20, 1912, Boston Mayor John 'Honey Fitz' Fitzgerald threw out the first ceremonial ball from t...