Irish Rising Commemorative Events 2016 in Massachusetts
Boston Irish Tourism Association has compiled this calendar of 1916 commemorative events taking place in Massachusetts through April. In addition, see below a selection of five local institutions with important collections of the Irish Rising.
For a history of Massachusetts' involvement in the 1916 events, read Boston and the Irish Rising by Michael Quinlin, in the current edition of Irish America Magazine.
February 22
Easter Rising of 1916
Lecture by U.S. Congressman Richard E. Neal
Gasson Hall, Boston College
February 27
Culture & Society in Ireland, 1916: Contexts for the Arts & Crafts Movement
Lecture by Fintan O’Toole
McMullen Museum of Art, Boston College
March 1-31
Exhibit - ‘Of Terrible and Splendid Things: A Commemoration of the Easter Rising of 1916’
Borgia Gallery, Elms College, Chicopee
March 1-31
Lawrence Irish Heritage Month, includes exhibits, lectures and music on 1916
Lawrence Heritage State Park, Lawrence
March 6
Film – Mise Éire – the 1916 Rising
A special screening and discussion hosted by the Amherst Irish Association
Unitarian Universalist Church, Amherst
March 6
Massachusetts’ Role in the Easter Uprising
Irish Heritage Month in Lawrence
Lecture by Michael Quinlin
Lawrence Heritage State Park, Lawrence
March 10-13
Irish Film Festival Boston
A retrospective of what it means to be Irish one century after the Easter Rising
Somerville Theatre, Somerville
March 15
Easter Rising Commemoration
Sponsored by Ladies AOH of Hampshire Counties
Holyoke Public Library, Holyoke
March 18-20
International Conference - Easter 1916: ‘A Terrible Beauty is Born’
Speakers include Colm Tóibín, Alvin Jackson, Emily Bloom, Roisín Higgins and Keith Jeffrey
Devlin Hall, Boston College
March 28
Music - Easter Rising Commemorative Concert
Gasson Hall, Boston College
Featuring Charlie Lennon, Regina Delaney, Séamus Connolly
April 2
Eire Society Gold Medal Award Dinner
Mary McAleese, former President of Ireland, is this year’s winner and keynote speaker
Omni Parker House, Boston
April 9
James Joyce and the Easter Rising
Connolly House, Boston College
Speakers include Clair Willis, Joe Valente, Mike Cronin and Richard Kearney
April 16
1916 Easter Rebellion Documentary
Lawrence Heritage State Park Visitors Center, Lawrence, MA
Landmark Irish documentary, narrated by Liam Neeson
Sponsored by the Division 8 of the AOH & LAOH in Lawrence
April 23
Centenary Celebration of the 1916 Rising
Sponsored by Division One of the AOH
Holyoke City Hall, St. Jerome’s Church and the Wherehouse Restaurant
April 24
Remembering the Easter Rising of 1916
Irish Cultural Centre of New England, Canton
Speakers: Ireland’s Consul General Fionnuala Quinlan & Father Oliver Rafferty, BC Irish Studies.
April 24
1916 Easter Rising
Commemoration & 40th Anniversary of
Worcester’s Irish Immigration Memorial
St. John’s Church, Hibernian Hall, Worcester City Hall.
Sponsored by Division 36 of the AOH
April 30
Easter Rising Centennial Commemoration
Hibernian Hall, Watertown
Sponsored by Division Fourteen of the AOH
May 22
Official Opening of 1916 Garden of Remembrance
Forest Park, Springfield
Irish Rising Resources in Massachusetts
- The Boston Athenaeum has numerous books, magazines and newspapers from the period, plus a rare British recruitment poster entitled: The Call to Arms, Irishmen Don’t You Hear it?
- The Rare Book Collection at Boston Public Library has over 3,000 pamphlets, posters, photographs, scrapbooks and press clippings that related to the creation of the Irish Free State in 1922, including Home Rule, the 1916 Irish Rising, and the Irish Civil War.
- The John J. Burns Library at Boston College has papers of several 1916 leaders, including Thomas Clarke, Thomas MacDonagh, Roger Casement and Joseph M. Plunkett, plus relevant papers of Mary Boyle O’Reilly, Shane Leslie, and Eskine Childers.
- The City of Boston Archives has the papers of James Michael Curley, including his involvement in 1916 fundraising activities and correspondence to the US President and Secretary of State to protest British activities.
- The Lawrence Hibernian Irish Collection at Lawrence Public Library has letters and statements of the leaders executed after the rising, books by and about James Connolly, and other ephemera relating to 1916.
For ongoing information on events and resources, visit IrishMassachusetts.com/1916rising.php