March 27, 2021
Dear Fellow Members,
As Newport Irish Heritage Month and our 2020-21 Fiscal Year come to a close, I'm pleased to share some important updates with you.
First, on behalf of the board of directors, I extend a warm "Welcome" to the new members who joined since the beginning of the year. Click here to "meet" our most recent group of new members who hail from R.I., Mass. and beyond. A shout out, as well, to the existing members listed who have joined the ranks of our "Life" members. Thank you for your generous support of our Mission!
We are also pleased to share the final proceeds of our highly successful 2020 Annual Appeal. I can't tell how grateful we are for the 300+ individual gifts of all sizes. These generous contributions kept us afloat during the pandemic and also enabled us to tackle some important projects. See below for details.
Our March 16 lecture via Zoom by Chuck Arning, "How the Irish Saved the Blackstone Canal," attracted a record audience. If you were unable to join us 'live' that evening, please be sure to watch the video via the below link. And don't forget to join us for our next lecture on April 21, featuring returning guest speaker, Dr. Janet Nolan, who will delve into her Irish immigrant family history.
Please read on this these stories and more!
Slán agus beannacht (stay well),
Mike Slein
President, Board of Directors
(401) 855-5097 - mobile
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Crowley Lecture Series News: |
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Please join us for our next Crowley Lecture, by returning guest speaker Dr. Janet Nolan.
Click here for a copy of the flyer, including speaker bio,
you received in the U.S. Mail.
When Harry Met Mary Ann: An Irish Family in an American City
Wed. Apr 21 at 6:00pm via Zoom
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Mary Ann (Donovan) Nolan, grandmother of Dr. Janet Nolan |
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In April 1888, teenager Mary Ann Donovan stood alone on the quays of Queenstown, outside the city of Cork, waiting to board a ship bound for Boston. Her parents had died a few months before, making Mary Ann and her older brother John the only members of the family remaining in Ireland. Older sister Nellie had already gone to America and lived in Lynn, Mass., and Nellie’s weekly letters home were bright spots in the Donovan household. After their parents’ deaths, Nellie sent the passage money so that her sister could join her. The “S.S. Marathon” was to be her home as she crossed the water, one of thousands of other Irish farm girls seeking a better life in a new land.
Several years later, Mary Ann met Harry Nolan at an Ancient Order of Hibernians dance in West Lynn. Harry married the vivacious red-haired Mary Ann in 1897 and they went on to have nine children, the seventh of whom became my father. What unfolds is both a micro and a macro history of one Irish-American family, the Donovan-Nolans, and one New England industrial city, Lynn, Massachusetts. It is also a representative story of a far larger tale than one family in one city in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. That tale, the story of Irish emigrants to America and the steep slope they climbed into the American middle class, is one that is echoed in millions of Irish-American families throughout the United States. We will look at Harry and Mary Ann, in particular, to see what they have to tell us about themselves and about the larger Irish experience in America.
Register NOW by clicking the
below RED button.
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Note: If you have previously reserved and received an e-confirmation, you are all set. Just look for the follow-up e-newsletter with the ZOOM login info.
to be sent on Apr 20.
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In case you missed these recent programs, check out the recordings by
clicking the Green buttons:
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Successful 2020 Annual Appeal Closes: |
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As we approach the end of our 2020-2021 Fiscal Year on March 31, we are delighted to report on the final proceeds of the 2020 Annual Appeal, our first such outreach in nearly a decade.
Thanks to the generosity of YOU, our members, proceeds of $36,660 exceeded the amount normally raised by our in-person annual fundraising events, which were cancelled in 2020 due to the pandemic.
In addition to covering our basic Interpretive Center operating expenses, your generous donations have enabled us to boost the Center's endowment for future growth, to repaint the metal fence surrounding the gravestones of the historic Irish cemetery at Barney & Mt. Vernon Streets, and will enable us to embark on the redesign of our website, NewportIrishHistory.org.
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Total raised: $36,660 !
Click the Button below for
list of donor names.
Many of the gifts were made in Memory or in Honor of a
loved one.
While every effort has been made to ensure accuracy, please notify us of any listing error by clicking HERE.
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As shared previously, we will shortly be producing a large board listing all donors which we will display at the Interpretive Center to recognize all who have contributed to the 2020 Appeal. |
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Interpretive Center Open by Appointment: |
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As a reminder, while our Interpretive Center on Lower Thames Street remains closed to the public due to the pandemic, private visits by appointment continue.
To arrange a private visit for up to 2 guests, please send an email to NewportIrishHistory@gmail.com and include your name, phone, the number in the party, and preferred date(s) and time. We'll get back to you swiftly.
Masks will be required and social distancing protocols will be in place. You can also enjoy a 'virtual tour' of the Center by clicking HERE.
Note: We hope to be in the position to offer some version of public hours for the summer season ahead, subject to covid-19 state guidelines and the status of vaccines among our volunteer docents. Safety remains our #1 concern.
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Last but not Least:
It's Membership Renewal Season!
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Those of you with Annual (vs. Life) memberships who have not recently renewed are due for renewal at this time. Our membership year runs concurrent with our Fiscal Year, Apr. 1 to March 31, as noted about. The yearly membership fee remains $20 for Individual memberships and $30 for Family/Household memberships (covering all living at the same address).
THANK YOU for taking a moment to renew NOW by visiting the "Membership" page on our website by clicking the below Green button. Please help us reduce printing and postage expense by renewing at this time.
Questions about your Membership status?
Please write to Ann at tpm1@earthlink.net or phone her at 401-841-5493 and she'll get right back to you.
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This this e-news with your friends on Social Media via these links: |
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Museum of Newport Irish History
Mailing: PO Box 1378, Newport, RI 02840
Interpretive Center: 648 Lower Thames Street, Newport RI 02840
Click Here for Museum Board of Directors Contact Info.
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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.
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