March 13, 2024

Dear Members,

LATE-BREAKING NEWS!



An interview on "The Rhode Show" with Board President Deanna Conheeny and immediate-past President Mike Slein, filmed at our Interpretive Center, will be televised tomorrow, March 14, sometime between 9:00 am and 10:00 am on WPRI TV Channel 12.

You can catch the live-stream online using this link,

https://www.wpri.com/the-rhode-show-live-streaming/ or enjoy the program afterwards on RhodeShow.com

Please read on for reminders of our continuing March, Newport Irish Heritage Month events, previously announced through flyers in the mail and our last Members' E-newsletter.

Don't forget to reserve for Steve Marino's March 20 lecture

if you plan to join us in person or via Zoom.

Also time-sensitive is the chance to win $6,000 in cash prizes while showing your support for the Museum's Mission and its activities through our "Luck of the Irish" raffle fundraiser.

Please be sure to scroll down all the way so you don't miss a thing!

May the Luck of the Irish be with you,

this month and always!

The Museum’s Interpretive Center, which operates seasonally between late-May and the end of October, will be open nine days during March, Newport Irish Heritage Month. Located at

648 Lower Thames Street, just south of Narragansett Avenue, the Center also welcomes private and group tours, by appointment.

The special March 2024 public hours are 12:00–5:00 pm on Friday, Saturday and Sunday of the second, third, and fourth weekends in March (Fri. Mar. 8 is the first day).

The list of days, parking info., map and directions may be viewed at the middle of the Home page of our website:

https://newportirishhistory.org/

Hosted by our wonderful volunteer docents, visitors will learn about Irish immigration to the Newport area and of the contributions to the community by individuals of Irish descent from the Colonial era to the present through various exhibits, including photographs, artifacts and more. Check out our new exhibit on the Kinsale-Newport Sister City relationship, celebrating 25 years of "Twinning" in 2025.

Admission to the Center is free for Museum members and by donation for non-members. For more information, please contact Interpretive Center Manager, Steve Marino, at (860) 995-7367 or at NewportIrishHistory@gmail.com

Our new tour of the historic Saint Mary's Cemetery to be offered on Saturday, March 23 at 12:30 p.m.

The outdoor tour of approximately 45 minutes will be given by local researcher and guide, Steve Marino, weather permitting.

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 (est. 1828), which, in 1848-1852 constructed a new church in which 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 the corner of 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.

To reserve, please click the below button for the "Historic Cemetery Tours" page on our website. There, you will find links to reserve for the Mar. 23 tour, along with links and information pertaining to the Barney Street Cemetery tours, dicussed above.



  Questions/Assistance with Reservations?

Contact Ann Arnold at (401) 841-5493 or tpm1@earthlink.net

ANNUAL LECTURE SERIES CLOSING EVENT:

"THE GREAT CUTTER RACE OF 1905"

Photo: 1903 Hibernia Racing team.

Photo first ran in Newport Daily News, Sept. 8, 1903

Fifth and Final Program of the 2023-2024 Series

~ Our 22nd Annual ~

The Great Cutter Race of 1905:

An Irish Tale of Newport's Gilded Age

 Guest Speaker:

Steve Marino

Wednesday, March 20, 6:00 p.m.

Wyndham Newport Hotel

240 Aquidneck Ave, Middletown, R.I.

and Live-Streamed via Zoom

Made possible by a generous gift from

Frank Furtado in memory of Barbara Carr Furtado

In August of 1905, twelve strong sailors from the USS Kearsarge, the champion cutter racing crew of the U.S. Navy's Atlantic Squadron, challenged the team from the recently established Hibernia Racing Club of Newport to a four-mile rowing race in Newport Harbor. Beginning in 1895, cutter races on the harbor attracted thousands of Newport's citizens, Navy sailors, tourists, workers, and gamblers to watch these 12-man boats compete for money and prizes. The August 1905 challenge race promised to be the biggest of them all.

Come and hear the oft-told tale of the Great Cutter Race of 1905!

