In celebration of the 48th annual Newport Irish Heritage Month, the Museum of Newport Irish History Interpretive Center will be open on nine days this March. Special hours will be on the second, third, and fourth weekends in March (Fri-Sat-Sun), from 12 to 5 p.m. Click the Web Site link for the complete schedule, found on the website home page.

Hosted by knowledgeable and engaging docents, visitors to the Center will learn about Irish immigration to Newport County from the colonial era to the present and of the many contributions made to our community by individuals of Irish descent. The exhibits include maps, photographs, models, videos, and artifacts, including some from the construction of nearby Fort Adams, built with Irish immigrant labor. The newest exhibit spotlights the Newport-Kinsale Sister City relationship.

The Center is located at 648 Lower Thames St., just south of Narragansett Avenue. Free parking is available on the street.

About
The Museum of Newport Irish History, a volunteer-driven, non-profit 501c3 organization, was founded in 1996 and now boasts more than 900 members. In addition to operating the Interpretive Center, the organization sponsors numerous educational, cultural, social, and fundraising events throughout the year, including the popular Annual Lecture Series, now in its 23rd Season. The organization also restored and maintains the historic Barney Street Cemetery at the corner of Barney and Mt. Vernon Streets, steps from Washington Square. It is the final resting place of many of Newport’s earliest Irish residents. The cemetery was established to support Rhode Island’s first Roman Catholic parish (1828), the forerunner of the current St. Mary’s Church at the corner of Spring Street and Memorial Boulevard.

To learn more or to join the Museum, visit www.NewportIrishHistory.org, stop by the Interpretive Center during public hours, write us at NewportIrishHistory@gmail.com.