WIFI ACCESS
Conference attendees may register their devices to connect to Boston College’s Guest Wifi network or Eduroam.
COVID-19 PROTOCOLS
Please refer to the Massachusetts Covid website for up-to-date information on any Covid-related travel or other restrictions, and to the Boston College Forward website for any campus restrictions.
Masking at conference venues is optional.
TRAVEL
We offer the following information to help you plan your travel to Boston College. Please feel free to contact the conference organizers for personalized advice.
Air
Boston College is located about 12 miles from Logan International Airport (BOS). Please refer to the Logan Airport website for advice on ground transportation options.
Rail
For travel to Boston via rail from other US cities, use the online Amtrak trip planner service to explore options. The closest Amtrak station to Boston College is Back Bay, but some trains only stop at South Station or North Station.
Bus and Trolley (MBTA or “T”)
Boston’s public transportation system is the Massachusetts Bay Transit Authority (MBTA), also called the “T.” It includes both buses and above- and below-ground trolleys. Most stations sell MBTA travel passes called CharlieCards, though short-term visitors should purchase CharlieTickets or pay cash on board. The MBTA trip planner and some smartphone apps (including GoogleMaps) will help you plan your bus and trolley routes.
Boston College is accessible via the Green Line (subway/trolley) of the MBTA. The Green Line has multiple branches (B, C, D, and E). The easiest way (though sometimes the slowest) way to get to Boston College is to take the Boston College “B” branch of the Green Line and get off at the last stop, which is the Boston College Station stop at the Boston‐Newton boundary on Commonwealth Avenue (about 0.9 miles/17-minute walk). The nearest stop to Connolly House (where most conference sessions will be held) is the Chestnut Hill station on the “D” branch of the Green line (about 0.4 miles/9-minute walk). The Reservoir stop at the end of the “C” branch of the Green line is also fairly close to campus (about 1.4 miles/25-minute walk).
Driving and Parking
If you will be driving your own car or a rental car to campus, please note the following:
There is a small parking lot adjacent to Connolly House, but visitor parking is not allowed before 3:30pm on weekdays unless your vehicle has a handicap tag. If you’ll be coming just for evening or Saturday events, and you can find a space, you can park for free. Otherwise, we recommend parking in the nearby Beacon Street Garage, which is about 10-minute walk from Connolly House. Take note: we have secured a limited number of validated passes that will allow you to exit the garage without paying; take and keep the ticket from the garage kiosk and then look for Christian Dupont at the conference and ask him for a pass.
Please consult the Boston College Transportation & Parking website for additional information on visitor parking options.
ACCOMMODATION
Hotels in the Boston area tend to be expensive, especially in spring time, so we advise you to explore alternative options and make reservations early. If you are willing to share your accommodation with a fellow Flannorak or would like assistance finding a roommate, please check that option on the conference registration form or contact the conference organizers. We’ll do our best to help.
The Boston College Admissions office maintains a list of hotels and bed-and-breakfast accommodations sorted by distance from campus. Sometimes better rates may be found by searching discount sites like Hotels.com, Priceline, Expedia, and others. Be sure to read rate restrictions and cancellation fees carefully when making your reservation.
Online marketplaces for room and homestays like Airbnb and Vrbo are plentiful in the Boston area and offer good alternatives to hotels. Sharing a rental house can be much less expensive than a hotel, and more fun.
When searching for lodging, enter Chestnut Hill, Newton, Brookline, or Brighton as the destination city; avoid properties located in Allston, Cambridge, Somerville, and even downtown Boston as your travel to campus will probably take longer than you wish.
CONFERENCE VENUES
Most conference sessions will be held in Connolly House, home to Boston College’s Irish Studies program. The opening keynote lecture will be held in Gasson Hall. Receptions will be hosted in Burns Library and the Waterworks Museum, adjacent to campus. See below and the campus map (included in your registration packet) for details and directions (see also this self-guided campus tour map).
Home to BC’s Irish Studies and International Studies program, Connolly House is a spacious and elegant mansion house located at 300 Hammond Street, adjacent to the Boston College’s Chestnut Hill campus. See above for advice on parking.
A prime example of collegiate neo-gothic architecture, Gasson Hall was the first building erected on Boston College’s Chestnut Hill campus in 1913. The main lecture and event hall was dedicated as a gift from the Irish community of Boston. It features a large stained glass of window of St. Patrick. Kevin Barry’s opening keynote address will be held in the main auditorium. Limited free parking will be available on Linden Lane and in the lot next Gasson Hall.
Home to Boston College’s departments of physics and biology, Higgins Hall has a large amphitheater on the third floor (Room 300), which will provide the venue for Manchán Magan’s performance of Arán agus Im on Friday afternoon at 4:30pm. See above for advice on parking in the nearby Beacon Street Garage.
John J. Burns Library is well known for its extensive special collections of Irish literature, history, and music. It is located in the north end of the Bapst Library building, facing Commonwealth Avenue. The Burns Library reading is open to researchers by advance appointment on Monday through Friday from 9:30am-5:00pm.
Boston College’s McMullen Museum of Art is distinctive among university art museums in being faculty-driven, with the aim of inviting transdisciplinary collaboration and research from faculty across the University working in collaboration with other scholars from around the world. The current exhibition on the work of British photographer Martin Parr in Ireland was curated by Prof. Karl Baden. For the Saturday afternoon gallery tour with Fintan O’Toole, free parking will be available on the museum’s circle drive and lower lot.
Constructed in the Richardsonian Romanesque style in the 1880s to serve as a high-volume pumping station for the Boston Metropolitan Waterworks, it is located adjacent to the Chestnut Hill Reservoir and Boston College campus. The Great Engines Hall has been preserved and converted into a unique reception space. Limited free parking will be available for the Saturday evening reception.
VISITING BOSTON
We hope your travel schedule will allow you time to explore the historic and beautiful city of Boston and surrounding areas around the conference. We encourage you to visit the City of Boston tourism site and browse the web for things to do.
