When you visit the Irish Railroad Workers Museum, you’ll step back in time to see how Irish immigrants lived and worked.  Step into the home of the Feeley family, who made their way to Baltimore during the Great Hunger, also known as the Irish Potato Famine. When you enter the museum, you will experience the home life of this Irish immigrant family.

James Feeley worked at the B&O Railroad, just a few blocks from their home.  Sarah Feeley worked as a washerwoman in addition to managing the household.  

Our Museum displays highlight workplaces for both women and men, their parish life, and leisure time in the pubs of the era.

Our "Passage Room" illuminates our understanding of the Irish immigrant experience as they made the perilous journey to Baltimore, showing the hardships of the journey to America.

You’ll leave with a better understanding of how Irish immigrants came to America and contributed to the melting pot it is today.

General Public Walking Tours:

Scheduled walking tours are offered to the general public 3-4 times a year, on a date that our Museum is open to the public. These are promoted via social media.

Tour Group Walking Tours:

Tour groups may also contact us for special arrangements, if their group needs to come on a particular date and time. These walking tours can be set up for your group of 10 or more. Contact us using the form below or at at tours@irishshrine.org to propose a date and time that will work for your group, and we will respond and plan your visit with you. We request a $10 donation per person for these special arrangements.

How do these Walking Tours work?

We meet at the corner of W. Pratt and Poppleton Streets., where America’s first “passenger and freight” railroad was established. Free street parking is normally available within a block or so of our gathering spot.  We begin our tour with a narration about the major role of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad in neighborhood life, a visit to our Museum Mural, and continue to the Lemmon Street houses. We then head north on Poppleton Street to visit St. Peter’s Church and School. Some continue a few blocks west at Hollins Market.

Do these Walking Tours include a visit to St. Peter’s Cemetery?

Not usually; we typically visit the cemetery once a year, “caravan-style” after our annual “Irish Wake” presentation in October. This visit is promoted via social media.