HI Sue, I have done alot of research at the Mass State Archives at Columbia Point. It is on the campus of U Mass Boston and has records from 1845-1915. The JFK Museum is in the same building. There is a little cafeteria there also that they could use. The people are very helpful. It is free to enter and use all the research films etc. Mass Vital Records can get expensive and holds records from 1915 to present. It is $9.00 an hour and the hours are awful 9-12 and 2-4:30. You look at indexes, put the vol. no. and info on a slip and submit it when the call for slips then wait until they bring a cart out with the bools. They only make 4 calls in the morning so you can spend a lot of money just waiting. New England Historical society I hear is very nice. Its on Newbury Street so should be accessible but I have never been there. They have some seminars and info sessions on researching etc. The Natinal Archives in Waltham also has Naturalization Papers etc. The historians and volunteers are all very nice. They also offer seminars, you may want to look at the NARA.gov site and see what you can find. TIARA has meetings the first Friday evening every month at Boston College. Look at their web site. Boston College has an Irish studies major so I would imagine their library might have some research material. I have done some reserch at the Archdiocese Archives next to BC. Cheryl