Connemara celebrates as one of their own is elected new Mayor of Boston

Connemara people in Massachusetts enjoyed one of their greatest celebrations early yesterday morning when one of their own, Marty Walsh, was elected as the new Mayor of the City of Boston.  

Walsh, the son of parents from Carna and Ros Muc, came out on top in a hard fought campaign ahead of sitting City Councillor John Connolly.

Walsh secured his victory by a margin of just over 5,000 votes – a gap of almost 3%.   And a thronged Park Plaza Hotel in central Boston burst into scenes of jubilation as the final result became clear – Marty Walsh had become he 54th Mayor of one of America’s major cities.

Mayor Walsh will be sworn in as Mayor on January 1 for a four-year term.  He again said after his victory last night that his first official visit outside of the United States will be to his parents’ home communities in Ros Muc and Carna; he hopes to visit in the late spring. 

His mother Mary Walsh – formerly Mary O’Malley – is from Ros Cide in Ros Muc and his late father John Walsh was from Callowfeenish in Carna; two of the thousands of Connemara people who have emigrated to Boston through the centuries.

The return of a son of Connemara as the First Citizen of that City brought the wheels of history to a full circle early on Wednesday morning.

Over 100 Connemara people were actively involved in the lengthy campaign which began in earnest last April when Marty Walsh announced his decision to run for Mayor. 

This sparked off one of the biggest gatherings of Connemara people in the city and surrounding State in decades as they joined the massive effort to elect one of their own.

Thousands of phone calls were made from Walsh’s campaign headquarters in Dorchester; the effort was organised to the point where a Connemara emigrant who speaks Spanish – Mike Newell from Ros Muc – was on hand to communicate with Spanish speakers, if needed.

Walsh posters and billboards were in evidence all over Boston with crossroad signboards in Carna and Ros Muc extending the energy across the Atlantic.

See full story and pix from celebration party in this week’s Connacht Tribune.