Irish American luminaries hailed at ‘Honors’ luncheon in JFK Library

More than 350 guests gathered at the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum in Dorchester last Friday afternoon for the 14th Boston Irish Honors luncheon, an event organized by The Reporter’s affiliated publication, Boston Irish. The event marked the first time that the annual celebration of Irish and Irish American leaders was held in Dorchester.

This year’s event honored three well-known Irish Americans from the Boston area: Bill Cleary, Jr., William M. Bulger, and Regina Quinlan-Doherty.

USA Olympic gold medalist (1960) Bill Cleary, Jr., longtime Harvard men’s ice hockey coach, spoke during Friday’s Irish Honors event. Flavio de Barros photo

Cleary, 90, is one of the most celebrated ice hockey players and coaches to ever come out of the Boston area. He won an Olympic gold medal with the USA men’s team in 1960 and was a standout player for Harvard before becoming the college’s head coach and, later, the athletic director.

Bill Bulger, the former president of the Massachusetts Senate, was born in Dorchester and represented South Boston and parts of Dorchester during his remarkable career in the Legislature. He later led the University of Massachusetts as its president.

Now 90, he attended the luncheon with his sons and daughters and his grandson, Tom Bulger, accepted the honor on his behalf. In a poignant moment, Bulger sang a verse from an Irish ballad to a hushed crowd, recalling his days as the master of ceremonies at the annual St. Patrick’s Day breakfast in South Boston.

Regina Quinlan-Doherty, one of three people honored at the Kennedy Library on Friday, Oct. 25 as part of the Boston Irish Honors. Flavio de Barros photo

Regina Quinlan-Doherty, a pioneering jurist in Massachusetts and a celebrated defender of the First Amendment, served as a justice on the state’s Superior Court for two decades. She began her career as a member of the Sisters of Saint Joseph and, later in life, married Gerard F. Doherty, a respected Boston attorney and civic leader.

Judge Quinlan-Doherty has been a respected mentor to hundreds of younger lawyers across the Commonwealth, many of whom turned out to celebrate her accomplishments on Friday.

The luncheon event was co-hosted by Maureen Forry-Sorrell and Hon. Linda Dorcena Forry.

“The men and women and their families, whom we honor today, embody so many of those qualities that we hope future generations will embrace and emulate: a dedication to excellence in their chosen field, loyalty to nation and family, kindness, a charitable heart and good humor,” said Ed Forry, the founder of the Boston Irish Honors and the publisher emeritus of The Reporter.

“They have blazed very different trails in their remarkable careers and lives, but they find common ground in their lineage in the island of Ireland— and in their family’s long-ago journey to seek a home in a new, unfamiliar land. Their success inspires us and prompts us to reflect on our own unique experience here in this most Irish of American cities.”