41st Annual Irish Cultural Week
March 10th-17th, 2024
March 10th-17th, 2024
Sunday, March 10th
9:30 AM
Pre-Mass Irish Concert
St. Patrick Church, Lowell, MA
Music Performed by Organist Jeffrey Smith and soloists Alison Burns and Miguel Cabrera
10:00 AM
Opening Mass
St. Patrick Church, Lowell, MA
Principal Celebrant and Homilist Rev. William Acevedo with concelebrants Rev. Joseph Almeida and Rev. Richard “Doc” Conway. Hymns by Organist Jeffrey Smith and soloists Alison Burns and Miguel Cabrera. Readings in Gaelic by Eileen Sullivan, LAOH. Dancing performed by the Heavey-Quinn Academy of Irish Dance. Bell concert to follow with the chimes being played by Bob Feldman.
11:15 AM
Parade and Wreath Laying
St. Patrick Church, Lowell, MA
March with us in a parade to Lowell City Hall to raise the Irish flag and lay a wreath at the Irish Monument on O’Connell Parkway
Brunch
After the Mass and Parade in the Church Hall. Entertainment by Chuck Campbell. Tickets are $5.00
1:00PM
Traditional Ceili
Mount Pleasant Golf Club, Lowell, MA
Performance by dancers from the O’Shea Chaplin Academy of Irish Dance. Free admission
Monday, March 11th
7:00 PM
Irish Movie Night
St. Patrick Church Hall, Lowell, MA
This year’s Irish movie feature is “The Quiet Man”. Free admission. Recommended good will donation of $5.00.
Wednesday, March 13th
7:00 PM
Acre Forum and 10th Anam Cara Awards
Mt. Pleasant Country Club, Lowell, MA
Awards presentation followed by Irish storyteller Simon Brooks who will entertain with myths and tales from the old sod. Free admission. Suggested goodwill donation of $5.00
Read about our Anam Cara award winners here.
Saturday, March 16th
10:00 AM
Acre Neighborhood Walking Tour
Lowell National Historical Park Visitors Center, 246 Market Street, Lowell, MA
Parish Historian and Archivist David McKean will lead a walking tour of “God’s Holy Acre”. Tour will last one hour. Wear comfortable shoes and dress for the weather. Free admission
7:00 PM
Dinner Dance
Lenzi’s Mill House, 810 Merrimack Avenue (Rte.110), Dracut, MA
6:30 PM Cocktails 7:00 PM Dinner. Music by the Silver Spears Irish Band. Tickets $ 45.00. Call Charlene Cesarz at (978) 551-7950 or Maureen McNiff at (978) 808-8269 for tickets..
Sponsored by: Ancient Order of Hibernians Division 19, Ladies Ancient Order of Hibernians Division 1 and Lowell Irish, Inc.
Sunday, March 17th
11:00 AM
Multi-Cultural Mass in Honor of our Patron, St. Patrick
St. Patrick Church, Lowell, MA
9:30 AM
Pre-Mass Irish Concert
St. Patrick Church, Lowell, MA
Music Performed by Organist Jeffrey Smith and soloists Alison Burns and Miguel Cabrera
10:00 AM
Opening Mass
St. Patrick Church, Lowell, MA
Principal Celebrant and Homilist Rev. William Acevedo with concelebrants Rev. Joseph Almeida and Rev. Richard “Doc” Conway. Hymns by Organist Jeffrey Smith and soloists Alison Burns and Miguel Cabrera. Readings in Gaelic by Eileen Sullivan, LAOH. Dancing performed by the Heavey-Quinn Academy of Irish Dance. Bell concert to follow with the chimes being played by Bob Feldman.
11:15 AM
Parade and Wreath Laying
St. Patrick Church, Lowell, MA
March with us in a parade to Lowell City Hall to raise the Irish flag and lay a wreath at the Irish Monument on O’Connell Parkway
Brunch
After the Mass and Parade in the Church Hall. Entertainment by Chuck Campbell. Tickets are $5.00
1:00PM
Traditional Ceili
Mount Pleasant Golf Club, Lowell, MA
Performance by dancers from the O’Shea Chaplin Academy of Irish Dance. Free admission
Monday, March 11th
7:00 PM
Irish Movie Night
St. Patrick Church Hall, Lowell, MA
This year’s Irish movie feature is “The Quiet Man”. Free admission. Recommended good will donation of $5.00.
Wednesday, March 13th
7:00 PM
Acre Forum and 10th Anam Cara Awards
Mt. Pleasant Country Club, Lowell, MA
Awards presentation followed by Irish storyteller Simon Brooks who will entertain with myths and tales from the old sod. Free admission. Suggested goodwill donation of $5.00
Read about our Anam Cara award winners here.
Saturday, March 16th
10:00 AM
Acre Neighborhood Walking Tour
Lowell National Historical Park Visitors Center, 246 Market Street, Lowell, MA
Parish Historian and Archivist David McKean will lead a walking tour of “God’s Holy Acre”. Tour will last one hour. Wear comfortable shoes and dress for the weather. Free admission
7:00 PM
Dinner Dance
Lenzi’s Mill House, 810 Merrimack Avenue (Rte.110), Dracut, MA
6:30 PM Cocktails 7:00 PM Dinner. Music by the Silver Spears Irish Band. Tickets $ 45.00. Call Charlene Cesarz at (978) 551-7950 or Maureen McNiff at (978) 808-8269 for tickets..
