Boston's Irish Heritage Trail Features American Revolution War Heroes
During the American Revolution, Irish and Scots-Irish immigrants from New England played a pivotal role in helping to win the Revolutionary War. The Boston Irish Heritage Trail gives a glimpse of these Revolutionary Irish heroes through landmarks on Boston Common, the Massachusetts State House, Granary Burying Ground, Copley Square Park, Bunker Hill Monument and Dorchester Heights.
Many of these landmarks intersect with Boston's Freedom Trail, a unique collection of museums, churches, meeting houses, burying grounds, parks, a ship, and historic markers that tell the story of the American Revolution and beyond.
These are the Revolutionary Irish sites along the Irish Heritage Trail.
Boston Common
A memorial plaque to Commodore John Barry was unveiled along Tremont Street in December, 1949 by Mayor James Michael Curley. Barry was a naval hero in the Revolutionary War. He was commander of the USS Lexington and later chosen by George Washington to create the first U.S. Navy. Barry was born in Tacumshane, County Wexford in 1745, and was a favorite historical figure of President John F. Kennedy, whose family also came from Wexford.
A memorial plaque to Commodore John Barry was unveiled along Tremont Street in December, 1949 by Mayor James Michael Curley. Barry was a naval hero in the Revolutionary War. He was commander of the USS Lexington and later chosen by George Washington to create the first U.S. Navy. Barry was born in Tacumshane, County Wexford in 1745, and was a favorite historical figure of President John F. Kennedy, whose family also came from Wexford.
The Boston Massacre Memorial along Tremont Street was erected in November, 1888 by Irish leader John Boyle O'Reilly and several African-American leaders. At the unveiling, Mayor Hugh O'Brien, the first Irish Catholic elected as Boston mayor, called the Boston Massacre “one of the most important and exciting events that preceded our revolution." O’Reilly read his poem about Crispus Attucks, a mulatto of African and Native American descent, the first man shot.
The Central Burying Ground on Boston Common, established in 1756 to bury 'strangers,' foreigners, indigents, and soldiers, contains the graves of Irish residents from the 18th century, as well as Chinese, Blacks, Indians, and even some British soldiers killed at the Battle of Bunker Hill. This is the only historic burying ground in downtown Boston where you'll see Celtic Crosses, according to the Boston Parks Department's Historic Burying Grounds report.
Massachusetts State House
A portrait of Governor James Sullivan can also be found in the State House, and a number of paintings by first generation Irish-American John S. Copley, including portraits of John Hancock, Samuel Adams and Thomas Gage.
Granary Burying Ground
The Granary Burying Ground, established in 1660, is located on Tremont Street in downtown Boston, about two blocks from City Hall. Largely used in the 18th century to bury Puritan leaders, the Granary Burying Ground has several Irish buried in its grounds.
Among them is James Sullivan (1744-1808), lawyer, orator and governor of Massachusetts. The son of indentured Irish servants from County Limerick and Cork, and the brother of General John Sullivan, James was a delegate to the Continental Congress and governor of Massachusetts in 1807. He was also the first president of the Massachusetts Historical Society.
William Hall (d. 1771), a founder in 1737 of the Charitable Irish Society, the nation’s oldest Irish organization, is buried in the Granary.
Perhaps the most-visited gravesite in the Old Granary belongs to the Boston Massacre victims, which include Irishman Patrick Carr. Described by the Boston Gazette as a leather-breeches-maker, Carr and fellow Irishman Charles Connor heard the shouts on March 5, 1770 and moved toward the scene of the crime, according to Connor’s testimony.
Carr was the last man to be shot. He lingered for several days before dying of his wounds and was buried at the gravesite with the other four martyrs on March 17, 1770. His testimony helped to partially exonerate the soldiers who fired the shots.
William Hall (d. 1771), a founder in 1737 of the Charitable Irish Society, the nation’s oldest Irish organization, is buried in the Granary.
Perhaps the most-visited gravesite in the Old Granary belongs to the Boston Massacre victims, which include Irishman Patrick Carr. Described by the Boston Gazette as a leather-breeches-maker, Carr and fellow Irishman Charles Connor heard the shouts on March 5, 1770 and moved toward the scene of the crime, according to Connor’s testimony.
