The spirit of John Joe Somers lives on in Boston’s pubs

By Dan Sheehan, Special to the BIR
October 3, 2017
Dan Sheehan, Special to the BIR

I’m new to Boston. I moved here at the beginning of September from a small town in western Connecticut. I’ve always had familial roots in the area, so I’m somewhat familiar with the city. But I feel a new level of appreciation for the spirit of the town and its people, as well as its deep connections to Ireland, after spending a few hours at Hennessy’s Pub for the celebration of the second annual John Joe Somers Day.

Colin Kadis: Accordionist on the make who is fully invested in the local Irish music scene

By Sean Smith, Special to the BIR
October 3, 2017
Sean Smith, Special to the BIR

Newton native Colin Kadis may look like your average, happy-go-lucky, unassuming college freshman. As his friends will tell you, however, he’s about as serious an Irish musician as there is: Someone who doesn’t just play the notes but who is a dedicated student of the tradition, and willing to take on leadership in the local Irish music community.

Bringing history to life with a flair for the dramatic

By R.J. Donovan, Special to the BIR
October 3, 2017
R.J. Donovan, Special to the BIR

Evan O’Brien is a man steeped in history. As creative director of the award-winning Boston Tea Party Ships & Museum, he manages the creation and maintenance of all exhibits, programming, tour scripting and special events for the museum. He also oversees the direction and hiring of all the actors and interpreters who bring the unique museum experience to life.

Putting rebel monuments in perspective

By James Dolan, Special to the BIR
October 3, 2017
James Dolan, Special to the BIR

I have mixed feelings about the movement to eliminate Confederate monuments. How do we preserve our history without denying it? Can we honor the often gallant yet imperfect, misguided souls who believed they were right. While it’s true that the leaders of the rebellion were traitors and slaveholders, the rank-and-file troops for the most part owned no slaves and were responding to the “patriotic” appeal of the Southern power structure to protect their states from a Northern invasion.

God bless mighty West Cork

By Joe Leary, Special to the BIR
October 3, 2017
Joe Leary, Special to the BIR

Every county in Ireland has its dedicated followers. For me, the western part of Co. Cork is special. Not only have I spent a great deal of time there, but I can also trace my family roots to Inchigeelagh and Tracton Abbey, both in West Cork. My great-grandfather immigrated from Inchigeelagh.

Taking in Dublin, appreciating Vermeer

Ed Forry
By Ed Forry
October 3, 2017

It was a ten-day sojourn to Ireland last month, taking the late evening Aer Lingus flight out of Logan on Friday night, just as Labor Day weekend began. The plane arrived at Dublin Airport at 9 on Saturday morning, the first stop on a journey that would wind its way down the southeast coast of the island, spending one or two nights in Wicklow, Wexford, Cork, and Galway, and seeing the sights in Waterford, Tipperary, and Clare. It was a memorable vacation, and I was delighted to visit parts of the country that for me had remained unexplored.

BC High senior helped resuscitate man who had OD’d at Town Field

By Dan Sheehan
October 3, 2017
Dan Sheehan

Students at Dorchester’s Boston College High School are taught early on that they should strive to “be an upstander, not a bystander.” Ryan McWade, a senior at the Jesuit school, took that core tenet to heart last month when, acting quickly and boldly, he helped to save the life of a man who was overdosing from an opioid at Town Field in Dorchester.

Bringing family histories to life in the present

By Maureen Forry-Sorrell
October 3, 2017
Maureen Forry-Sorrell

Last month, the Maine Irish Gaeltacht DNA project joined up with the Irish Cultural Center of New England (ICCNE) for a workshop focusing on DNA testing and the ways in which it can connect us all with our past and our future. The information they shared with workshop participants offered a fascinating look at the study of geneaology and the wonderful ways that gene-based science can bring our history to life in the present.

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