A Smorgasbord of Heart and Mind By Jacquelyn Malone Atlantic Currents is a celebration in print of two cities, Cork, Ireland, and Lowell, Massachusetts. Cork has been designated as a City of Learning by UNESCO and Lowell has applied for membership with coaching from colleagues in Cork. But that honor…
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The entry below is being cross posted from Marjorie Arons-Barron’s own blog. Worrying about those, including close friends and relatives, suffering from the pandemic virus itself, fretting about its economic fallout and spending up to eight hours a day in assorted Zoom meetings, I have lacked the focus to write…
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IN THE FALL OF 2014, I had the good fortune to attend a conference called “The Irish in Massachusetts: Historical Significance, Lasting Legacy” that was co-hosted by UMass Lowell and Queen’s University Belfast. The keynote speaker, Dr. Timothy Meagher of Catholic University of America, gave a sweeping talk that traced…
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The launch of Trasna coincides with the feast of Bealtaine, which marks the start of summer in Ireland. Hopefully Trasna will also be the start to something great. Our first piece comes from Sligo author Joe McGowan who explores the pagan and Christian traditions surrounding May 1st. When we were…
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(web photo courtesy of juneautours) Glacier by Tom Sexton We stood on the deck of a ferry at dawn fifty years ago and felt the cold breath of a glacier that was mirrored in the icy water. Harbor seals disappeared as we approached. When the air…
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Malcolm Sharps is a writer living in Hungary. His account of leaving England is familiar to anyone who has lived in an industrial city whose economy has been upended, something that people living in Lowell experienced during the 20th century. This is Malcolm’s second appearance on RichardHowe.com. The Leaving of…
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On the Thirtieth Day of Isolation (Covid-19) Marie Louise St. Onge Just over four weeks now, no store no pharmacy no haircut no meetings no movies no museum no protests no handshakes no hugs no gym simply solo walks along the shore. Respite indeed when I pull in…
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Jack McDonough, a returning contributor to our blog, lives in Tewksbury, Mass. His writing is included in the anthology of the first ten years of RichardHowe.com, HISTORY AS IT HAPPENS: CITIZEN BLOGGERS IN LOWELL, MASS. (Loom Press, 2017). For many years he wrote and edited publications in the UMass Lowell…
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This is the second week of “virus” diary entries by Paul Hudon of Lowell, scholar and teacher and keen observer of the locale and wider world. He is the author of The Valley & Its People: An Illustrated History of the Lower Merrimack and All in Good Time, a book…
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Perceptive visitors may have noticed the subtitle of this site recently changed to “Voices from Lowell & Beyond” from its longtime predecessor, “Lowell Politics & History.” Here’s how I explain this evolution on our updated About page: The new tagline marks a shift in focus. Instead of a publication primarily…
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