The President of Ireland, Mary McAleese visited Massachusetts from 23 - 28 May 2009. The visit included events in Springfield, Worcester and Boston. On 24 May the President was conferred with an honorary Doctor of Laws by Mount Holyoke College where she delivered the commencement address. She also paid a visit to the Irish Cultural Center at the College of Our Lady of the Elms, Chicopee and was guest of honour at an Irish community reception at the MassMutual Center, Springfield.

On Monday 25 May, she was guest of honour at a lunch hosted by Congressman Richard Neal at the Barney Estate, Springfield. She also called on the Mayor of Worcester at Worcester City Hall and laid a wreath at the Celtic Cross commemorating the arrival of the Irish in Worcester. Later that afternoon she paid a visit to the Worcester Irish Cultural Heritage Centre.

On Tuesday 26 May, the President met with members of the International Centre for Local & Regional Development and with the Mayor of Boston, The Honorable Thomas M. Menino. She was guest of honour at a lunch hosted by the American Ireland Fund and then travelled to Canton to visit the Irish Cultural Centre of New England. Later that evening she attended an Irish community reception in Boston.

On Wednesday 27 May, the President addressed a breakfast hosted by Tourism Ireland, called on the Governor of Massachusetts, H.E. Deval Patrick, and visited the Irish Pastoral Centre's Senior Citizen Outreach Programme. She addressed a business lunch hosted by Enterprise Ireland and later that evening received the Irish Immigration Centre's 20th Anniversary Solas Award.

On the final day of her visit Thursday, 28 May the President addressed a breakfast hosted by the Irish American Partnership. She then addressed a Science Foundation Ireland seminar on Research and Development at the Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research and met with the President of Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dr. Susan Hockfield. Her final engagement was a visit to the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum, which was followed by a lunch hosted by The Honorable Jean Kennedy Smith.