August 26, 2025

Dear Members,

Labor Day is fast approaching, which to many signals the end of summer, but our season at the museum is still going strong. The Interpretive Center will be open through the last weekend in October, and we welcome all visitors for our lovely early Fall weather.

This summer, we had some special guests at the Interpretive Center. The Irish Consul General from the Boston Consulate and some of her staff visited the museum mid-July. They were duly impressed with how we have chronicled the history and contributions of the Irish in Newport County. And then in late July, the Newport Ladies Ancient Order of Hibernians had a social at the museum.

During both events, we showcased our new digital display, "Tracing the Tides." The interactive exhibit presents many, many stories with photos and audio. It allows the visitor to travel through levels of Newport Irish history to discover the depth of the impact on the community. I encourage our members to visit the museum and possibly find one or many of their relatives in these stories!

Consul General, Síghle FitzGerald (center) and Vice Consul, Paul Rooney (far left) with some of our Board members on July 17. Photo courtesy of the Boston Consulate.

It was a pleasure to demonstrate "Tracing the Tides" for our Lady Hibernian guests on July 29. Photo courtesy of the Ladies Ancient Order of Hibernians, Newport.

Excellent news was received in July, when the Irish Consulate in Boston awarded us another grant to create a new storyline on Tracing the Tides, documenting the Irish diaspora of Irish immigrants to Newport County. 

Our annual meeting in June allowed us to showcase all our accomplishments from the past year. As reported, we remain strong in membership, finances, and offerings.

Speaking of membership, on behalf of the Board of Directors, I extend a warm welcome to all who joined the organization thus far in 2025 and a special thank you to the many existing members who purchased a Life membership subscription. Click HERE to see the list.

As you continue reading this newsletter, you’ll see all the events planned in the fall including lectures and a very special fundraiser in October! 

Thank you for all your support and looking forward to seeing you,

Sláinte,

Deanna

Deanna J. Conheeny

President, Board of Directors

djconheeny@gmail.com

(401) 829-0098- mobile

First Program of the 2025-26 Series

~ Our 24th Annual ~

 Guest Speaker:

Dr. Scott Molloy

Monday, September 22, 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

Virginia Pittsley

Given in memory of her husband, Bill Pittsley

and their son, Jay Pittsley

For the talk overview, click HERE

• Doors open at 5:30 p.m.
• Light hors d'oeuvres & cash bar available
• 
  

Click a link below to sign up


In-person: $5 fee at the door

(cash or check to MNIH)

Zoom registrants: No fee

SCOTT MOLLOY is Professor Emeritus at the University of R.I., where he was an award-winning professor at the Schmidt Labor Research Center. He previously drove a RIPTA bus, was a union activist, and was chief of staff to a U.S. Congresswoman. He earned his doctorate in American History from Providence College in 1991.

A prolific writer, Molloy wrote, Trolley Wars: Streetcar Workers on the Line (U. of N.H., 2007), Irish Titan, Irish Toilers: Joseph Banigan and Nineteenth-Century New England Labor (U. Press of N.E., 2008), and his latest book, From the Front of the Bus to the Front of the Class: Growing Up a Baby Boomer in Rhode Island (2022).

Dr. Molloy was inducted into the Labor History Society Hall of Fame and the Rhode Island Heritage Hall of Fame. The Molloy Labor and Transit Collections wing at the U.R.I. library houses Dr. Molloy’s donated archive related to labor and transit in the Ocean State. The Smithsonian Institution in Washington is home to a 10,000-piece collection of labor memorabilia donated by Dr. Molloy and named in his honor.

Scott Molloy holds dual U.S.-Irish Citizenship and served as Grand Marshal of the 2018 Providence St. Patrick’s Day Parade. We welcome him for this, his sixth speaking engagement with the Museum.

Photo of Scott Molloy courtesy of the Providence Journal

Dr. John F. Quinn

Dr. Jolly's book, "Nuns of the Battlefield," published in 1927

The Newport Ladies Ancient Order of Hibernians (LAOH) invites Museum members and friends to a history lecture to celebrate their division's 125th anniversary on Saturday, Sept. 13 at at the Great Friends Meeting House, corner Farewell and Marlborough Streets in Newport.

Salve Regina University professor, Museum of Newport Irish History board member, and popular lecture series guest speaker, Dr. John Quinn, will give a talk titled "Dr. Ellen Ryan Jolly, Hibernian Pioneer." 

Dr. Jolly was a Rhode Islander who served as president of the R.I. LAOH in 1906, and then in 1912 became the LAOH's second national president. She is best known for her efforts to commemorate the nursing work of hundreds of nuns during the Civil War. Dr. Quinn's 12:30 p.m. talk will be preceded by a 12:00 noon Irish step-dancing performance.

Following Dr. Quinn's talk, the LAOH Newport division will unveil their newly restored original charter from 1900.

Light refreshments will be served. 


All are welcome. There is no fee, but reservations are required.

To reserve, please email Newport LAOH president Kathryn Brady at Kathrynbrady84@gmail.com.  

Thanks to our wonderful volunteer docents, listed below, our Interpretive Center at 648 Lower Lower Thames Street is open Thursday through Sunday, from noon to 5:00 p.m. through, Sunday, October 26. Museum members enjoy free admission and admission is by donation for others.

If you've not visited lately, consider stopping in to see our newest exhibits including the history of the Newport-Kinsale, Ireland sister city relationship. Our most recent addition is an interactive digital display dubbed "Tracing the Tides." Read on for more information.

THANK YOU MUSEUM DOCENTS!

Our thanks to the following who have worked one or more shift

thus far this season at the Interpretive Center:

*Interpretive Center Manager #Salve Summer Intern

Steve Marino leads a tour of the Barney Street Cemetery in Oct. 2024. Photo by Colleen McGrath

One of the many family plots at the St. Mary's Cemetery. Photo by Jimmy Lappin

A tour of the circa 1828 Barney Street Cemetery, Rhode Island's oldest Irish cemetery, will be offered Sat, Sept. 20, at 1:00 p.m.

Led by Steve Marino, this tour of the final resting place of many of Newport's earliest Irish immigrants and the site of R.I.'s first Catholic church is approximately 30 minutes long. Learn the fascinating story and the mysteries surrounding this site, the center of Newport's Irish community life for several decades.

The story of Newport's growing Irish community, as told through its burying grounds, continues on Sat., Oct. 18 at 1:00 p.m. with a tour of the circa 1852 St. Mary's Cemetery. This cemetery was established to serve R.I.'s first Catholic parish, which 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.

For details, including directions, please click the button below to access our website's

"Historic Cemetery Tours" page.

You will find links to reserve, interesting historical information about the Barney Street Cemetery site, and videos there.

  Questions/Assistance with Reservations?

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

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

THANK YOU CEMETERY VOLUNTEER CREW!

Our thanks to the following who have participated in one or more work session at the Barney Street Cemetery so far this season:

*Cemetery Committee Chair

Our next FUNdraising event will be presented Friday, October 10, at 7:00 p.m. at St. Augustin's Church Hall in Newport.

Proceeds from ticket sales and donations will support our mission-driven initiatives.

All members of record will receive a printed invitation in the mail and information and links to reserve and/or donate will be posted on the "Events" page of our website. 

Hint: This musical-comedy show features a multi-talented "local personality" and friends.

THANK YOU to all who have paid their dues for the

2025-26 Membership Cycle.

Those who have not yet renewed will receive a reminder in the mail shortly. 
CLICK HERE to see the letter

You can renew online NOW by clicking the below "Membership Renewal" button

Have questions about 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.

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.