08/28/2026
LEARN ABOUT OUR PARISH's HISTORIC CEMETERIES THIS FALL🍂
👉 A tour of the circa 1828 St. Joseph Cemetery, also known as the Barney Street Cemetery, Rhode Island's oldest Catholic cemetery, will be given SAT. SEPT 26 at 1 pm by The Museum of Newport Irish History. LOCATION: Corner of Barney and Mt. Vernon Streets, Newport.
Led by Steve Marino, this tour of the final resting place of many of Newport's earliest Irish immigrants and the site of R.I.'s first Catholic church, the "birthplace" of St. Mary's Parish, is approximately 30 minutes long. Learn the fascinating story and the mysteries surrounding this site, the center of Newport's Irish-Catholic community life for several decades.
👉The story of Newport's growing Catholic community, as told through its burying grounds, continues SAT. OCT. 24 at 1 pm with a tour of the circa 1852 St. Mary's Cemetery. This cemetery was established to serve R.I.'s first Catholic parish, which constructed a new church to house its growing congregation, fueled by immigration from Ireland. That church, dedicated in 1852 to "The Holy Name of Mary, Our Lady of the Isle," stands today at Spring Street and Memorial Boulevard West. The St. Mary's Cemetery was in operation soon after the church was completed.
No fee, but reservations are required.
DETAILS/RESERVATIONS: https://newportirishhistory.org/historic-cemetery-tours/
On this page you will find links to reserve, interesting historical information about the Barney Street Cemetery site, and videos.
