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Landmarks Honoring Legendary Massachusetts Politician Thomas 'Tip' O'Neill in Boston, Cambridge, Cape Cod and Donegal

 

Tip O'Neill Bust in Buncrana, photo courtesy of Visit Donegal

Legendary politician Thomas P. 'Tip' O’Neill, one of the most impactful politicians of American politics in the 20th century, died on January 5, 1994 at his home in Harwichport, Cape Cod.  He was 81.

Born in North Cambridge on December 9, 1912, he was the son of Thomas Philip O'Neill, Sr. and Rose Ann Tolan. His grandfather, from Mallow, County Cork, had emigrated to Massachusetts in the 1840s during the Irish Famine. 

O’Neill based his entire political career on the mantra, ‘All Politics is Local,’ a phrase that bespoke the need for politicians to communicate directly with constituents and to serve the people rather than oneself. 

He entered the Massachusetts state Legislature in 1936 and in 1952 was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives, winning the seat held by John F. Kennedy. He became the 47th Speaker of the House in 1977 and held the post until 1987 when he retired. 

In the 1970s through the 1990s, O'Neill was also heavily engaged in the Northern Ireland Troubles, and worked hard to mediate the Irish policy disagreements between the United States and Great Britain. 

His political memoir, Man of the House, is an engaging and honest account of his life, filled with rich anecdotes and witty stories. 

A number of landmarks in Boston and Cambridge are named in honor of Congressman O'Neill, including: 

The Thomas P. ‘Tip’ O’Neill Federal Building, an administrative center for the U.S. government located in Boston’s West End, which opened in 1986. 

The Thomas P. ‘Tip’ O’Neill Library at Boston College, dedicated in 1984. BC also has an online exhibit and a photo archives devoted to Tip O’Neill, who graduated from Boston College in 1936. 

The John J. Burns Library at BC holds the Tip O'Neil Congressional Papers (1936-1994).

The Thomas P. ‘Tip’ O’Neill Tunnel, a 1.5 mile underground roadway from the Lenny Zakim Bridge to Kneeland Street in Boston. Opened in 2003, the tunnel was the finishing piece of the Big Dig, a massive public works project for which O’Neill helped to get funding for in congress. 


A plaque to Tip O'Neill was unveiled in 2008  in a park at 139 Causeway Street, near Lovejoy Wharf, in Boston's West End. 

Courtesy of Cambridge Public Library

A mural to Tip O'Neill was unveiled on December 9, 2012 at the Mildred Anne O'Neill Branch of the Cambridge Public Library, located at 70 Rindge Avenue in North Cambridge. The mural was designed and painted by David Fichter and Joshua Winer to celebrate the centenary of Tip’s birth in 1912. 


Courtesy of Tip O'Neill Diaspora Awards

In Donegal, home of O'Neill's maternal grandparents, local family and friends commissioned a bronze bust of Tip on the shorefront of Buncrana, Inishowen Peninsula.  And each year, the town hosts the annual Tip O'Neill Diaspora Awards, recognizing individuals for outstanding contributions to society, arts and culture, business ad healthcare. 


Congressman O’Neill passed away on January 5, 1994 at his home in Harwichport, Cape Cod. He is buried nearby at Mt. Pleasant Cemetery. A plaque in his honor is at the corner of Main Street and Snow Inn Street in Harwichport.

 Learn more about Irish-themed landmarks, statues and memorials in greater Boston by visiting Irishheritagetrail.com.

Text + Research, Michael Quinlin


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