The Curse of the Irish Portraits

While we certainly don’t spill as much ink about our friends across the pond as some do (hi, Kevin Cullen!), we’ve got a good amount of love for the Irish. They have given us gifts like Guinness, Bono, and the Celtic music our moms like so much.

But, rumor has it Irishmen do have some. . . shortcomings. And the Globe gave us a case of the church giggles this morning by reminding us of those deficiencies.

At a ceremony yesterday, a portrait of former Senate President Robert Travaglini was unveiled at the State House. Travaglini was the first Italian-American to claim the title, since the Irish-Americans had a stranglehold on the position for years.

Here’s the good part.

The theme struck over and over in remarks yesterday was that he was the first Italian-American to wrest the post from generations of Yankees and Irish-Americans. As if to emphasize the point, his portrait is slightly larger than the painting of his nearest neighbor, former Senate president William M. Bulger[.]

Don’t feel too bad, Billy. It’s not the size of the portrait that matters—it’s what you do with it.