Irish Boston History & Heritage

The  Color Bearer Civil War Monument in Pittsfield, MA Irish-born Launt Thompson (1833-1894) was a consequential American sculptor of the 19th century whose monuments of the Civil War and classical themes were hailed during his lifetime.  Born in Abbeyleix, County Laois, Ireland in 1833, he emigrated in 1847 with his widowed mother and settled near Albany, New York.  Like the other Irish sculptors such as Martin Milmore, Thompson had a remarkable natural talent for drawing and visualization, which was noticed early when he was working in the office of an anatomy professor. "He was endowed with an intuitive grasp of the sculptural side of things, and with an artistic conscience," wrote Lorado Taft in his influential book, The History of American Sculpture. Thompson received several Civil War commissions, including The Color Bearer, which honors the fallen soldiers of Pittsfield, Massachusetts.   The 10.25' high bronze sculpture of a Civil War color sergeant is standin...

The fountain today, Photo Credit:  Fairmont Park Horticultural Cente r Margaret F. Foley (1827-1877) was a highly-praised 19th century cameo artist and sculptor, who lived in Vermont, Lowell and Boston, Massachusetts before moving to Rome, Italy where she spent the final 17 years of her life. She was widely known for her exquisite and intricate cameos of leading personages from singer Jenny Lind and poet Henry Longfellow to Senator Charles Sumner and Julia Ward Howe. She was born in Dorset, Vermont to a working class family and lived in the town of Vergennes near Middlebury College. Her father was a farm hand, and she worked as a maid, then taught art at a local grammar school. At age 14, she moved to Lowell, Massachusetts to work in the spinning mills, where she continued carving cameos. According to a story in the Boston Evening Transcript, "One day the overseer, Walter Wright, discovered her whittling an acorn out of chalk. He stopped and asked where her model was. "In m...

  The debut of Ireland's renowned Abbey Theatre took place on September 23, 1911 at the Plymouth Theatre in Boston, with three plays, "The Shadow of the Glen" by J. M. Synge,"Birthright" by T. C. Murray  and "Hyacinth Halvey" by Lady Gregory. The theatre group was embarking on a six-month North American tour to promote the new Irish National Theatre of William B. Yeats, Lady Gregory and others.  The Boston Evening Transcript  framed the historic occasion this way, "Mr. Yeats, Lady Gregory and the players of the Irish National Theatre will land in Boston for their first visit to America, for their first outside the British Isles, for their first lengthy absence in the season from their own house in Dublin....at the opening of the new Plymouth Theatre, they will act for the first time on this side of thr Atlantic."  "Yeats, the Irish poet and dramatist, and Lenox Robinson, manager of the Abbey Theatre, Dublin, and the author of several co...

Photo Credit: Digital Commonwealth For the second time in a decade, a resplendent bronze statue honoring Irish-born Civil War Colonel Thomas Cass was unveiled on the Public Garden in Boston on September 22, 1899. Cass was commander of the 9th Irish Regiment, and died in July 1862 from wounds at Malvern Hill, VA. An Illustration of the new statue appeared in The Boston Globe Several thousand people attended the unveiling, including Boston Mayor Josiah Quincy along with Mrs. C. B. Craib, the daughter of Colonel Cass, who unveiled the statue to great applause. Major Daniel G McNamara, a member of the 9th who served with Cass in the 9th Regiment, was the orator for the day. The bronze statue by sculptor Richard Edwin Brooks was hailed as a brilliant and fitting depicting of Cass, a larger-than-life leader who was beloved by his men. Mayor Quincy called the sculpture "a work of art as well as a memorial to the brave colonel, and must be considered by all as such." The statue, Qui...

