FITCHBURG YOUR STORY: Clover in the City - Michael Kelly

In this episode, Michael Kelly talks about the many contributions made by Irish immigrants who moved to Fitchburg, creations made by Irish immigrants, the overall impact of the cultural heritage of Fitchburg -- as well as his own relationship to his Irishness.

Michael is a senior Business Administration major with a concentration in Management.

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Episodes in this series were produced and edited by the students in Professor Kisha Tracy's Storytelling and the Oral Tradition course (ENGL 2890) in the Spring 2025 semester.  

"Saxifrage"  is the Fitchburg Your Story theme music.  Music by Prof. Robin Dinda, Text by Prof. DeMisty Bellinger-Delfeld.  Performed by Fitchburg State University Choirs with Alanna Rantala (piano) and Prof. Jonathan Harvey (conductor).

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Episode transcript here.

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Additional mixing and mastering by members of the Perseverantia staff.

Click here to learn more about Perseverantia. Join us for programming updates on Instagram. Or reach out with ideas or suggestions at podcasts@fitchburgstate.edu.

Transcript

[ “Saxifrage” choral music plays, performed by the Fitchburg State University Choirs ] 

Prof. Kisha Tracy (intro): Welcome to the Fitchburg State University Perseverantia Podcast network. This is the Fitchburg Your Story series in which Fitchburg State students tell the stories that make our city and university unique.

[ “Saxifrage” fades out ] 

[ Traditional Celtic theme fades in and plays over the transition into narration ] 

Michael Kelly: Hello, everyone. I am a senior here at Fitchburg State University, majoring in business management. And I'm very happy to be here today to share with you a story that relates not only to my cultural background, but the deep rooted city of Fitchburg as well.

I know you're not able to see me. I am an Irish descendant born in the USA with a ginger beard to show my Irish. And today I'm here to talk about many things involving Irish immigrants who moved to Fitchburg, creations made by Irish immigrants, and the overall impact of the cultural heritage of Fitchburg. So before I get into it, here's a little background about Fitchburg as a whole. 

So Fitchburg was founded in 1764. It has a rich history. Deeply tied connections to many other towns, cities, states in the USA. By the 1830s, it was one of the most populated areas, but it wasn't really until 1843 to 1860s where the Irish fled to America, and more specifically, Fitchburg, Massachusetts. 

Going off that last statement, I want to start with talking with some interesting Irish individuals who spent most of their lives living, working, and even helped create the city to what it is today. And the first person I want to get into is Richard O'Leary. So I feel this I feel this person is most relevant to hearing about. Like many other Irishmen who moved to Fitchburg, he worked in the paper mills that made them in Worcester stand out from all the other areas around for sales, popularity and policy. So, you know, not only did he just work in the paper mills, he worked there for 41 years. You know, if think about it, this guy is damn near been working double my age of being alive. And I'm thinking about retiring one day.

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Anyways, you know, the mills were important. They're more important than just putting people in work. It was when Fitchburg actually was put on the map and noticed some people and places all around. Adding to the city's cultural heritage and building and stepping stones paved a path for places around to contribute as well to the textile industry. One additional fact about O'Leary that shows who he was and who he stood for was found in his obituary. In 1956, he was blessed by the Pope in Rome. Significant personal milestone.

Unbelievable really. You know, it's long-standing commitment to the paper mills underscores the vital role that Irish American workers played in shaping Fitchburg's industrial and cultural identity. You know, this quote stuck out to me because it reminds me a lot about, you know, some of my family members who day in, day out, you know, just go to work, show hard work and just shows that kind of dedication pays off. Kind of just, you know, help, like help you earn your stripes.

You know, also the fact that he was blessed by the Pope, who was head of the Catholic Church. That is actually pretty recently now. But that, know, that itself is an unbelievable accomplishment and very few, very few people in the entire world can say they share the same remarkable privilege.

