Notre Dame Health Care Center is participating for the second year in Worcester's Annual St. Patrick's Day Parade. The subject of our float is Tobias F. Boland. Below is a review of a very good book about Tobias.
Treat your Irish mind and heart to a great story!

The Irish Pioneer: A Historical Novel of the Life of Tobias F. Boland
ISBN 978-09759397-5-8 Magnolia Mansions Press

Written by great granddaughter Margaret Boland with Massachusetts native, Thomas Rooney, The Irish Pioneer, is a fast read story that chronicles Tobias Francis Boland's 58 years in the United States. Affectionately known as Tobey and orphaned at a young age, he emigrated from Tipperary in 1825 under the tutelage of his brother-in-law. He died in 1883, one of the most beloved, wealthy and influential Irish Catholics in New England.

Boland and Rooney teach the power of a person's life when in the right place, with the right talent and the right heart. Tobey becomes more than a likeable character; he is heroic in virtue, hard working and thoughtful of the people and pressures of his day. He is just the sort of man you would want as your neighbor, boss, friend or fellow churchgoer. A man with a penchant for business and a heart for the Irish, he always finds a way to profit and make the world a better place too. When he suffers he remembers the words of his sister who taught him that "To be Irish is to know in the end, the world will break your heart."

Above all, this book enriches the reader's knowledge of how this country, and in particular, Worcester, MA was made strong at the hands of Irish immigrants. It gives a fresh look at the immigration struggle of another time, reminding us that there is nothing new under the sun. The geography and historicity of the building of the Blackstone Canal and the Boston to Worcester railways will fascinate the locals; it made me pull out an old Worcester City map, intent on finding the burial spot of Tobias' first wife reported in the book to be in the very neighborhood in which I live.

If you want to know your Irish ancestors more deeply, if you love local geography and if you want a refresher in what good humanity looks like- get yourself a copy of The Irish Pioneer, put aside four hours and read it in one sitting - you will come away happy that you did!

Reviewed by Pamela Reidy
January 30, 2012