Irish Boston History & Heritage

  Twin Statues of James Michael Curley on Union Street, across from Boston City Hall  James Michael Curley, known as the Purple Shamrock, the Rascal King and the Mayor of the Poor, died on November 12, 1958 from pneumonia. Over 100,000 people passed by his coffin in the Hall of Flags at the Massachusetts State House to pay their respects. A dominant figure in Boston and Massachusetts politics for half a century, 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 served as US Congressman from 1911-14. He was born on November 20, 1874 on Northampton Street in Roxbury to Irish immigrant parents Michael Curley and Sarah Clancy from County Galway. In his autobiography, I'd Do It Again, published in 1957 by Prentice Hall Publishers, Curley conveys his humble beginnings and his rise to fame. "The Clancys and the Curleys, joined the Galway colony in Roxbury, formerly known as The Highlands," he...

Thomas Mooney of Dublin, a writer, lecturer, historian self-published a 1,700 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  Boston Pilot  reported that the first edition of 'A History of Ireland' was to be distributed to subscribers on Monday November 10, 1845 at the Odeon on Franklin Street, opposite Holy Cross Church, where "a concert would be performed of music in the book by the best melodists of Boston." 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 u...

In fall, 2011, esteemed Irish poet William Butler Years and fellow writer Lady Gregory came to the United States to promote Ireland's new theater movement with the Irish Players of the Abbey Theatre in Dublin, where they performed in 30 venues from September through November.   As part of its tour, the Irish Players performed at the Court Square Theater in Springfield, MA on Thursday, November 9, 1911.  The plays included "Kathleen Ni Houlihan,' by William Butler Keats, "The Building Fund" by William Boyle and "The Rising of the Moon' by Lady Gregory. On the previous day, November 8, the Irish Players performed two shows at the Northampton Academy of Music, a matinee and evening performance.  "The company has been in the United States for the past six weeks, five of them in Boston, where crities and public were fascinated by the art of the dramatists, but more by the singularly simple and effective acting of the players," wrote the Springfiel...

  In one of his final acts as mayor of Boston, James Michael Curley dedicated a bronze memorial on Boston Common to Revolutionary War hero Commodore John Barry, on Sunday, October 16, 1949. He was joined at the unveiling by Joseph Shields, Irish consul; John E. Hurley, state treasurer; Captain C. E. Kelly of the U.s.Navy; and John J. Foley, president of the Central Council of Irish County Clubs. Barry, a naval hero of the Revolutionary War, was born in Tacumshane, County Wexford in 1745, and was a long-standing favorite historical figure of Irish-Americans across the United States. The idea for the Barry memorial in Boston was first announced by the Central Council of Irish County Clubs on September 23, 1945, at the city’s annual Barry Day banquet at the Copley Plaza Hotel commemorating the bicentennary of Barry’s birth in Wexford. Four years later, at the Charitable Irish Society annual dinner on March 17, 1949, Mayor James Michael Curley vowed to build a memorial to Barry in ...

On October 14, 1869, the Town of Woburn MA dedicated its Civil War Soldiers Monument in the center of town, complete "with appropriate and imposing ceremonies," including some 1,600 school children marching in a procession, led by Governor William Clafin and other dignitaries, military heroes, town officials, fire departments and temperance associations. The bronze figure was created by 25 year old Irish-born sculptor Martin Milmore, who was quickly gaining faming as a young artist for his series of Civil War statues and monument, as well as three classical figures for the prestigious Massachusetts Horticultural Society Building on Tremont Street. Prior to the unveiling, the Boston Evening Transcript described the monument: "The statue is in bronze, and is designed and moulded be Martin Milmore. It is eight feet high, and represented a soldier standing at ease. It is considered one of the best specimens of a soldier yet cast in bronze. The granite has been elegantly ...

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 designer in the newspaper business, to come up with the famous Celtics logo in the early 1950s. The logo mana...

The USS Constitution, lovingly referred to as 'Old Ironsides,' returned to Boston on the morning of September 21, 1897, a month before the 100th anniversary of her launch on October 21, 1797. The Boston Globe reported that the ship reached the Boston Lighthouse at 6:30 a.m., and "by 8:30 a.m. the Constitution was at her berth at the navy yard, where she was docked with some difficulty owing to the wind, which was blowing off the pier." The Globe continued, "Now that the Constitution is at the navy yard, the public may see all of her they care to, as she will be open to visitors after today. Already there are hundreds ready to visit her from the immediate vicinity of the navy yard. No ship ever came into port that aroused so much patriotic interest as she. Every schoolboy knows her history." The legendary ship's 83-year career included 33 captures during the War of 1812 and voyages around the world, according to historian Margherita Desy  of the USS Const...

Guide to the Boston Irish,  an innovative compendium of all things Irish in greater Boston, was first published in summer 1985 by Quinlin Campbell Publishers, a Boston-based company that had been importing books from Ireland since 1979.   The 88 page book contained descriptions and contact information for more than 250 Irish cultural and heritage groups as well as musicians and dancers, educational classes and Irish library collections, pubs and restaurants, gift shops and travel agencies, parades and festivals, sports and language groups, and travel contacts for visiting Ireland.  In addition to greater Boston, the Guide also had listings for Cape Cod and Rhode Island, Western Massachusetts and Southern New Hampshire. It was sold in bookstores and retail shops, and used as a directory of the area's large Irish and Irish-American community.  Boston Mayor Raymond L. Flynn wrote the book's Introduction, and called it "an invaluable resource for those who want to learn ...