Carr was the last man to be shot. He lingered for several days before dying of his wounds and was buried at the gravesite with the other four martyrs on March 17, 1770. His testimony helped to partially exonerate the soldiers who fired the shots.
Copley Square Park
John Singleton Copley, America’s first great portrait painter, was the son of two Irish immigrants from County Limerick and County Clare. He was born in Boston in 1737, and by the Revolutionary War had painted the portrait of the town’s leading citizens, British and American alike. Copley Square Park in Boston's Back Bay was named in his honor in 1883. In 2002, the city of Boston unveiled a statue of Copley by artist Lewis Cohen. Copley’s original home on Beacon Street also has a plaque in his honor. The Museum of Fine Arts in Boston has a number of Copley's paintings.
John Singleton Copley, America’s first great portrait painter, was the son of two Irish immigrants from County Limerick and County Clare. He was born in Boston in 1737, and by the Revolutionary War had painted the portrait of the town’s leading citizens, British and American alike. Copley Square Park in Boston's Back Bay was named in his honor in 1883. In 2002, the city of Boston unveiled a statue of Copley by artist Lewis Cohen. Copley’s original home on Beacon Street also has a plaque in his honor. The Museum of Fine Arts in Boston has a number of Copley's paintings.
Bunker Hill Monument
Of the New England militiamen who rushed to Charlestown for the Battle of Bunker Hill in June 1775, nearly 200 were Irish-born, and several hundred more were born of Scots-Irish parents, according to historian Michael J. O'Brien. Among them was Colonel John Stark of New Hampshire, one of the heroes of the day-long conflict, whose Scottish-born father and mother lived in Northern Ireland before immigrating New Hampshire.
Major Andrew McClary of Epsom, New Hampshire, whose parents were Scots-Irish from County Tyrone in Ulster, was killed at the very end of the battle after fighting bravely throughout the day. Also fighting was Captain Ebenezer Sullivan, the brother of James and John Sullivan.
Of the New England militiamen who rushed to Charlestown for the Battle of Bunker Hill in June 1775, nearly 200 were Irish-born, and several hundred more were born of Scots-Irish parents, according to historian Michael J. O'Brien. Among them was Colonel John Stark of New Hampshire, one of the heroes of the day-long conflict, whose Scottish-born father and mother lived in Northern Ireland before immigrating New Hampshire.
Major Andrew McClary of Epsom, New Hampshire, whose parents were Scots-Irish from County Tyrone in Ulster, was killed at the very end of the battle after fighting bravely throughout the day. Also fighting was Captain Ebenezer Sullivan, the brother of James and John Sullivan.
Dorchester Heights Monument
General John Sullivan was part of George Washington's command staff, and helped end the 11 month-long Siege of Boston. The colonial forces put cannons atop Dorchester Heights in March, 1776, aiming them at the British fleet in Boston Harbor, forcing British troops to withdraw from Boston. The password used to enter the fortifications that day was "Boston" and the counter-password was "St. Patrick." Sullivan was the third of five sons born to Owen Sullivan of Limerick and Margery Browne of Cork, both indentured servants from Ireland who settled in New Hampshire.
General John Sullivan was part of George Washington's command staff, and helped end the 11 month-long Siege of Boston. The colonial forces put cannons atop Dorchester Heights in March, 1776, aiming them at the British fleet in Boston Harbor, forcing British troops to withdraw from Boston. The password used to enter the fortifications that day was "Boston" and the counter-password was "St. Patrick." Sullivan was the third of five sons born to Owen Sullivan of Limerick and Margery Browne of Cork, both indentured servants from Ireland who settled in New Hampshire.
It was Henry Knox who masterminded the daring plan to retrieve British cannons captured at Fort Ticonderoga in New York and drag them some 300 miles to Boston in the dead of winter. Knox was the son of Scots-Irish immigrants; his father and uncles were from Coleraine, Londonderry. They were original members of the Charitable Irish Society, formed in 1737 to help Irish newly arrived in Boston, a tradition carried on by the Society today.
You can pick up a free map of the Irish Heritage Trail at the Boston Common Visitor Information Center, in the current issue of Travel & Culture magazine, or download a copy at IrishHeritageTrail.com.
- Research + Text, Michael Quinlin
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