Dr. Bill O'Connell, visionary who hoped to memorialize "Famine Ship" victims

By Ed Forry
January 10, 2014
Ed Forry

Dr. William T. O'Connell, of Duxbury, passed away on Monday, January 6, 2014.
Dr. Bill as he was known to many, lead an active life. He traveled extensively from Russia to South America, including 21 trips to Ireland, he skied into his 70's, and devoted considerable time and resources to a wide range of Irish cultural and historic organizations. Always at his side was his beloved late wife Rita, who was the light of his life and the true companion of his days.

This is the Jack Shaughnessy I knew

By Arthur Murphy
January 2, 2014
Arthur Murphy

BY ARTHUR MURPHY
SPECIAL TO THE BIR
Jack Shaughnessy grew up in Quincy, graduated from BC High in wartime 1944, served in the Navy, and afterwards worked with his brother Al in building a very successful crane and rigging business in South Boston. That is a spare biographical sketch, and only a small part of the Jack Shaughnessy the city of Boston came to know.

Story of the Year: A heart-breaking loss triggers a spirited response

By Bill Forry
January 2, 2014
Bill Forry

The year’s most indelible images, memories and emotions for the city — and certainly for Dorchester at-large— are connected to the April 15th terror attack on spectators and participants at the Boston Marathon. The bombings killed three and wounded hundreds more and the aftershocks of the two devices rippled across the nation and globe.

Boston Sports, 2013- For local teams, stunning in a rear-view look

By Clark Booth
January 2, 2014
Clark Booth

BY CLARK BOOTH
SPECIAL TO THE BIR
Clearing the decks soon to be draped in holly as the clock runs out on what’s been another banner year in sports – especially if you hail from New England!
•••
The scorecard for 2013 is stunning! A spectacular championship in baseball. In hockey, a precious near-miss as tender as any Cup might be. A festival of world-class dramatics in football that has become routine in the Belichick/Brady era. And if in basketball we had to accept the end of an era, your team, given its history, need never apologize.

The grand finale at BCMFest will feature Celtic dance

By Sean Smith
January 2, 2014
Sean Smith

Celtic dance – in both a traditional and contemporary vein – will be the focus of the BCMFest Nightcap, the grand finale for the 11th annual BCMFest (Boston’s Celtic Music Fest), on Sat., Jan. 11.
A grassroots celebration of local Irish, Scottish, Cape Breton, and other Celtic music, BCMFest takes place over two days at venues in Harvard Square. The festival is a program of Passim, the nonprofit folk and acoustic music-oriented performance and education center.

Gaelic Roots spring schedule is set

By Sean Smith
January 2, 2014
Sean Smith

Change of date: the Keenan/Noonan performance is Thursday, Jan 23.
Uilleann pipes virtuoso Paddy Keenan and Boston College faculty musicians Jimmy Noonan and Sheila Falls will be among the performers featured during the spring 2014 Gaelic Roots series of traditional music that starts this month.
Directed by Sullivan Artist-in-Residence and master fiddler Séamus Connolly and sponsored by the Boston College Center for Irish Programs, the series brings to campus acclaimed musicians and experts in Irish, Scottish, and other related Gaelic music traditions.

The Ireland I know: A list of my favorite things

By BIR News Room
January 2, 2014

Fishing boats docked in colorful Killybegs Harbor in Co. Donegal.Fishing boats docked in colorful Killybegs Harbor in Co. Donegal.BY JUDY ENRIGHT
SPECIAL TO THE BIR
A new year has dawned, bringing with it the potential for many new adventures for us all – hopefully they’ll be pleasant, fun, and memorable adventures. We like to start the year by mentioning some of our favorites with the thought that readers might find them enjoyable, too, when visiting Ireland. FAVORITES
• Ireland has amazing ancient churches, friaries, and ruins where you can spend hours reading inscriptions on tombstones and admiring detailed carving, architecture, and Celtic crosses.
In Co. Offaly, the Clonmacnoise monastic settlement, founded by St. Ciaran in 548, is awe-inspiring and well worth visiting. There, on the eastern bank of the Shannon, you can see the ruins of a cathedral, seven churches (10th-13th century), two round towers, three high crosses, and the largest collection of Early Christian graveslabs in Western Europe.
In 2016, another historic site, Ballintubber Abbey in Co. Mayo, will celebrate the 800th anniversary of its founding by King Cathal O’Conor. Ballintubber is the only church in Ireland founded by an Irish king that is still in daily use. Mass has been said there every day since 1216.
Ross Errilly Friary in Co. Galway, founded in 1351, is said to be the most extensive and best preserved of all the Franciscan friaries in Ireland and, even though it’s a ruin, it is still beautiful and worth a look.
In Co. Clare, the Kilfenora Cathedral sited next to The Burren Centre is another interesting ruin. The cathedral, with five high crosses, was built around 1190 on the site of an earlier monastery, and is dedicated to St. Fachtnan.

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