  Photo Credit: National Park Service/ Nathan King On Saturday, September 20, 1924, the Nuns of the Battlefield Memorial was unveiled in Washington, DC before thousands of people who attended the ceremony from around the nation. The monument is listed on the National Mall and Memorial Parks of the National Park Service  The memorial honors the Catholic nuns who worked in the battlefields and on floating ships during the Civil War to aid wounded and dying soldiers regardless of what side the fought on. By the time it was unveiled in 1924, the memorial was also relevant to those caregivers who served during World War I. The 12 orders of nuns represented on the relief include Sisters of St. Joseph, Carmelites, Dominican Order, Ursulines, Sisters of the Holy Cross, Poor Sisters of St. Francis, Sisters of Mercy, Congregation of the Sisters of Our Lady of Mercy, Daughters of Charity of St. Vincent de Paul, Sisters of Charity of Nazareth, Sisters of Providence of Saint Mary-of-the-...

Myles Standish Monument in Duxbury, MA Dublin-born sculptor  Stephen J. O'Kelly  (1850-98) was a successful artist in late 19th century United States, creating several important memorials that still stand today.  Born in Dublin, he studied art in Paris and opened a studio in London before immigrating to Boston, where he lived for much of his adult life. He had Roscommon roots, and his brother, J. J. O'Kelly, was a Member of Parliament representing County Roscommon.   The most prominent is the  14-foot statue of Pilgrim leader  Myles Standish , which sits atop a 116 foot monument on top of Captain's Hill in South Duxbury, one of the distinctive landmarks along the seacoast South of Boston.   Standish, who landed aboard the Mayflower in 1620, is depicted in the statue holding  the Plymouth Colony charter as he gazes across the Bay.   S hortly before his death in 1898,  O'Kelly created the plaster model of the Standish statue, which was car...

  Worcester Celtic Cross in Summer, 2024. Photo credit: Devin Quinlin On Sunday, September 18, 1977, the Irish community of Worcester and Central Massachusetts unveiled a 15 foot Celtic Cross at City Hall, to mark the 150th anniversary of the Irish settlement in Worcester, which took place in 1826. A  series of events took place the weekend of September 16-18, starting with a Memorial Ball on Friday night at the Sheraton Lincoln Inn, featuring the Paddy Noonan Irish Dance Band of New York. On Saturday, a Memorial Mass was held at St. John's Church on Temple Street, with principal celebrant Bernard J. Flanagan, Bishop of Worcester, and Reverend Edward T. Connors.  Music was provided by the Blessed Sacrament Church Choir and the Worcester State College Community Orchestra.  Program Book for the September 18, 1977 Celtic Cross Unveiling At the dedication ceremony on Sunday, an Irish Dance exhibition started the proceedings with the Jug of Punch folk group, then an invoc...

Photo courtesy of PEI Cobb Freed and Partners Located along the Seaport District on Fan Pier and situated along Boston Harborwalk , the John Joseph Moakley United States Courthouse is a tribute to South Boston native Joe Moakley, who represented his neighborhood and district as a state representative, state senator, Boston City Councilor and U.S. Congressman for 48 years.   The Moakley Courthouse is part of Boston's Irish Heritage Trail , an exploration of landmarks in Boston and its neighborhoods that help illustrate the distinguished history of the Boston Irish. Born in South Boston on April 27, 1927 to parents Joe and Mary Moakley, he grew up in an Irish-Italian blue-collar household. At age 15, Moakley altered his birth certificate to enlist in the U.S. Navy and served as a Seabee in the Pacific theater during World War II.  In 1957, Joe married the love of his life, Evelyn Duffy of Cambridge. After the war, Joe chose to enter politics and between 1953 and 1972 he ser...

  Boston City officials chose September 17, 1877 for the grand unveiling of the Soldiers and Sailors Monument on Flagstaff Hill on Boston Common, because it was a date rich with historical meaning. Boston was first settled on September 17, 1630. The US Constitution was adopted on September 17, 1789 and the Civil War Battle of Antietam was fought on September 17 1862. Sculptor Martin Milmore spent 4 1/2 years working on the monument in Rome, Italy, and shipped back portions of the memorial as they were completed. Courtesy of Boston Atheaeum At the center of the Soldiers and Sailors Monument is a 70-foot Roman-Doric column, holding five colossal bronze and four alto relief granite statues, four bas reliefs in bronze, four decorative American eagles and wreaths. An 11-foot female figure representing the ‘Genius of America’ sits atop the column, holding in her hands a folded American flag, the hilt of a sword and two laurel wreaths. On her head is a liberty cap, studded with 13 st...