[ Traditional Celtic theme fades in and plays over the transition into narration ] 

So moving on to my next I'm gonna talk about Martin Millmore. So it's another person that had a major impact on Fitchburg. He was one of the most famous constructors, sculptors, and designers in Fitchburg times, with him taking part in Civil War structures, the famous Square Monument located on 621 Main Street, and the most impactful of his creations that I think, the Christ Church. 

So religion is a huge part in every community, no matter what their religion is. It's a way for people to connect, become better people, share common belief and kind of just, you know, like being on the same team. 

Anyways, a little background about Martin to become more familiar with who he was and kind of where he came from. He was born in 1844 in Slingo, Ireland. His mother moved to Boston when he was seven, keeping him and the rest of his brothers over in Ireland. But later when he was seven, she set up plans for him and his older brother to join her. 

So another interesting fact that he was in the line of stone cutting, and eventually led for Martin to get into that business, which later became familiar with sculpting and stone work and all that stuff. So I thought that was cool just because it shows the path that he took with his family and what skills they taught him for him to become a famous Fitchburg resident/creator. 

Martin's life was taken short when he passed away at age 36 from cirrhosis. Although he left the world early, his architecture will forever be a part of Fitchburg and its cultural heritage. 

[ Traditional Celtic theme fades in and plays over the transition into narration ] 

And then based off those two individuals, both hardy hard workers, I found a quote that emphasizes and highlights like the working class during the time. Just more emphasize the importance of the mills and what they did for the city. So: “Traces of textile manufactured in Fitchburg and Worcester, Massachusetts between 1826 and 1902 and explores how those towns maintained a greater amount of control over public policy than did other mill towns dominated by textile corporations.” The author also explores how such control created a comparatively high diversity in industrial occupations, which in turn led to a remarkable level of amenity between the town's Irish and French Canadian working class. 

So I like this quote because it not only just shows the Irish, but other cultural backgrounds as well and how they got to work together and make the city thrive. There are also many other cultural backgrounds that form a layer together later in the years. Like the Patch and not to get too far off topic, but just for some information about the Patch was when the Irish, Polish, and Italians first migrated to Fitchburg and then later on Latino community helped later diversify the city shaping it to, you know, what we see today, which is awesome. 

You know just to see humans, you know using their different backgrounds to collaborate with each other, feed off each other and you know create something special.

[ Traditional Celtic theme fades in and plays over the transition back into narration ] 

All right, finally, to wrap things up, I kind want to talk about my Irish experience and my life in Fitchburg the last four years.

So I myself, descendant, and hearing these stories that date back all these years that relate to the city that I have now lived in for the last four years is crazy. To relate/compare some of these people that I've talked about, you know, times have changed obviously, so textile industries aren't nearly as important as they were to the city back in the day when Fitchburg was trying to get a name for themselves. But for the religious aspect, I see it is still here.

For example, I had the opportunity to visit a couple different churches in Fitchburg, such as the Highland Baptist Church located on 19 Cedar Street and the First Baptist Church on 1400 John Fitch Highway. And I can say that every single person who was involved within the churches are people with, you know, their arms open, arms open wide, with a happy compliment to greet you. For the Highland Baptist Church, they were actually throwing a community event that held free food, raffle events for some cool items, and they even had bouncy houses for minigames activities for the kids who went with their families, which is very thoughtful and for the diversity of the crowd's ages, you know, range from parents to kids to college students  around the area. I thought it was pretty cool and seemed like they were very prepared. Although I didn't visit the church, you know, I talked about in a Millmore's creations, it is on my list for things to do and will be done. 

[ Celtic theme fades in and plays over the rest of the narration ] 

That wraps up my podcast. Overall, you know, I'm happy to be Irish, happy to spend my four years in Fitchburg for school, and I'm happy to talk about some Fitchburg history that helped build this cultural heritage today.

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Tori Kiolbasa: You’re listening to Perseverantia, the Fitchburg State Podcast Network.

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