Irish Boston History & Heritage

On July 4, 1892, a massive hurling match took place on Boston Common, between the Shamrock hurling club of Boston and the William O'Brien club of Cambridge.  The winner received a $100 purse. Estimates varied from 10,000 to 20,00 spectators, according to Boston newspapers.  A detail of 100 patrolmen , including a lieutenant and four sergeants, were on-site for crowd control and to keep the pitch clear.  The game was set to begin at 7 a.m. but did not get underway until 8:15 a.m. Prior to the game, the William O'Brien Club entered a protest saying there were several ringers from Lynn playing for the Shamrocks.  In the end, the William O'Briens defeated the Shamrocks by a score of 2-1.   A few days after the match, on July 7, The Boston Globe   reported , "The members of the Shamrock Hurling Club still believe they superior players to the William O' Briens, who defeated them on the Common on July 4. and they challenge them or any hurling club in Massachusetts...

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...