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This is a repost of an article I did last year about the tradition of candles in the window at Christmas time along with some personal comments. It’s a tradition with deep roots in my Irish heritage. I’ve added a photo of the Sweeney house on St. James Street –…
Read More »With so many Americans – especially in this neck of the woods – having Irish ancestry on the family tree, I thought our blog readers might enjoy this list of Irish Christmas traditions – some old and some new. This was posted today by writer Jane Walshon the Irish Central…
Read More »Dr. Patrick Mogan was buried this week. He is best known as the Father of the Lowell National Park but he was much more than that. Is there anyone else in America who served as a city’s Superintendent of Schools and as the community’s chief urban planner? Mogan more than…
Read More »“Venice of the North: Boott Cotton Storage” by Richard Marion (c) 2012 See more artwork at www.richardmarion.net
Read More »The UMass Lowell Libraries will host a free five-part reading and discussion series focusing on three of Jack Kerouac’s Lowell-centric novels: “The Town and the City,” “Visions of Gerard” and “Maggie Cassidy.” The series, which begins Jan. 29, will feature UMass Lowell English Prof. Todd Tietchen leading discussions of each…
Read More »“The Bridge Review: Merrimack Valley Culture” is an online bio-regional magazine that was launched in the late 1990s. After publishing several issues, the original editors rested. The beauty of the web, of course, is that the previous issues remained available to interested readers. With the coming of the 2012 Bread…
Read More »The Lowell Historical Society forwarded an email that was addressed to me from some folks who have made a great video from a Civil War era photo album depicting many Lowell residents. The pictures are amazing and, as a bonus, we learn something about the Battle of Galveston which I…
Read More »Dave McKean, keeper of the Lowell Irish blog and a graduate of St Patrick’s School in Lowell, recently paid a visit and learned that besides all the other things needed by this inner-city school that does great work, the facility is in need of a new roof. The sisters who…
Read More »Patrick J. Mogan (Photo (c) by James Higgins) We learned earlier today about the passing of Dr. Patrick J. Mogan—teacher, planner, dreamer, and tireless enthusiast for Lowell. I had the privilege of working for him and with him. He was a mentor and guide to me. His purposeful and joyful commitment…
Read More »Seeing Tony’s stunning sunset image posted yesterday reminded me of this poem, which I wrote in the 1980s. I’ve always been fascinated by the sundown skies over the river channel looking west from Pawtucketville, particularly the vantage point from the O’Donnell Bridge that connects Mammoth Rd and School St. There’s…
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