April Update/Annual Meeting – Save the Date!

April Update/Annual Meeting – Save the Date!

April 15, 2022

Dear Members,

We are pleased to share that for the first time since the spring of 2019 we will be able to hold an in-person Annual Meeting, to which all members are cordially invited. Please “Save the Date” for Sunday, May 22 at 4:00 pm, and plan to join us at Ancient Order of Hibernian Hall in Newport.

Details are being finalized by your board of directors. An invitation will be mailed to all members of record and the information will also be posted on our website “Events” page and shared via e-newsletter. Reservations for the meeting and/or supper will be requested.

As in past years, the Annual Meeting will commence with a business meeting, which will be followed by a social, including supper and entertainment.

Please read on for an update on the Barney Street Cemetery, including a shout out to our volunteers and photos of their recent handiwork.

We close by extending best wishes for a “Happy Passover” and a “Happy Easter” to members and their families who are observing these important holidays this weekend.

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BARNEY STREET CEMETERY:

Volunteers Ready the Site for Spring

Many thanks to the below Museum members and friends who came out the afternoon of Tues. April 12 to participate in the first work session of the 2022 Season at the Barney Street Cemetery. Under the leadership of board member and Cemetery Committee Chair, Jack McCormack, the team removed weeds, divided perennial flowers, and spread mulch, which was generously donated by member and longtime “Cemetery Hero,” Patrick Carlisle.

Ann Arnold May

Larry Bartley

Jonathan Davies

Larry Davis

Carolyn Evans-Carbery

Joan Galvin

Christopher Jones

John Quinn

Stephen Quinn

Ben Smith

Please enjoy the below photos of the site, taken a couple days after the work was completed.

Please join us!

If you would like to be added to the Cemetery Volunteer email list, to be invited to future work sessions, please sent an email to: [email protected]

Member-volunteers are always welcome to invite family, neighbors, and friends to come along for this important and rewarding work. Many hands make light work, especially when summertime weeds emerge, and even an hour of your time makes a huge difference. Local high schools require students to perform community service, and we’re happy to provide whatever verification is required for time volunteered.

Cemetery Apr 14 2022_#1

Photos by Tim May

Learn about the History of the Cemetery Site

MEMBERSHIP RENEWAL SEASON IS HERE

As April 1 marks the start of the Museum’s new Fiscal Year, many of our members with Annual (vs. Life) Memberships, are due for renewal at this time. The annual fee for an Individual membership remains $20, and a Family/Household membership $30 (applies to all those living at the same address).

You may renew now online by clicking the below Membership” button.

Membership

If you prefer to pay by check, please send payable to “MNIH” with “Membership” in the Memo line to us at PO Box 1378, Newport, RI, 02840

THANKS TO ALL WHO HAVE ALREADY RENEWED!

If you are unsure of your membership status, please email Ann at [email protected] before making a payment and she’ll get right back to you.

Note:

Please do not send payments or other correspondence to our seasonal Thames Street Interpretive Center address.

Museum of Newport Irish History

Established 1996

a 501c3 non-profit organization

Mailing Address:

PO Box 1378, Newport, RI 02840

Interpretive Center:

648 Lower Thames Street, Newport RI 02840

Email[email protected]

Click Here for Museum Board of Directors Contact Info. and list of deceased board members, fondly remembered.

The MISSION of the Museum of Newport Irish History is to tell the story of the Irish immigrants and their descendants in Newport County and the surrounding area from the Colonial era to the present. It also seeks to preserve artifacts and mementos relating to their experiences and facilitate
research on Irish history and heritage.
Visit our Website
Learn about our NEW Walking Tour Brochures

Newport Irish Heritage Month: Final Events

Newport Irish Heritage Month: Final Events

March 25 , 2022

Dear Fellow Members,

It was a pleasure to see so many of you in person at the Wayfinder Hotel and virtually, via Zoom, this past Wednesday evening for Steve Marino’s wonderful lecture regarding Patrick J. Boyle, Newport’s first Irish mayor. Steve’s talk was a most engaging, informative and memorable close to our 20th Annual Michael F. Crowley Lecture Series. We are grateful to Steve for researching the “Life and Times” of P.J. Boyle, to Boyle descendants for joining us, in person and “virtually,” and to BankNewport for its generous gift to support the event. If you missed Steve’s talk, please be sure to view the video, which will be posted shortly on the “Lectures” page of our website.

To close out the 45th Annual Newport Irish Heritage Month, the Museum will host two outdoor events this Sunday, Mar. 27. The 12:30 pm tour of the Barney Street Cemetery and Dancing at the Forty Steps at 3:00 pm were previously announced via U.S. Mail and e-newsletter, and we’re sharing the information again, below. The weather looks favorable for these happenings and we hope many of you can attend.

As a reminder, our Interpretive Center is now closed, but will re-open for the 2022 Season Memorial Day weekend. Also coming up this spring is our Annual Meeting, to which all members will be invited and at which we’ll thank our Center docent volunteers for their service. Dates and details to come.

Finally, if you did not catch the news, we’re delighted to announce our new self-guided “Irish Newport ” walking tour brochures. Click HERE for details and how to obtain copies.

Sláinte,

Deanna J. Conheeny

President, Board of Directors

[email protected]

(401) 847-7156-residence/(401)829-0098- mobile

NEW! HISTORIC CEMETERY SITE TOURS

IMG_0321_Steve Marino_ cemetery tour guide_March 20 2022 tour_645X484.jpg

The Sun. March 20 cemetery tour, attended by upwards of 40

(photo by Larry Bartley)

IMG_1227_Mar 6 Cemetery tour_photo by Jack McCormack _1_.jpg

Rain did not detour the 15 hearty and enthusiastic folks who joined

the March 6 tour.

