Mattie Maher(1939–2020) Irish bar owner Matthew (“Mattie”) Maher died in January, aged 80. The retired publican was a staple of McSorley’s Old Ale House, beloved for his affection for his customers and dedication to preserving the original aesthetic of the bar as it was ushered begrudgingly into modernity. Born in Threecastles, Kilkenny, in 1939 to Patrick and Ellen … [Read more...] about Those We Lost
Issues
A Son of Erin Is Called Home
Remembering Thomas V. Murphy, WWII flyer. Thomas V. Murphy, Jr was born in Baltimore in 1922. A great-great-grandson of Terence Murphy, who emigrated from Tallanstown, County Louth, in 1863, Tom spent his youth doing what all boys do – playing ball, going to school, and, in those days, dodging streetcars. At the age of 16, his mother passed away and Tom stepped up to … [Read more...] about A Son of Erin Is Called Home
Landmarks Tell The Boston Irish Story
Pictured above: The Memorial to Robert Gould Shaw and the Massachusetts Fifty-Fourth Regiment is a bronze relief sculpture by Augustus Saint-Gaudens. You aren't in Boston long before realizing what an Irish city it is: Logan Airport, Callahan Tunnel, the McCormack, Kennedy, Moakley and O'Neill federal buildings, plus numerous parks, boulevards and squares honoring Irish … [Read more...] about Landmarks Tell The Boston Irish Story
Paul Boskind: A Man and His Castle
Paul Boskind, Ph.D. is a psychologist, chief executive officer, National LGBTQ activist, philanthropist, and Tony Award-winning producer and owner of a castle in Ireland. Paul Boskind couldn’t have picked a better time to visit Ireland. As he checked into the Fitzwilliam Hotel, the desk clerk warned, “It’s going to be crazy here tomorrow. It’s the parade.” It … [Read more...] about Paul Boskind: A Man and His Castle
We Banjo 3
The band from Galway plays a blend of traditional Irish, old-time, and bluegrass music they call Celtgrass. The banjo has a long, contested and even controversial history. Musicologists now generally agree that an early form of the instrument was first brought to America by enslaved people from West Africa. It was possibly an akonting, a three-stringed instrument with a long … [Read more...] about We Banjo 3