You are invited: Oct. 18 Lecture at Wyndham Newport Hotel and via Zoom

You are invited: Oct. 18 Lecture at Wyndham Newport Hotel and via Zoom

October 10, 2022

Dear Members

We hope you are having a most enjoyable fall season!

Our autumn events thus far have been well attended and well received by members and friends, including the kick-off to our 21st Annual Lecture Series on September 19, which featured Dr. Elizabeth Stack. If you were unable to join us in person or via Zoom for “Immigrant Activists: Irish Americans who Built a Better Society,” you can enjoy the recording of the presentation by visiting the “Lectures” page of our website, where you may also access a treasure trove of past lecture videos.

The second talk in our 2022-23 lecture series is fast-approaching on Tuesday, October 18 at 6pm, featuring Raymond J. McKenna.

If you plan to join us Oct. 18, in person at the Wyndham Newport Hotel or via Zoom, please made your reservations now  if you have not already done so. Please read on for lecture details and the links to reserve, and other Museum happenings.

Finally, we extend a warm “Welcome” to our newest members, those who joined since our last e-newsletter of September 14. We hope to have a chance to meet you in person soon, if we have not already

Best regards,

Your Board of Directors,

Deanna J. Conheeny, President 

NewportIrishHistory@gmail.com

(click here for board list and contact info)

21st Annual Lecture Series

Emevayle_Ann McKenna photo (2022)

Emyvale, County Monaghan, Ireland. Photo by Ann McKenna (2022)

Second talk of our 2022-2023 Lecture Series

Tuesday, October 18 at 6 pm (EST)

From Emyvale to Providence:

A Deep Dive into 19th Century

Chain Migration

Lecture made possible by a generous gift from

Margaret Armstrong Murray,

Given in Memory of her husband, Vincent J. Murray

Raymond J. McKenna, independent researcher and guest speaker, whose work appears on his blog, FederalHillIrish.com, will join us in person at our wonderful new lecture venue, Wyndham Newport Hotel, 240 Aquidneck Avenue, Middletown, R.I. 02842, just across the Newport line.

Ray’s lecture will be also be live-streamed via Zoom for those who are unable to join us in person for the talk, Q&A, and cash-bar reception to follow. Scroll down for link to talk overview and speaker bio.

Reservations are required and a modest fee/donation is requested from those attending the lecture and reception in person (no fee for those attending via Zoom). Please reserve using the below GREEN buttons.

Above: Photo of a portion of the digital restoration of America’s oldest surviving theater drop-scene, owned by The Rhode Island Historical Society,

depicting Providence, as seen from Federal Hill, circa 1809-1810.

Click Here for Talk Overview & Speaker Bio
Headshot Raymond J. McKenna

Raymond J. McKenna, Independent Researcher

Click to Reserve to attend IN-PERSON
Click to Reserve to attend via ZOOM

If you previously reserved and received your

e-confirmation, you are all set.  

Questions or need assistance with your registration?

Please reach out to Ann Arnold, Lecture Series Coordinator,

at tpm1@earthlink.net or (401) 841-5494,

and she’ll get back to you as soon as possible.

Johnnys restaurant logo

Our Wyndham Newport hosts invite you to dine at their on-site restaurant, Johnny’s, before or after the 6:00 pm lecture.

Their popular three-course $17 “Early Bird” menu will be in effect, from 3-6pm (regular dinner menu/pricing will be in effect the blanch of the evening). 

RESERVATIONS

are strongly encouraged

Click HERE for Johnny’s website. When you click the “Menu” option, be sure to scroll all the way down to see each menu page graphic to click and view. “Early Bird” is on far-right.

Phone for reservations: (401) 847-2750.

