Charles River Esplanade Honors Two Boston Irish Politicians, David I. Walsh and Maurice Tobin, at the Hatch Shell
On the Charles River Esplanade running alongside Beacon Hill and Back Bay along the Boston side of the river is the famous Hatch Memorial Shell, the site of the free annual Boston Pops Concert & Fireworks Spectacular held each year on July 4, Independence Day. The Boston Pops is led by maestro Keith Lockhart. There are two statues in front of the Hatch Shell that pay tribute to Boston Irish politicians in the 20th century who each made notable contributions to Massachusetts. David I. Walsh (1872-1947) was the first Irish Catholic elected as Governor of Massachusetts, where he served from 1914-1916. Prior to that, he was Lieutenant Governor in1913-14. A native of Clinton, Walsh was best known as an “ardent supporter of women’s suffrage and fought hard for a voting-rights amendment to the state constitution,” according to historian Thomas H. O’Connor. In 1918 Walsh won a Senate seat, becoming the state's first Irish Catholic to win, as well as...