One of the most accomplished Irish-Americans of New England's colonial era was James Sullivan (1744-1808), a heralded lawyer, orator and statesman, who served as both Attorney General, from 1790 to 1807 and was Governor of Massachusetts for two one-year terms in 1807 and 1808. Born in Berwick, Maine on April 22, 1744, James was the fourth of five sons born to Owen Sullivan of Limerick and Margery Browne of Cork, who both indentured servants from Ireland. James and his brothers were home-schooled by their father, who had been a teacher in Ireland and spoke numerous languages. Sullivan worked for and studied law in his brother’s legal firm, and later served as a justice for the Massachusetts Supreme Court from 1776 to 1782, as well as serving as a probate judge for Suffolk County from 1788 to 1790. According to the National Governors Association , Sullivan entered into a political career in 1774, serving as a member of the Provincial Congress of Massachusetts, a position he held un...

Two months after Jeremiah O'Brien committed the "first act of colonial piracy" by capturing the British cutter Margaretta on June 12, 1775 in Machias Bay, Maine,  the Massachusetts House of Representatives  appointed O'Brien as "Commander of the armed schooner Diligent and the sloop Machias Liberty , now lying in the harbor of Machias, fixed for the purpose of guarding the seacoast," according to records at the Massachusetts Archives . O'Brien, along with his four brothers and fellow townsmen, had led an attack on the British cutter  Margaretta  on June 12, 1775 in  Machias , Maine , defeating the British crew and taking its munitions as bounty.  Maine was part of the Massachusetts Colony until 1820.  The Massachusetts House of Representatives—functioning as a wartime legislature known as the Provincial Congress—met in Watertown, Massachusetts on August 23, 1775 and agreed to pay O'Brien "the sum of 160 pounds lawful money in this colony, for...

  On April 21, 1986, city officials led by Boston Mayor Ray Flynn and Veterans Services Director Tom Lyons, along with Henry Lee of the Friends of the Public Garden and members of the Paget family, placed this plaque on the bridge crossing the lagoon on the Public Garden , in memory of Charlestown native Second Lieutenant Michael Patrick Quinn, a US Marine who was killed in action in Vietnam on August 29,1969. Quinn worked summers on the swan boats on the Public Garden lagoon. He graduated from Boston Latin School in 1964 and attended Holy Cross College in Worcester. Read more about Lt. Quinn, who was awarded a Purple Heart, on the Wall of Faces . Marine Corps General Chris Mahoney, center and South Boston's Tommy Lyons On August 21, 2025, South Boston marine veteran Tommy Lyons invited Marine Corps General Chris Mahoney to view the Quinn plaque as part of the U.S. Marine Corps 250th anniversary celebration in Boston.  The Michael Patrick Quinn plaque, along with the Swan Bo...

  Photo courtesy of patriots.com Congratulations to legendary quarterback Tom Brady, whose larger-than-life  bronze statue  was unveiled on August 8, 2025 at  Gillette Stadium  in  Foxborough, MA , where Brady led the  New England Patriots  to six Super Bowl titles and 17 division championships in his 20 years here. Brady attended the unveiling ceremony with his parents, Tom Brady, Sr. and  Galynn , sisters and three children, and they were joined by team owner  Robert K. Kraft , former teammates, and thousands of enthusiastic fans who came out to honor their football hero. Sculptor  Jeff Buccacio  working on the Tom Brady statue Sculptor Jeff Buccacio and his team of artisans and technicians spent more than 20,000 hours on the  Tom Brady project  as they sought to create “a timeless and iconic representation of a legendary player.”  Buccacio said the Patriots provided him with “a selection of photographs to use ...

Twenty-five years ago this summer, the newly formed Boston Irish Tourism Association (BITA) launched an advertising campaign to promote Irish culture and heritage in Massachusetts to the visitor industry.  The goal was to form a coalition of local travel and tourism groups, hospitality entities such as hotels and restaurants, and cultural venues including museums, concert halls, festivals, cultural venues and universities, to brand Massachusetts as The Capital of Irish America.  The Association printed 50,000 copies of a full color, oversized brochure that featured cultural events, festivals, tall ships and other summer festivities, plus information on local Irish organizations, gift shops, museums and heritage sites.   It was distributed at hundreds of visitor and cultural outlets in New England and sent to national media, travel agencies and cultural venues across North America.  The campaign was supported with a grant from the Massachusetts Office of Travel & ...

The National Peace Jubilee, a gigantic music celebration of peace after the American Civil War, took place in Boston on June 15-19, 1869. The event was organized by Patrick S. Gilmore, celebrated cornetist and bandleader who emigrated from Ballygar, Galway to Boston in 1849.   Over 1,000 musicians and 10,000 vocalists participated in the National Peace Jubilee inside of a giant coliseum built especially for the festival.  The building itself measured 500 x 300 feet, with a height of 86 feet.  There were 12 entrances, each 24 feet wide, to accommodate the 50,000 people who attended each day.  According to newspaper accounts, two million feet of timber was used to build the stadium, and 20 tons of iron nails, bolts and bars. The coliseum was originally sought for Boston Common, but strong opposition from local residents and city leaders prevented it.  Instead it moved to the Back Bay near where Trinity Church and the Prudential Building stand today. Among...