This is a great time to invite your non-Member

family & friends to attend our talks and become a member! Those who join to attend a lecture are not assessed the $5 per person lecture fee, just pay the 1-year Annual Membership fee of $20 Individual ($30 Family/Household). It’s our “welcome gift” to them. Questions/Suggestions/Comments:  

Please contact Ann at tpm1@earthlink.net

Please mark your calendar for the 3rd lecture in our 2022-2023 series:

Mon. Nov.14 at 6pm

Wyndham Newport Hotel & via Zoom

Speaker: Dr.Kurt Schlichting

Topic:

Newport’s Kerry Hill neighborhood

Talk overview, speaker bio, link to reserve to come, via mail, website, and e-news.

Historic Irish Cemetery Tours

sept 11 Cemetery Tour_Photo by Denise Brown_

Photo by Denise Brown

The final of the four fall tours of the historic Barney Street Cemetery will be offered Sunday, Oct. 30 at 1:00 pm.

The tour of the final resting place of many of Newport’s early Irish immigrants and site of Rhode Island’s first Catholic church, is approximately 30 minutes long, and will be given by popular local historian and guide, Steve Marino, who is also a member of our board of directors, a past lecture series speaker, and the manager of our Interpretive Center on Lower Thames Street.

Tours are given weather-permitting. A light rain won’t stop the tour, but torrential downfalls and high winds will result in a cancellation. No fee.

RESERVATIONS REQUESTED

(click below orange button)

Can’t join us in person?  Click the below button for resources, including directions and links to videos and articles about this site, so central to the history of Newport’s early Irish immigrants.

Click for Reservations & Info.

Below photos are from the first tour of the Fall 2022 series, on Sun. Sept. 11.

Guide, Steve Marino, is in short-sleeved green shirt.

Photos by Tim May

Interpretive Center Closes for Season Oct. 30

Interpretive Center

Photos by Allan Millora

The Museum’s Interpretive Center, which opened for the 2022 Season Memorial Day Weekend, will be closing on Sunday, October 30 at 5:00 p.m.  Especially if you are a new member and have not yet had the opportunity, we hope you will plan to visit soon.

Public hours are 12:00 noon to 5:00 pm Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday (closed Mon-Wed). The Center is staffed by Museum member-volunteer docents, the “face” of our organization to visitors from near and far.

Visitors to the Center will learn about Irish immigration to Newport County from the colonial era to the present and of the many contributions made to our community by individuals of Irish descent. The exhibits include maps, photographs, artwork, models, video, oral histories and artifacts, including some from the construction of nearby Fort Adams, which was built with Irish immigrant labor.

  • The Center is located at 648 Lower Thames Street, just south of Narragansett Avenue.
  • Free parking is available on the street (no Newport resident parking sticker required during Center operating hours.
  • Or leave your car and take the free “Hop on, Hop Off” trolley transportation via bus Route 67, which leaves the 23 Americas Cup Transportation Center. Get off at Bellevue & Narragansett and walk 2 blocks west to Thames Street.
  • Click HERE for map and directions.
  • Admission is free for members of the Museum of Newport Irish History and by donation for others.

Note: Private visits to the Center on alternative days/times and in the off-season may be arranged with adequate lead time. To inquire: NewportIrishHistory@gmail.com 

Membership Renewals

Thank You to all with Annual (vs. Life) Memberships

who have already paid their dues for the

2022-2023 Membership Year,

which runs April 1, 2022 to March 31,2023.

We are still anticipating payments from

approximately 120 whose memberships

lapsed as of April 1, 2022, or previously.

Thank you submitting payment at your first opportunity.

Individual Membership – $20

Family/Household – $30

 NOTE: This is a general reminder that all members are seeing in this e-newsletter. It does not mean that your specific membership is necessarily lapsed.

If you are unsure of your membership status  — before making a payment — please email

Ann Arnold at tpm1@earthlink.net or phone her at 401-841-5493 and she’ll get right back to you.

 Click to Renew Online by CARD
 Click to download Form to pay by MAIL

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

EmailNewportIrishHistory@gmail.com

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