  Courtesy of Irish America Magazine   Ireland's world-renowned tenor John McCormack, who entertained millions of people around the globe with his brilliant voice and authentic rendition of Irish music, died on September 16, 1945 in Dublin. He was born in Althone, County Westmeath, on June 14, 1884, McCormack. "He studied in Dublin and Milan and his career reached its height in the U.S. where he became a household name. Although an Irish tenor, McCormack preferred an operatic career. In America, following WWI, McCormack sang “The Battle Hymn of the Republic” and “The Star Spangled Banner” for President Wilson," according to Irish America Magazine. McCormack’s arrival on the music scene helped to increase the popularity of Irish melodies in the United States, especially the works of Irish composers such as Thomas Moore and Samuel Lover. McCormack also added credibility to Irish-American songsters like Chauncey Olcott and Ernest Ball, who co-wrote McCormack’s first hit “Mo...

American naval hero of the Revolutionary War,  Commodore John Barry  died on September 13, 1803.  He is buried at Old Saint Mary's Cemetery in Philadelphia, PA.  Considered one of the true military heroes of the American Revolution,   Barry was born in Tacumshane, County Wexford on March 25, 1745.   At age 15, he emigrated to Philadelphia in 1760, and joined the American forces at the outbreak of the war.  Barry's ship, the Lexington, was the first to capture a British vessel under the American flag.  During much of the war, Barry commanded ships out of Boston Harbor, including the Delaware and the Alliance.  After the war,  President George Washington  assigned Barry to help create the United States Navy.   Barry settled in Philadelphia  and died there at age 59. He is buried at St. Mary's Churchyard on S. Fourth Street. John Barry Plaque on Boston Common Though Boston's Irish-American, naval veterans and local ...

  Frontispiece  Thomas Mooney of Dublin, a writer, lecturer, historian self-published a 1,7000 page book,  A History of Ireland From its first Settlement to the Present Time.   The sweeping study included chapters on Literature, Music, Architecture and Natural Resources, 200 biographical sketches of famous men, and 88 Irish melodies that included both musical notations and lyrics. The book was self-published in Boston in 1845 in two volumes, and was available for purchase from Patrick Donoghue, publisher of The Boston Pilot and in similar outlets in Providence, New York, Troy, Buffalo, Philadelphia, Baltimore, Washington DC. and Savannah.   Mooney had come to Boston in 1841 and was a welcomed speaker at the Boston Repeal Association and other local organizations.  "The cause of Repeal is the cause of truth and justice in Ireland," he said on his lecture tour. The Boston Post wrote that he  “appeared to striking advantage in the repeal unifor...

Courtesy of Eire Society of Boston The very first symphony composed by an American woman was called Gaelic Symphony, Opus 32, a beautiful piece of music that evoked centuries of Ireland's ancient music.  It was written by pianist Amy Marcy Cheney Beach, who was born in Henniker, New Hampshire on September 5, 1867. Gaelic Symphony premiered on October 30, 1896 at Boston Music Hall, and was performed by the Boston Symphony Orchestra. The musical composition instantly received critical acclaim, and was quickly sought by premier orchestras around the country, in Pittsburgh, Washington, Kansas City and Chicago.   Though mainly of Yankee stock - a distant relative, John Marcy, emigrated from Limerick to New England in the 17th century - Beach said she was drawn to the simple beauty of Irish melodies, according to the late George E. Ryan of the Eire Society of Boston, who wrote about Beach in the 1992 Eire Society Bulletin. Courtesy of Fans of Amy Beach Amy herself wrote, "I can...