Newport Irish History Museum

Turn your clocks back to the early Nineteenth Century as you stroll through the neighborhoods of the Irish immigrants who were so instrumental in the building of our great city of Newport.

The 3 Walking Tours: 1. The Fifth Ward, 2. Spring Street to Barney Street Cemetery, 3. Bellevue Avenue Each of the tours has approximately 15 places of high interest and can be completed in approximately One hour to 90 minutes.

Tour maps may be procured at The Museum Interpretive Center, 648 Thames Street, Newport for $2 each or the Walking Tour App “by donation” on the MNIH website : newportirishhistory.org

The Story The Irish Immigration picked up steam in the early 19th century with the arrival of the Coal Miners from the Beara Peninsula who operated the Portsmouth Coal Mines for nearly 100 years. Following the miners were the Canal Diggers, the laborers on the Fall River Steamship Line, the 400 Irishmen who constructed Fort Adams, textile workers in the Thames Street Mills, and, in the latter 19th century, the more than 2000 Irish workers who supported the Bellevue Ave “summer cottages” of the Vanderbilts and the other wealthy members of “Mrs. Astors 400 club” during the Gilded Age. By the mid 1800s, it is estimated that the Irish represented 50% of Newport’s population.

We recommend that you start the tour at the Museum of Newport Irish History Interpretive Center at 648 Thames Street, in the heart of the “Fifth Ward”, the centroid of Irish culture in Newport. View the homes of those who contributed so much to the fabric of Newport; visit Ancient Order of Hibernians (AOH) Hall, the largest membership in the country; sip a Guinness at one of our many Irish Pubs; tour Fort Adams, built on the backs of 400 Irishmen over 33 years; visit Barney Street Cemetery and St Mary’s Catholic Church, the first Catholic parish in Rhode Island.

Enjoy, enjoy!

Slainte.