Oct. 16, 2025

Dear Members,

Thank you to all who attended and/or make a donation to our fall musical-comedy FUNdraiser, "Blarney, Bologna and Beyond." The October 10 sold-out event was great fun and a huge success. We look forward to sharing more information in our next e-news.

Our next two events are coming up quickly, so if you plan to join us and have not already reserved, please sign up now.

Scroll down for details and links to reserve. 

Questions? Please write NewportIrishHistory@gmail.com

Second Program of the 2025-26 Series

~ Our 24th Annual ~

 Guest Speaker:

Dr. Timothy J. Meagher


Monday, October 20, 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

Larry Bartley

For a copy of the talk overview you 
received in the mail, click HERE

• Doors open at 5:30 p.m.
• Light hors d'oeuvres & cash bar available
• Copies of Dr. Meagher's latest book, "Becoming Irish American" available for sale & signing, 
  courtesy of Charter Books.
• 
  

Click a button below to sign up


In-person: $5 fee at the door

(cash or check to MNIH)


Zoom registrants: No fee

TIMOTHY J. MEAGHER was born in Worcester, Massachusetts, and his family spent many summers in Newport. He is a retired Professor of History and Director of Archives at the Catholic University of America.

He received his PhD in American History from Brown University and, as a Fulbright Fellow, taught at University College Dublin and Dublinc City University.

He was written or co-edited five book, including recently, Becoming Irish American: The Making and Remaking of a People From Roanake to JFK (Yale University Pres, 2024).

Longtime Museum members will recall Dr. Meagher's lecture for our group back in March 2003 when our talks were held in the function room at the La Forge Casino Restaurant. Click HERE to see the lecture flyer from that talk, which focused on the Irish in Worcester, Mass. 

We warmly welcome Tim Meagher back to Newport!



The James B. Cottrell Monument.

 Photo by Steve Marino

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

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

Thanks to our wonderful volunteer docents and our Salve Regina University intern, our Interpretive Center at 648 Lower Thames Street has been open Thursday through Sunday, from noon to 5:00 p.m., since Memorial Day Weekend. The final day of the 2025 Season is Sunday, October 26. 

Stop by before we close for the season and 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." You can read on for more information.

Museum members enjoy free admission. Admission is by donation for others. 

Private off-season visits may be arranged with sufficient notice for us to schedule a docent by writing: NewportIrishHistory@gmail.com

Be sure to save the date for our final fall talk before the winter hiatus, with past speaker Cormac K.H. O'Malley, whose talk, "The Artistic Legacy of Helen Hooker O'Malley," is generously sponsored by Frank Furtado in memory of Barbara Carr Furtado.

The talk overview will be shared with our members via U.S. mail and e-newsletter, and posted on our website "Lectures" page shortly, at which point the guest list will be open for your reservations.

THANK YOU to all who have paid their dues for the

2025-26 Membership Cycle.

Those who have not yet renewed receive a second reminder in the mail in August. 
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.