The Boston Common, Filled with Irish-American History

Created in 1634 by the early Puritans, Boston Common is the nation's oldest public park. The 50 acre park has been a staging ground for rallies, protests, marches, speeches, concerts, celebrations and commemorations for nearly 400 years.  

References to the Irish on Boston Common go back to the 17th century, when Ann 'Goody' Glover, an Irish-speaking servant, was hung on the gallows after mistakenly being accused of witchcraft. 

According to Samuel Barber's book, Boston Common, published in 1914,  Irish immigrants from Londonderry, Northern Ireland, set up spinning wheels on the Common in 1730, and "showed great skill in the machine which was worked by the foot. Spinning wheels were brought into the Common and worked by the ‘females of the town’ all vying with each other to attain the greatest speed."

And in 1787, "John Sheehan, a native of Cork, Ireland was executed on the common for committing Burglary in the house of Mr. T. Elliot on the previous June. His behavior at the last was calm and he met his end with composure. He was a Roman Catholic, 24 years old. The Centinel says, ‘except for the burglary for which he suffered, he does not appear by his life, to have been guilty of many atrocious offenses.’"   

Here are five public landmarks on the Common with Irish connections, from an early burying ground meant for Catholics, foreigners and outsiders, to heroes from the Revolutionary and Civil wars, and two significant memorials made by Irish immigrant sculptors in the 19th century. 

Colonel Robert Shaw Memorial

Beacon Hill at Park Street, Boston Common

Boston's most prized work of public art was created by Augustus Saint Gaudens and unveiled on May 31, 1897. It depicts the state's 54th Black Infantry Regiment, composed of 1,000 Black volunteers who fought valiantly in the Civil War with Colonel Robert Gould Shaw. Saint Gaudens spent 14 years completing this masterpiece. 

Born on March 1, 1848 in Dublin, Ireland to a French father and Irish mother, Mary McGuinness of County Longford, the family sailed for Boston when Augustus was six months old, fleeing the Irish Famine. The Shaw Memorial was recently refurbished, and a National Rededication Ceremony took place on June 1, 2022.

Soldiers and Sailors Monument
Flagstaff Hill, Boston Common

Dedicated to "the men of Boston who died in the Civil War," the Soldiers and Sailors Monument was unveiled on September 17, 1877 before 25,000 people, many of them veterans. The memorial was created by Martin Milmore (1844-83) and his brothers, who emigrated from County Sligo to Boston with their widowed mother in 1851. Unlike other war memorials that praised generals and admirals, Milmore's work focused on foot soldiers and sailors. 

The monument is made of white Maine granite, with four bronze figures representing Peace, History, Army and Navy. Atop the statue is a woman representing America. 

Commodore John Barry Memorial
Boston Common, along Tremont Street

Born in County Wexford, John Barry (1745-1803) was a naval hero in the Revolutionary War, winning the first and last battle of the war against the British. George Washington named him to create the first US Navy, and Barry is widely considered the Father of the American Navy.

The memorial by sculptor John Paramino was unveiled by Mayor James M. Curley in 1949. Vandals stole the bronze plaque in the 1970's and it was replaced by a granite stone.  The original plaque was later retrieved by members of the Ancient Order of Hibernians and is now at the Charlestown Navy Yard.

Boston Massacre Memorial
Boston Common along Tremont Street

This monument to the five victims killed by British soldiers on March 5, 1770 was created by sculptor Robert Kraus and unveiled on November 14, 1888. Elite Bostonians opposed the memorial, considering the massacre victims as rabble rousers. But local citizens, including former slave William H. Dupree, Irish leader John Boyle O'Reilly and Mayor Hugh O'Brien, led the memorial effort. O’Reilly recited his poem to massacre victim Crispus Attucks at the dedication. The five victims, including Irishman Patrick Carr, are interred at the Old Granary Burying Ground. 

A medallion of cobblestones near the Old State House marks the spot where the massacre occurred.

Central Burying Grounds
Boston Common along Boylston Street

Established in 1756, Central Burying Ground was Boston's fourth burial grounds, meant for a variety of foreigners, strangers, indigents and soldiers, including Catholics, Freemasons and British soldiers who died during the Revolutionary War. This is the city's only historical burying ground with Celtic crosses carved into the slate headstones, notes the Boston Parks Department. Among the Irish immigrants are George Vaughn, native of Ireland (1801), Thomas Sheridan of Dublin (1806), John Quinn of Wexford (1808) and James Landrigan of Tipperary (1807). 

The cemetery is locked to protect it, but visitors can readily see the tombstones and grounds through the wrought-iron fencing. 

For more information on the Boston Irish Heritage Trail, pick up a free copy of the map at the Visitors Information Center on Boston Common along Tremont Street, or download a copy of the map here.