June 29, 2023

Dear Members,

Welcome to summer! The Museum is gearing up for a busy season and year ahead –and not only at the Interpretive Center. If you attended our Annual Meeting on June 11, you heard the report of all the activities the Museum has engaged in over the past year, plus what’s ahead. The notes from my remarks regarding the accomplishments of the various committees may be accessed here.

As I shared on June 11, every member of the Board has been busy, and we have made significant progress. The leading success is the “refresh” of the Interpretive Center. What a difference in the presentation of our exhibits — and we are just in the nascent stage of that effort! And this was all possible because of the generosity of our members through their gifts to the 2022 Annual Appeal. As we move forward, we will tap consultants and associations we belong to for guidance as we step into the “digital age" and continue our strategic planning effort.

Other noteworthy successes:

• Cataloging software was purchased to organize and make our archives accessible to our members. To work on this effort, we hired our first employee, Sarah Kraus, an intern from Salve Regina University last year, who is working for us this summer.
• For our 2022-2023 Lecture Series, we moved to a wonderful new venue, the Wyndham Newport Hotel. We can now accommodate a larger in-person audience, and the atmosphere has made for a very pleasant experience. All talks continue to be live-streamed for those who cannot join us in person. Please check out the information below on what’s already planned for Fall 2023.
• The first tours of St. Mary’s Cemetery – the resting place of many Irish in Newport – were conducted. We have another one scheduled for July 8 (see information below).
• Our bylaws were reviewed and revised to make them clearer and more reflective of our organization.
• Also, we announced that a new member of the Board was elected, Larry Bartley, a longtime volunteer in many capacities, including cemetery cleanups and event support. In addition, two longtime Board members moved to Emeritus status: Harry Winthrop and Kevin Doyle. They will continue to be involved with the museum and lend their valued expertise.

And we didn’t take our eye off your ongoing benefits of membership, including presenting lectures, keeping the website current, sending regular E-newsletters and mailing event invitations, distributing the walking tour brochures, supporting all the activities during Newport Irish Heritage Month, providing assistance for local genealogical research, and, of course, operating the Interpretive Center.

As I said at last year's Annual Meeting, the Museum of Newport Irish History is strong in its membership, financial position, and offerings. And it continues to be! There are so many stories yet to be told, and we will work together to facilitate a richer understanding of the Newport Irish experience, telling the stories of the Irish immigrants and their descendants. 

As members, I ask that you visit the Interpretive Center, continue to enjoy the Lecture Series in person or via Zoom, stop by the Barney Street Cemetery or learn its history here, explore our website, and consider volunteering as a docent at the Center, or with the Cemetery work team. And, of course, please renew your membership for the 2023-2024 Membership Year if you have not done so already.

Finally, please scroll to the bottom of this e-newsletter so you don't miss any important news, including a history article regarding St. Mary's Cemetery.

With thanks for all your interest and gratitude for your continued support,

Deanna

Deanna J. Conheeny, President

Board of Directors

NewportIrishHistory@gmail.com

(401) 829-0098 - mobile

Photo source: FindAGrave.com, by Jen Snoots

Steve Marino will give a 45-minute tour of the historic Mary's Cemetery on Saturday, July 8 at 1:00 p.m.

Explore the final resting place of well over 1,000 Newporters of the mid-1800s through the early 1900s, including countless immigrants from Ireland and first-generation Irish Americans. This cemetery was established to serve R.I.'s first Catholic parish which, in 1848-1852, constructed a new church to house its growing congregation, fueled by immigration from Ireland. That church, dedicated in 1852 to "The Holy Name of Mary, Our Lady of the Isle," stands today at Spring Street and Memorial Boulevard West. The St. Mary's Cemetery was in operation soon after the church was completed.

Meet at the gate on Kingston Ave. near the intersection with Warner Street, shown in the above photo.

No fee, but reservations are required.

Note: Please wear flat, comfortable footwear. You will be standing and walking for upwards of 45 minutes, and the ground may be uneven in spots. For details, a map, and RESERVATIONS, click the below button.

There is free on-street parking on Warner Street, Kingston Avenue, and nearby residential streets.

The tour will be given weather permitting. Light rain will not stop the tour, but it will be rescheduled in the event of heavy rain, high winds, and/or thunder and lightning.

