May 27, 2023

Dear Members,

What a memorable May it has been! As those of you who caught our last two e-newsletters or read in the press know, 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. You can read about their visit and access the photos below. 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.

In other news:

• Our "refreshed" Interpretive Center opens for the 2023 Season this weekend. Public hours are 12 noon to 5:00 p.m., Thursday through Sunday, through the end of October (closed Mon-Wed).
• Thank you, again, to all who donated to the 2022 Annual Appeal. Your generous contributions funded our work at the Center to ready it for the 2023 Season. We are also grateful to our team of volunteer docents, without whom we could not open to the public each year.
• Interested in joining our volunteer docent team? We'd love to have you! To learn more, please phone board member and Interpretive Center Manager Steve Marino at (860) 995-7367 or email NewportIrishHistory@gmail.com
• Speaking of member-volunteers, a special "thank you" to our dedicated cemetery team for their recent work on the site in preparation for the visit of Mary McAleese. Please scroll down for details and consider joining them. You don't need to be a master gardener or have a bonafide "green thumb" to make a big difference!
• Our 2023 Annual Meeting is fast approaching on Sun. June 11. If you plan to join us for the meeting and/or meeting plus supper and entertainment, please reserve before the June 6 deadline. Details and links are below. Should you have questions or need assistance with your reservation, please contact me directly via email or phone.

Last but not least, membership renewal season continues. Many of you with Annual (vs. Life) memberships have paid your dues recently (thank you!), but we have a ways to go, with over 200 membership payments outstanding.

While we are a volunteer-run 501c3 organization, membership dues are critical to the organization's health and cover essential administrative expenses, including this e-newsletter system, printing, mailing, and postage. Your dues also help defray the cost associated with our three core activities: operating the Interpretive Center during the warm weather months, producing the fall-winter Annual Lecture Series, and maintaining and beautifying the Barney Street Cemetery, a site central to the history of the Irish in Newport. Thank you for your renewing your support today.

Enjoy the holiday weekend!

Deanna

Deanna J. Conheeny, President

Board of Directors

NewportIrishHistory@gmail.com

(401) 829-0098 - mobile

Photo courtesy of Salve Regina University

As we shared in our e-news of May 10, in celebration of its 75th Anniversary, Salve Regina University invited community members to a conversation with the former president of Ireland, Mary McAleese, and Salve president, Dr. Kelli J. Armstrong. The talk, which took place under a tent on the oceanside lawn of McAuley Hall, was attended by approximately 750 and was live-streamed to many more. We were happy to see so many Museum members and friends in attendance.

For those unable to attend, a terrific recap of the two presidents' engaging conversation has been posted on the Salve Regina website and shared with the media. You may access the article and a link to the recording of the entire 1-hour event by clicking the below button or on the above photo.

Photo courtesy of Salve Regina University

On the morning of May 17, the Museum's Board of Directors had the honor of hosting President McAleese and her husband, Martin McAleese, for a visit to the Barney Street Cemetery, where many of Newport's early Irish immigrants are interred. Many of the known burials were of individuals connected to the construction of Fort Adams, another important Newport Irish historical site, which Mary and Martin McAleese visited the previous day.

While at the cemetery, the McAleeses learned about the site's history, and Mary McAleese laid a wreath to remember those interred there.

You may view photos of this gathering by clicking the below button. A selection of the pictures has been compiled in an album on the Museum's Facebook page, but you do not need a Facebook account to access the photos. Be sure to click on each image to enlarge and read the caption information. Click on the button below to read the greetings shared, on behalf of the membership and board, by board president Deanna Conheeny.

We are grateful to our colleagues at Salve Regina University for orchestrating this memorable gathering and sharing these photos.

Photo by Larry Bartley taken after the Apr. 25 work session.

Our dedicated Barney Street Cemetery volunteers, under the direction of board member and chair of our Cemetery Committee, Jack McCormack, ensured the site was especially beautiful in preparation for the visit by President McAleese, her husband, and our colleagues from Salve Regina University.

During the first work session of the season on April 25, the team removed weeds, separated perennials, edged the flower beds, trimmed grass, and laid down copious amounts of mulch. The mulch was generously donated by a member and longtime cemetery hero, Patrick Carlisle. A smaller group returned on May 9 to lay down additional mulch. The below list reflects all who volunteered on April 25 and/or May 9.

Ann Arnold

Larry Bartley

Mary Ellen Bronson

Jonathan Davies

Larry Davis

Carolyn Evans-Carbery

Joan Galvin

Winkle Kelly

Steve Marino

Jack McCormack

John Quinn

Ben Smith

Dan Titus

Interested in joining the Cemetery work team?

Please send a note to NewportIrishHistory@gmail.com, and we'd be delighted to add you to the e-distribution list for the announcement of periodic work sessions. Many hands make light work, and many volunteers linger after this gratifying work is wrapped up to socialize, admire their handiwork, and share a beverage.

The team's hard work has not gone unnoticed by residents of the Historic Hill neighborhood and other passersby, and many have expressed their gratitude to the team during work sessions. Several cemetery neighbors have been inspired to join our organization or make a financial gift to help defray our expenses.

Photo of the cemetery just before the wreath-laying.

Left to right, former president of Ireland, Mary McAleese, Martin McAleese, Deanna Conheeny, president of the Museum board of directors, board member, Carol Lepley,

board member, John Quinn, board member, Jack McCormack.

Photo courtesy of Salve Regina University.

To view a selection of photos from the May 17 wreath-laying event, click THIS LINK.

2023 ANNUAL MEETING ANNOUNCEMENT

• Learn about the Museum's activities and progress over the last year and plans for the new fiscal year, which began on April 1.
• Meet the Board of Directors and other engaged members and volunteers.
• Stay for supper and Irish entertainment if your schedule allows.
• All members of record will also receive an invitation by mail.
• No tickets available at the door.
• All supper reservations must be pre-paid. Thank you!

Reservations Required

by close-of-business Tues. June 6

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! 

We have a ways to go, as approximately 200

have not yet paid their membership dues for the

Apr. 1, 2023- Mar. 31, 2024 Membership cycle.

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 us at PO Box 1378, Newport, RI, 02840

Note:

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.