Note: “Cutters” of the late 19^th and early 20^th century were not regular row boats nor Irish currachs. Cutters were common accessory vessels to Navy ships of the era and were used to move personnel from place to place. These wooden boats could accommodate twelve rowers and a coxswain. Racing cutters became a popular activity in Newport Harbor during the Gilded Age.

STEVE MARINO taught history in Connecticut for 35 years and retired to Newport. He has given tours at Fort Adams since 2008. A local historian and researcher, and member of the Board of the Museum of Newport Irish History, Steve oversees operations at the Museum’s Interpretive Center on Lower Thames Street. He gives tours at the Center and Newport’s historic Irish cemeteries. Steve holds degrees from Williams College, Brown University, and Hartford International University (formerly Hartford Seminary). This is Steve’s fifth presentation to our membership.

• Doors open at 5:30 p.m.
• Light hors d'oeuvres & cash bar available
• Winners of "Luck of the Irish" raffle to be pulled after lecture and Q&A conclude
• "Last chance" Raffle tickets will be sold 5:30- 6:00 pm

Click a link below to sign up.

In-person guests: $5 per person fee/donation

via cash or check.

Zoom registrants: No fee

In mid-January all members of record received this letter and a book of "Luck of the Irish" raffle tickets in the mail. We are tracking nicely towards our goal, thanks to all those who have purchased one or more raffle tickets and/or made a gift of any size to this critical fundraiser for our 2023-2024 Fiscal Year, which closes on March 31.

Click the below button to see the names of all "Luck of the Irish" supporters as of March 13. We feel lucky, indeed, for your generous financial support!

Don't miss YOUR chance to win $6,000 in prizes -- send in your completed raffle ticket(s) and payment today!

All completed tickets and payments should arrive by Monday, March 18, for the Wednesday March 20 drawing, held at the conclusion of the last talk of the 22nd Annual Lecture Series, discussed above, where you can buy tickets in person.

If you have questions or need assistance, please contact Kathy Papp, Fundraising Committee Chair, at (401) 236-2624.

"DANCING AT THE FORTY STEPS" RETURNS

Please hope and/or pray for some "Luck of the Irish" that we enjoy favorable weather on Sun. March 24 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 riconeill@cox.net



47TH ANNUAL NEWPORT IRISH HERITAGE MONTH

Newport Irish Heritage Month, a month-long celebration of "all things Irish," was established by the former Newport Irish Heritage Association (NIHA) 47 years ago through the efforts of Rick Kelly, Jim Mahoney, Rick O'Neill, and the late Paul Crowley. The Museum of Newport Irish History was proud to pick up the reins and continue to compile the March calendar of events of Irish interest when, in 2017, NIHA announced it would disband.

While the highlight for many is the annual St. Patrick's Day Parade (Sat. Mar. 16), the Newport Irish Heritage Month calendar includes many more events, submitted local organizations, including Fort Adams Trust, The Ancient Order of Hibernians, the Ladies Ancient Order of Hibernians, the Museum of Newport Irish History, Newport Library, Edward King House Senior Center, and many others.

As you plan your March activities, please check out this online calendar, hosted by the Museum within the "Events" page of our website. Here is a direct link: https://newportirishhistory.org/newport-irish-heritage-month/

Questions, or to submit an event for the calendar, please write to us at NewportIrishHistory@gmail.com with "Irish Heritage Month" in the subject line.

LAST, BUT NOT LEAST: MEMBERSHIP

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 your check payable to "MNIH" with "Membership" in the Memo line to:

Museum of Newport Irish History

Attn: Membership

PO Box 1378

Newport, RI, 02840

Please note that gifts to the "Luck of the Irish" raffle fundraiser are not applied to Membership fees. Some members who are lapsed in their dues purchased raffle tickets, and these funds cannot be used to "catch them up" on their membership dues.

NOTE: If you are not sure of your membership status, please contact Ann at tpm1@earthlink.net or (401) 841-5493, before making a payment, and she'll get right back to you.



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: 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.