A brief history of Boston & the Celtics’ Irish connection

Explore Boston’s rich history and the Celtics’ deep Irish roots. Discover how this connection shaped the team and the city.

For many sports fans, the Boston Celtics are Ireland’s biggest cultural export. This NBA franchise has historically dominated the Eastern Conference and remains a tough contender to this day.

But why does Boston identify so much with the Irish? Here’s a brief history of how the Irish have a special relationship with Boston and how their name was given to one of the best basketball teams in the world.

American sports in Ireland – growing in popularity

All the big-league sports are based out of America, and the NBA is no exception. However, along with its cultural ties, Ireland is also home to fans of American sports leagues like the NBA and NFL.

Their teams attract international fanbases. For example, there are dedicated communities of Irish NFL fans:

Part of the fandom in American sports revolves around betting on your favourite teams. When it comes to NFL betting, it’s the New England Patriots that get a lot of Irish support since they represent Boston, just like the Celtics.

While the Patriots’ Super Bowl odds this year aren’t great – 66/1 – the support for them runs deeper in the betting UK and Irish markets.

A lot of it is based on the deeper cultural ties between some of America’s sports institutions and the Irish. As you might expect, these go back to the first days of the United States.

Boston & Ireland – a special relationship

Massachusetts Bay was one of the original Thirteen Colonies that formed the United States. Established by the British, it later formed its capital at Boston with a majority of British and Irish settlers.

It was here where the first steps of the American Revolution started, after which it became one of America’s first cities.

Despite that, America has always maintained a special relationship with Ireland. In the 1800s, America received a lot of Irish immigration after the Famine. Today, nearly 10% of America’s population claims Irish ancestry.

While Irish immigrants spread across all of New England, many of them settled in the first big city they saw – Boston. Though Boston is all born-and-bred American now, the city has proudly carried this Irish heritage into the modern day.

This happened in other American cities – New Orleans has carried its French connection into the modern day, too.

Besides its famous basketball team, Boston is also known for its Irish bars, and Irish flags fly in pubs, hotels, and even government buildings on occasion. Naturally, Boston is considered the second-best place to be on St. Patrick’s Day after Ireland itself.

The Boston Celtics – the joint-most successful franchise in the NBA

Roughly a hundred years after the Irish fled to Boston and made their mark, the Boston Celtics were formed. It happened in 1946, when Walter A. Brown formed the team for the BAA, which merged into the NBA in ’49.

While the term Celtic covers a lot of people, they explicitly branded the team based on Boston’s Irish roots, complete with a shamrock logo.

It didn’t take long for the Celtics to become trailblazers. They were the first NBA franchise to draft a black athlete – Chuck Cooper – and it was the later signing of Bill Russell that put them on the map.

Many of the old guard NBA talent came from the Celtics – Bill Russell, John Havlicek, Dave Cowens, and Larry Bird. These Celtics members also formed friendly rivalries with NBA greats like Wilt Chamberlain, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, and Magic Johnson.

It’s commonly said that the Bird-Magic rivalry singlehandedly saved the NBA.

Today, the Boston Celtics have 17 championships. That makes them the joint-best franchise in the whole sport, along with the LA Lakers. When they take to the court, they wear the signature green colours that represent their ties to the Emerald Isle.

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