St. Patrick’s Day breakfast fare: A bit of blarney, jabs at Trump

By BIR News Room
March 30, 2017

State Sen. Linda Dorcena Forry’s annual St. Patrick’s Day breakfast drew some 750 friends of Ireland to the Boston Convention Center on March 19. Among the guests were US Senators Ed Markey and Elizabeth Warren, Boston Mayor Marty Walsh, Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker, and Congressman Stephen Lynch.

A special guest was Ireland’s Minister for Children and Youth Affairs, Dr. Katherine Zappone, who was visiting the city to mark the St Patrick’s holiday on behalf of her country.

Celtic Women "Voices of Angels" Debuts at #1

By BIR News Room
March 23, 2017

Multi-platinum international music sensation Celtic Woman’s latest studio album VOICES OF ANGELS (released November 18 on Manhattan/Caroline) follows in the group’s tradition of #1 albums, entering the World Billboard chart at the top position, where it remains for week two; this marks the group’s 12th #1 entry. In addition, for the first time in the group’s legacy, a Celtic Woman album entered the Billboard Classical chart at #1,holding at #2 in its second week.

Meanwhile, Celtic Woman’s Destiny--currently #5 on the Billboard World chart--released earlier this year was just nominated for a Grammy Award in the category of Best World Music Album. This marks the group’s first-ever nomination. To celebrate the nomination, the group hosted a Facebook Live session yesterday (Wednesday, December 7). To view the conversation, click here.

St. Patrick's Day Breakfast sees historically large turnout

By BIR News Room
March 23, 2017

(L-R) Kim Elkins of Delta, Bob Clifford, First Officer, winner Gerri Munroe, Delta’s Charlie Schewe, winner Michael Duffy, and Senator Linda Dorcena Forry. (L-R) Kim Elkins of Delta, Bob Clifford, First Officer, winner Gerri Munroe, Delta’s Charlie Schewe, winner Michael Duffy, and Senator Linda Dorcena Forry.

Senator Linda Dorcena Forry’s annual St. Patrick’s Day breakfast drew an historically large crowd to the Boston Convention Center on Sunday, March 19, 2017. Among the more than 750 guests were US Senators Ed Markey and Elizabeth Warren, Boston Mayor Marty Walsh, Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker and Congressman Stephen Lynch.

A special guest was Ireland’s Minister for Children and Youth Affairs Dr. Katherine Zappone, who was visiting the city to mark the St Patrick’s holiday.

With roots back to the 1940's, this annual political breakfast is legendary in our city's history, and serves as the epicenter of politics and culture as both meet to celebrate Boston’s famed Irish history. Senator Forry produces the two hour spectacle with the help of the not-for-profit First Suffolk Partnership Inc. which solicits sponsors to defray the costs of the free breakfast. The St. Patrick’s Day Breakfast was telecast live and on demand to tens of thousands of viewers by NECN-NBC News/Boston, and was live streamed to a worldwide audience at NECN.com.

Irish Film Festival sets its 17th run: March 23-26 at Somerville Theater

By Jennifer Smith
March 16, 2017
Jennifer Smith

Modern Irish cinema will tackle weighty social conundrums while also prompting a few more belly laughs than usual at this month’s Irish Film Festival in Somerville, the annual movie-lovers’ celebration of a changing Ireland.

The four-day event, the 17th in a series, launches next week, beginning on Thurs., March 23, and running through Sun., March 26, at the Somerville Theater.

The team previewed the festival earlier in the month at the Aeronaut Brewing Company in Somerville, rolling out a schedule of more than 30 features, shorts, and documentaries for the March 23-March 26 run.

Recapping Ireland's Rugby; Six Nations 2017

By Tyler McManus
March 3, 2017
Tyler McManus

After beating the three top teams in the southern hemisphere during its autumn international matches, the Ireland national rugby team brought high expectations into the 2017 RBS Six Nations tournament.

A slow start and fierce defense from the opposition made the difference in a 27-22 opening loss for the Boys in Green at Murrayfield Stadium in Scotland on Feb. 4.

Irish filmmakers light up Sundance screens, then set up in Somerville

By Jennifer Smith
March 2, 2017
Jennifer Smith

A scene from In Loco Parentis; a documentary that turns its lens on the Headfirst preparatory school in Kells, Co Meath.A scene from In Loco Parentis; a documentary that turns its lens on the Headfirst preparatory school in Kells, Co Meath.On the heels of a small but strong showing for films with an Irish focus at the 2017 Sundance Film Festival, a slew of Irish films will light up the screens in late March at the 17th annual Irish Film Festival based in Somerville.

From inspiring documentaries about a physically limited filmmaker and an idyllic prep school in County Meath to the visceral transformation of a soft-spoken farmer into a vengeance-driven vigilante, the Emerald Isle was well-represented at the Park City, Utah, film fest in January.

Three films with Irish connections were featured in the mountain town’s annual festival, which selected 113 films from 13,782 submissions from the United States and abroad.

‘EVERYTHING THAWS HERE EXCEPT OLD PAT’: On Dorchester Heights on March 17, 1776, many of Washington’s troops had ‘green bloodlines’

By Peter F. Stevens
March 2, 2017
Peter F. Stevens

Dorchester HeightsDorchester Heights

Whether one calls March 17th “St. Patrick’s Day” or “Evacuation Day,” the Irish can lay claim to both celebrations. Many men bearing surnames of “the old sod” were nestled behind bristling cannons that peered down from Dorchester Heights on that day in 1776. The redcoats, or “Lobsterbacks,” were fleeing Boston aboard Royal Navy vessels straining to haul anchor and hightail it out of the harbor – which lay directly under the Rebels’ heavy guns.

Commanding the Patriots was George Washington, who held a deep regard for Irish-born troops serving in his ranks. He placed such a high estimate upon their proven combat abilities that he honored that most cherished of Irish dates – St. Patrick’s Day – in an era when the Irish, especially Irish Catholics, were hardly a favorite of many colonists.

On that March 17, Washington was well aware that it was a holyday for the Irish, and that many Irishmen had fought at Bunker Hill and had just helped drag those cannon up the Dorchester slopes. He acknowledged both facts by ordering that the password of the day be “Saint Patrick.”

Pages

Subscribe to Boston Irish RSS