(photo by Jack McCormack)

Tours of the historic Barney Street Cemetery, the final resting place of many of Newport’s early Irish immigrants, will be offered in March on three Sunday afternoons at 12:30 pm. Approximately 30 minutes in length, tours will be hosted by local historian and guide, Steve Marino. No fee, but Reservations are requested.

  -Sun. March 6    – Sun. March 20      -Sun. March 27

To reserve, please click the below button for the “Historic Cemetery Tours” page on our website. There, you will find links to reserve for each of the three tours along with interesting historical information about the cemetery site, including links to videos.

  Questions/Assistance with Reservations?

Contact Ann Arnold at (401) 841-5493 or [email protected]

Cemetery Tours – Info. & Reservations

“DANCING AT THE FORTY STEPS” RETURNS

It looks as though we’ll have some “Luck of the Irish” and enjoy favorable weather on Sun. March 27 for this much-loved, family-friendly community event. The outdoor gathering is held weather-permitting, and updates will be posted on our Facebook page and on this webpage: https://newportirishhistory.org/events-calendar/dancing-at-the-forty-steps/

Learn more about this commemorative event and view videos of recent past “Dancing at the Forty Steps” gatherings by visiting the above webpage.

Questions? Please contact event coordinator, Rick O’Neill at

(401) 374-5698 or [email protected]

LAST BUT NOT LEAST:

MEMBERSHIP RENEWAL SEASON IS HERE

As March 31 marks the end of the Museum’s current Fiscal Year, the month of March also kicks off Membership Renewal Season. Nearly 70% of our memberships are Annual Membership (vs. Life), and these are due for renewal at this time of the year. The annual fee for an Individual membership remains $20, and a Family/Household membership $30 (applies to all those living at the same address).

Please, help us defray printing and postage expense by taking a moment to RENEW NOW online, by clicking the “Membership Renewal” button at the bottom of this e-newsletter.

If you prefer to pay by check, please send payable to “MNIH” with “Membership” in the Memo line to us at PO Box 1378, Newport, RI, 02840

If you are not sure of your membership status, please email Ann at [email protected] before making a payment and she’ll get right back to you.

Note:

Please do not send payments or other correspondence to our seasonal Thames Street Interpretive Center address. Thank you!

Museum of Newport Irish History

Established 1996

a 501c3 non-profit organization

Mailing Address:

PO Box 1378, Newport, RI 02840

Interpretive Center:

648 Lower Thames Street, Newport RI 02840

Email[email protected]

Click Here for Museum Board of Directors Contact Info. and list of deceased board members, fondly remembered.

The MISSION of the Museum of Newport Irish History is to tell the story of the Irish immigrants and their descendants in Newport County and the surrounding area from the Colonial era to the present. It also seeks to preserve artifacts and mementos relating to their experiences and facilitate
research on Irish history and heritage.
Visit our Website
Membership Renewals

WhatsUpNewp.com – “Lecture on March 23 will spotlight Newport’s first Irish mayor, Patrick J. Boyle”

WhatsUpNewp.com – “Lecture on March 23 will spotlight Newport’s first Irish mayor, Patrick J. Boyle”

Updated

The Museum of Newport Irish History announces the fifth and final talk in its 20th Annual Michael F. Crowley Lecture Series, to be presented “virtually,” via Zoom, and in-person, at the Wayfinder Hotel, on Wednesday, March 23 at 6:00 p.m.

Guest speaker, Steve Marino, local historian and tour guide, will present a lecture with Q&A to follow entitled: “The Life and Times of Patrick J. Boyle, Newport’s first Irish Mayor.” The lecture is made possible by a generous gift from BankNewport.

When Patrick Boyle became mayor in 1895, few could imagine it was the start of a political career in Newport that would span over twenty years. Steve Marino will explore how this son of Irish Catholic immigrants, a Democrat in a solidly Republican town, managed this political feat. Guests will explore the Gilded Age in Newport through the Irish eyes of Patrick J. Boyle, who died in his seventeenth term in office, in January 1923.

Join Museum members and friends as Steve Marino brings Patrick J. Boyle “back to life” after nearly one hundred years in obscurity.

All are welcome and there is no fee to participate in the lecture via Zoom, but reservations are required to receive the Zoom login information. For more information and to reserve, please visit the “Lectures” page at newportirishhistory.org. Seats are limited for the in-person presentation and reception with light hors d’oeuvres and cash bar to follow at the Wayfinder Hotel, 151 Admiral Kalbfus Road in Newport.

Non-members of the Museum of Newport Irish History wishing to inquire about attending in person, should write to [email protected] and include your phone number and number in your party. You may also phone Ann at
(401) 841-5493 for assistance. In-person guests must be fully vaccinated.

Founded in 1996, the Museum of Newport Irish History, is a volunteer-run, non-profit 501c3 organization of over 800 members. In addition to operating an Interpretive Center on Lower Thames Street, the organization sponsors numerous educational, cultural, social, and fundraising events throughout the year, including the popular Michael F. Crowley Lecture Series, now celebrating its 20th season. The organization also restored and maintains the historic Barney Street Cemetery at the corner of  Barney and Mount Vernon Streets, steps from Washington Square. It is the final resting place of many of Newport’s earliest Irish residents and was the cemetery established to support Rhode Island’s first Roman Catholic parish.

To learn more or to join the Museum, please visit newportirishhistory.org or stop by the Interpretive Center at 648 Thames Street during public hours.