March 26, 2026

Dear Members,

We are delighted to share the names of the 3 winners of our "Luck of the Irish" raffle, whose ticket stubs were drawn before a large in-person and virtual audience after the last lecture of our 2025-26 Series, Monday, March 23, at the Wyndham Newport Hotel.

Please join us in congratulating:

$3,000 Grand Prize: Mary Colman

$2,000 Prize: Mary Elizabeth Berry

$1,000 Prize: Annabella Rojas

As shared in the letter all members of record received in January, along with a book of raffle tickets, "Luck of the Irish" is our major fundraiser for the 2025-26 Fiscal Year, which ends on March 31.

Luck of the Irish has thus far generated more than $17,000 in profit, after paying out the cash prizes and misc. expenses.

This figure includes $3,500 in non-raffle-ticket gifts from thoughtful and generous members.

WE ARE GRATEFUL TO ALL 
250 Members & Friends of the Museum who 
purchased raffle tickets and/or made an outright, 
tax-deductible donation to the fundraiser!

* Click the "Supporters" button below to see the list*

👉 While the raffle is over, there is still time to make a gift in any amount to the "Luck of the Irish" fundraiser and help us exceed our goal of $17,500!

If you'd like to donate online, please click the "Donate Now" button by March 31. Be sure to type "Luck of the Irish" in the comment section so that we might properly direct your tax-deductible gift.

To make a gift by check, please make payable to "MNIH" with "Luck of the Irish" in the Memo line and mail to PO Box 1378, Newport, RI 02840.

Thank you for your generosity!

☘️Please scroll all the way down for more March news ☘️

HISTORIC CEMETERY TOUR: ST. MARY'S -MAR. 28

On Saturday, March 28, at 1:00 p.m., the Museum will offer a tour of the Saint Mary’s Cemetery, 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 the corner of Spring Street and Memorial Boulevard West. The St. Mary’s Cemetery was in operation soon after the church was completed. 

There is no fee, but reservations are requested for the tour of approximately 45 minutes, to be given by local researcher and guide, Steve Marino. Meet at the gate on Kingston Ave. near the intersection with Warner Street.

To reserve, click the below button  

 Questions/Assistance with Reservations?

Contact Ann Arnold at (401) 841-5493 (landline),

(917) 270-3372 (cell) or tpm1@earthlink.net

"Tracing the Tides," our digital, interactive exhibit

The Museum’s Interpretive Center, which operates seasonally from late May to the end of October, has been open special hours during March, in celebration of 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 final March open days are: THIS Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, March 27-29, from noon to 5:00 p.m.

Parking information, a map and directions may be viewed at the Home page of our website: https://newportirishhistory.org/

Hosted by our knowledgeable and engaging 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. While there, don't miss our new digital interactive exhibit, "Tracing the Tides."

Admission to the Center is free for Museum members and by donation for non-members. For more information, please write NewportIrishHistory@gmail.com.



Questions re. Dancing at the Forty Steps?

Contact Rick O'Neill at (401) 374-5698 or riconeill@cox.net

For photos and videos of past "Dancing at the Forty Steps" commemorative events, click the above graphic.

Note: This outdoor event held weather-permitting. Schedule changes will be posted on the Museum's website event page and Museum's Facebook page. As of Thursday, March. 26, the forecast for Sunday, March 29 is temps in the low 40s, dry, and partly cloudly.

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We are pleased to share news of this lecture at Providence College featuring Hasia Diner, professor emerita at New York University, past director of N.Y.U.'s Glucksman Ireland House, and a past Museum of Newport Irish History guest speaker.

Monday, March 30, 6:00 p.m.

Dr. Diner will speak on the topic of her most recent

book of the same name:

"The Unlikely Alliance Between

the Irish & the Jews in America"

The extraordinary untold story of how Irish and Jewish immigrants worked together to secure legitimacy in America.*

~A lovely reception will follow the lecture~

No Fee

Reservations are requested for both

In-Person or Live-Streaming participation

For talk overview and to RESERVE click this link:

prov.ly/5th-annual-murphy-healy-lecture

Location: '64 Hall, Slavin Center

Parking: PC's Wardlow Lot

GPS for Parking: 1 Wardlaw Ave, Providence, RI 02918

Questions: (401) 865-2895

*Note: Dr. Diner delivered a highly anticipated lecture to Museum members and guests on this topic in October 2024. This event set a record for the largest total audience—in person plus Zoom—of our lecture series in its 24-year history. If you missed the 2024 presentation, this is a rare opportunity to experience Dr. Diner's talk on "The Unlikely Alliance Between the Irish & the Jews" as a guest of Providence College.

Murphy Healy Lecture Series made possible by a gift to

Providence College from the late John M. Murphy Sr. ’19 Hon.

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.