Should you have questions regarding the cemetery tour or need assistance, pleae write NewportIrishHistory@gmail.com or phone Ann at (401) 841-5493 or (917)270-3372

Photo of a James B. & Mary A. Cottrell monument at St. Mary's Cemetery by Steve Marino

We are just beginning to scratch the surface of the history of the many Irish immigrants and their descendants who are interred at St. Mary's Cemetery. These burials took place from the mid-1800s when the Barney Street Cemetery became obsolete, to the point at which St. Columba Cemetery in Middletown was fully established and St. Mary's Cemetery was essentially closed to new burials unless a family plot with remaining space could be documented.

Steve Marino has been busy mining existing resources, such as Patrick F. Murphy's extensive database of the gravestones of those born in Ireland and related obituaries, and is conducting new research. The stories are unfolding and the narrative of Steve's new tour of St. Mary's Cemetery has taken shape, but it will evolve over time as new learning is obtained. The cemetery is vast compared to Barney Street, so it's quite a big job.

For a preview of what we've learned about some of the early "Pioneers" of Newport's early Irish-Catholic community,

please click the below button

and enjoy a brief history article.



Thank you to Steve Marino for compiling this information.

HISTORIAN/AUTHOR SPOTLIGHT

Museum members will find of interest that two scholarly books related to the history of the Irish in Newport are planned for publication in 2024.

Dr. John F. Quinn, a professor at Salve Regina University, past Lecture Series guest speaker and a member of our Board of Directors, will publish a book on the history of the Catholic Church in Newport.

Rev. Robert W. Hayman, PhD, Asst. Professor of History at Providence College, past Museum Lecture Series guest speaker, Historian for the Diocese of Providence, and Museum Life member, is at work on a book on the history of Newport's St. Mary's Parish. This volume is the second in a series following his publication in 2022 of a book on the history of the Cathedral of Saints Peter and Paul in Providence, in commemoration of the 150th anniversary of the Diocese of Providence.

22nd ANNUAL LECTURE SERIES - PREVIEW

Please "Save the Dates" for the first two talks of our 22nd Annual Lectures Series, which will be presented at 6:00 p.m. in person at the Wyndham Newport Hotel and live-streamed via Zoom. Details will be mailed to all members of record, posted on our website Lectures page, and shared via this e-newsletter.

As always, reservations will be required to participate in person or via Zoom. A modest fee/donation will be requested of all who attend in person.

Dr. Christine Kinealy

will speak on a topic related to the Great Famine

Tuesday, September 26

Made possible by a generous gift from Virginia Pittsley,

given in Memory of her dear friend, Dr. Cheryl A. McCarthy

Dr. Mark Stickney

will speak on the Irish Musicians of Newport

Monday, October 16

Made possible by a generous gift from Larry Bartley,

given in Honor of Patrick F. Murphy

Plans are also underway for a third fall talk in mid-to late November. Then, after our customary hiatus for December-January, talks will resume in February with an all-Zoom presentation. We anticipate wrapping up the series with a special talk of Newport Irish interest during March, Newport Irish Heritage Month.

These lectures are made possible by the generosity of our sponsors.

If you are interested in possibly sponsoring a future Museum lecture, please contact Ann Arnold to learn more at

 (401) 841-5493 or tpm1@earthlink.net

MEMBERSHIP RENEWAL SEASON CONTINUES

As April 1 marked 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 if they have not recently made a payment.

A big "Thank You" to all of you recently

making renewal payments! 

The annual fee for an Individual membership remains $20, and a Family/Household membership is $30 (applies to all living at the same address). You may renew now online by clicking the below button.

If you prefer to pay by check, please send payable to "MNIH" with "Membership" in the Memo line to:

Museum of Newport Irish History

Attn. Membership

PO Box 1378

Newport, RI, 02840

If you are paying by check and your contact information has changed, please print out and complete the renewal letter/form you received in the mail some weeks back. CLICK HERE to access.

IMPORTANT:

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

Please use the Post Office Box address.

Thanks for your cooperation.

Photo courtesy of Salve Regina University

As we shared in our May 27 Members' E-newsletter, the former president of Ireland, Mary McAleese, visited Newport for the first time, a guest of Salve Regina University, part of Salve's 75th Anniversary celebrations.

Among the sites of Irish interest that President McAleese and her husband, Martin McAleese, toured in Newport was the Barney Street Cemetery, hosted by members of our board of directors. The highlight of that day for the Newport Irish community was Mary McAleese’s engaging and inspiring conversation with Salve president, Dr. Kelli Armstrong, attended by hundreds and live-streamed to many more

You can read about the visit, including photos and a link to President McAleese's conversation with Dr. Armstrong, by clicking the below button.

Photos by Allan Millora

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: NewportIrishHistory@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.