May 21, 2026

Dear Members,

At our Annual Meeting on April 26, we celebrated significant progress toward our mission over the past year. A highlight was the installation and expansion of the Interpretive Center’s first digital exhibit, Tracing the Tides.

Our 2025–26 Lecture Series engaged nearly 1,000 participants, in person and online. Thanks to the generosity of our members, our musical-comedy fundraiser and raffle were a success, and grants and private donations enabled us to fund new initiatives—most notably, the Tracing the Tides digital interactive display.

Because of your continued support, our programing is strong, our finances remain robust, and 
our endowment is growing as we 
enter our 30th Anniversary year!

Our board members and dedicated docent volunteers are busy preparing for opening day at the Interpretive Center, which also serves as a hub for research and student interns. This season, interns continue to catalog documents, photographs, and other historical resources, while also helping expand and enrich the stories featured in Tracing the Tides through text, images, and video. The Interpretive Center will open for the 2026 season on Friday, May 22, and will welcome visitors Thursday through Sunday, noon to 5:00 p.m., through October 25.


We invite you to visit the Center soon to explore our newest Tracing the Tides digital story area under development, “Notable Irish Newporters.” We are highlighting 5 families now, but the display will be dynamic with other families being featured in the future. You may even recognize an ancestor—or suggest additional “Notables” for future inclusion, like yours! Our aim is to document the diaspora of Irish immigrants to the Newport area. More information will be coming as the project moves forward.

Our 25th Annual Lecture Series begins September 23, and our popular historic Irish cemetery tours will also resume. Stay tuned for more 30th Anniversary updates!

The Interpretive Center could not operate without our volunteer docents, who include both longtime and newer members.

Scroll down to learn how you can join our docent team and share your passion for local history—especially the rich history of the Irish in Newport! We also welcome new volunteers to join our Barney Street Cemetery work team.


Thank you for being part of our vibrant membership community as we celebrate 30 years of preserving and sharing Newport’s Irish history!

Sláinte,

Deanna

Deanna J. Conheeny

President, Board of Directors

djconheeny@gmail.com

(401) 829-0098- mobile

The Museum's Interpretive Center on at 648 Thames Street will open for the 2026 Season on Friday, May 22. Hours are 12:00 noon to 5:00 p.m., Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, through Sunday, October 25.

Please consider joining the ranks of our volunteer docents!

Members with a love of local history and interest in hosting visitors from near and far, eager to learn about Newport's rich Irish history and share their stories, are a perfect fit to the position.

If you have just a few hours to spare each month, please consider donating your time and talent to be an ambassador at the Museum. Shifts are short and enjoyable, and training will be provided.

If you'd like to learn more, please contact Interpretive Center Manager, Steve Marino. He'd love to chat with you!

You can reach Steve by emailing enzoteach@aol.com or calling (860) 995-7367. Thank you for your interest!

The cemetery looks well-tended, indeed, following the May 1 work session to kick off the 2026 Season.

Many thanks to the following members and friends of the Museum who gathered at the Barney Street Cemetery on May 1, under the direction of Cemetery Comm. Chair, Jack McCormack, for the first work session of the season:

• Larry Bartley • Steve Marino

• Mary Ellen Bronson • John Quinn

• John Carroll • Ann Arnold

• Deanna Conheeny • Larry Davis
• Mark Thompson

Team members met for about an hour to weed, edged the beds, separate perennials, and lay a yard and a half of mulch, generously donated by Life Member, Patrick Carlisle. 

Please contact Jack if you'd like to learn more or to request to be added to the distribution list for this rewarding and enjoyable volunteer activity. Team members gather several times
 over the spring to late-fall time frame. 
Whether you have an hour to spare or several, we'd love to have you!
 JohnRMcCormack@cox.net or (401) 835-3243

April 1 marked the start of the Museum's new Fiscal Year, so members with Annual (vs. Life) Memberships are due for renewal at this time, if they had not prepaid their dues for 2026-27.

THANK YOU to all who have already paid their dues for the

new membership cycle!


Those who have not yet renewed will receive a reminder in the U.S. Mail shortly. 

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

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.



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.