Sponsored by: Ancient Order of Hibernians Division 19, Ladies Ancient Order of Hibernians Division 1 and Lowell Irish, Inc.
Sunday, March 17th
11:00 AM
Multi-Cultural Mass in Honor of our Patron, St. Patrick
St. Patrick Church, Lowell, MA
2024 Irish Person of the Year - Raymond Leavitt
While in Ireland, Ray kissed the stone, so he is blessed with the gift of gab. Always quick to tell a story, this is how Ray hopes to be remembered: “As an honorable man, a good son, decent sibling, loving husband, and reliable friend. As a person who encouraged others to do their best and step out of their comfort zone. As someone who worked hard, but enjoyed a good time. And I hope all the people I’ve bored with my stories forgive me. Finally, at my funeral I hope they play ‘A Parting Glass.’”
Raymond F. Leavitt, Jr or “Ray,” to his friends, is the oldest of Raymond F., Sr. and Patricia M. (Danforth) Leavitt’s five children. Raised in the family homestead in the Middlesex Village section of Lowell, Ray attended Lowell elementary schools, St. Joseph High School, and Northern Essex Community College before earning a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration and a Master of Business Administration degrees from Suffolk University in 1971 and 1975 respectively. After an extended courtship, Ray married Paula Mechalides in 1976. Ray and Paula split their time between their homes in Tyngsboro, MA and Biddeford, ME. In 2014, Ray retired from The MITRE Corporation after a successful 40+ year career where he held a variety of positions including Corporate Security Director and Director, Corporate Real Estate. Post retirement Ray became a volunteer at both the Lowell National Historic Park and the Lowell General Hospital.
Weekends in the fall, Ray could be found working at Parlee Farm where sometimes he directed traffic and other times drove a tractor pulling hay wagons filled with apple pickers into the orchard. Ray had a life-long interest in the history of Lowell studying how the City developed and its place in the history of the region and the nation. As evidenced by his two family genealogy books, “Our Leavitt Family History” and “My Irish Roots”, Ray has a deep interest in learning about his genealogical family history tracing all but one of his ancestors back to their farms in Ireland. Quick to note that Leavitt is not an Irish name, Ray shares that Michael Lovett, Ray’s great-grandfather, changed the spelling shortly after emigrating from Ballineanig Township on the Dingle Peninsula.
Ray came to St. Patrick Parish in 2002. He joined the Irish Cultural Committee for the 175th anniversary celebration of the Parish. Shortly thereafter he found himself on the Parish building committee rebuilding the Chapel after the flood, addressing several failing stained glass windows, installing a new kitchen and replacing the Church’s heating system. As a member of the Irish Cultural Committee, Ray oversaw the parade for several years and now assists with the planning for the opening Mass. Ray was a member of the organ restoration committee and is responsible for recruiting Jeffrey Smith as the Parish organist. He also recruited Bob Feldman to be the Parish chime master. Together with Dave McKean, Ray oversaw the restoration of the St. Patrick Embroidery that now hangs in the Chapel and the return of the Holbrook bell to the Parish.
Raymond F. Leavitt, Jr or “Ray,” to his friends, is the oldest of Raymond F., Sr. and Patricia M. (Danforth) Leavitt’s five children. Raised in the family homestead in the Middlesex Village section of Lowell, Ray attended Lowell elementary schools, St. Joseph High School, and Northern Essex Community College before earning a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration and a Master of Business Administration degrees from Suffolk University in 1971 and 1975 respectively. After an extended courtship, Ray married Paula Mechalides in 1976. Ray and Paula split their time between their homes in Tyngsboro, MA and Biddeford, ME. In 2014, Ray retired from The MITRE Corporation after a successful 40+ year career where he held a variety of positions including Corporate Security Director and Director, Corporate Real Estate. Post retirement Ray became a volunteer at both the Lowell National Historic Park and the Lowell General Hospital.
Weekends in the fall, Ray could be found working at Parlee Farm where sometimes he directed traffic and other times drove a tractor pulling hay wagons filled with apple pickers into the orchard. Ray had a life-long interest in the history of Lowell studying how the City developed and its place in the history of the region and the nation. As evidenced by his two family genealogy books, “Our Leavitt Family History” and “My Irish Roots”, Ray has a deep interest in learning about his genealogical family history tracing all but one of his ancestors back to their farms in Ireland. Quick to note that Leavitt is not an Irish name, Ray shares that Michael Lovett, Ray’s great-grandfather, changed the spelling shortly after emigrating from Ballineanig Township on the Dingle Peninsula.
Ray came to St. Patrick Parish in 2002. He joined the Irish Cultural Committee for the 175th anniversary celebration of the Parish. Shortly thereafter he found himself on the Parish building committee rebuilding the Chapel after the flood, addressing several failing stained glass windows, installing a new kitchen and replacing the Church’s heating system. As a member of the Irish Cultural Committee, Ray oversaw the parade for several years and now assists with the planning for the opening Mass. Ray was a member of the organ restoration committee and is responsible for recruiting Jeffrey Smith as the Parish organist. He also recruited Bob Feldman to be the Parish chime master. Together with Dave McKean, Ray oversaw the restoration of the St. Patrick Embroidery that now hangs in the Chapel and the return of the Holbrook bell to the Parish.