The Hartford Irish Road Bowling Tournament was held on Saturday, July 29 by the Hartford AOH Division 2, in conjunction with Riverfront Recapture. The event marked the third-straight year that Irish road bowling tournament returned to the area and attracted approximately 30 teams from Connecticut and Massachusetts. All proceeds from the event benefit Hartford AOH’s fight against hunger in the area.

On May 28th, members of the AOH in America participated in the “Annual Walk to the Stone” memorial ceremony that is organized by the Ancient Order of Hibernians in Canada. The Black Rock Memorial is currently located in between two highway roads near the Victoria Bridge in the Point Saint Charles section of Montreal and is the site of a 6,000 person mass grave of coffin ship victims from 1847-1848.

Since the 1860s the AOH Canada has sought to protect the Irish immigrants that perished from typhoid (many of whom were children) from further desecration of their resting place as they fled The Great Hunger. The Black Rock Monument was created after Irish construction workers who were completing the Victoria Bridge in 1859-60 discovered several bodies from the mass grave. The workers refused to work and complete the bridge until there was a memorial on this site. The workers negotiated for a 40 ton granite rock to be placed in the cemetery with the inscription, “To Preserve from Descratation the remains of 6000 Immigrants Who died of Ship Fever A.D. 1847-48” They were not allowed to mention Irish in the inscription.

Over the years the AOH Canada has fought to fulfill the promise inscribed on the Black Rock Memorial by fighting development and encroachment on the site. In 2017, Hydro-Quebec purchased the land the Black Rock Memorial is on with plans to donate 3.65 acres to create a memorial park that is scheduled to be completed in 2028.

The 2023 Walk to the Stone started with a beautiful Mass on Pentecost at Saint Charles Church. After Mass, members of the parish, AOH, representatives from the City of Montreal and other Irish organizations; led by a piper, walked the mile to the Black Rock Memorial. Once at the memorial site, AOH Canada National President started the ceremony. The Irish, Canadian and United States National Anthems were performed beautifully by Esmé Cavanaugh and Lily MacLean of the band Gráinne. President Boyle went over the history of the Black Rock Memorial and the 6000 people that rest uneasily below. Memorial wreaths were placed on Black Rock by many organizations including the AOH in America National Board, the AOH NYS Board and Schenectady AOH JFK 1 (who hosted President Boyle at their Communion Breakfast the month prior). After the ceremony participants went back to the parish center at Saint Charles and shared some delicious Irish Stew and samosas along with some traditional Irish music.

This year’s event also coincided with the 25th Anniversary of the signing of the Good Friday Agreement. MP John Finnucane of Sinn Féin (Belfast North) participated in the ceremony and gave his remarks and paid his respects to the victims of The Great Hunger at that site. The day prior the Friends of Sinn Féin Canada hosted a 25th GFA Anniversary at Hurley’s Irish Pub where members of the U.S. AOH were able to meet MP Finnucane, Kevin Callahan from Friends of Sinn Féin Canada, Marion Mulvenna from Concordia University’s Irish Studies Program and AOH Canada National President Victor Boyle.

Overall the weekend was tremendously moving, and the people, especially President Boyle, were welcoming and gracious hosts. Walk to the Stone will take place in 2024 on May 26th, and members of the AOH and LAOH are most welcome to participate.

Brother Hibernians and Brother Paratroopers. LTC (Ret) Cole Slattery, past President of the Col. Thomas J. Cunningham Jr. Div., Loudoun County, VA (Left) and MAJ (Ret) Keith Kettell, current President of the Herbert /Cady Div. Alexandria. VA (Right), stand proudly before the St. Patrick’s Day parade in Old Town Alexandria in early March and meet up again in late March in Palatka, FL to close out Irish American Heritage month by jumping from the 80-year-old C-47, Tico Bell. The storied aircraft dropped Paratroopers into Normandy on D-Day June 6^th, 1944, and again during Operation Market Garden into Holland September 17, 1944. After the war, the Tico Bell flew missions of relief in support of the Berlin Airlift.  Presidents Slattery and Kettell served several tours of duty in the 82^nd Airborne Division in addition to other Airborne units throughout their military careers. 

Hartford Division 2 of the Ancient Order of Hibernians held a successful Christmas Toy/Gift Card Drive on Saturday, December 10, 2022. Four carloads of toys were collected in addition to over $500 worth of gift cards. The collection took place at Christ the King Church in Wethersfield and benefitted The Helping Hands Project at Saint Augustine Parish in the south end of Hartford.

The drive marked the third-consecutive holiday season that Hartford AOH worked with Saint Augustine to make Christmas brighter for many families in Connecticut’s capital city.

Hartford AOH has been sponsoring Food Drive for the pantry at Saint Augustine’s since May 2020 and will continue to do so. The Toy/Gift Card Drive concluded our “holiday” season with drives in October for Halloween treats and in November for Thanksgiving sides.

The Division supplied pizza, snacks, and drinks for 120 students, staff, and brothers plus a handsome donation to the school.  In total over $1,000 was donated.  Brother Bob Race said “this is the single best event we have every year.  It always gets me in the Christmas spirit and I never miss a Madonna School Christmas Party”.  Each one of the students got to meet Santa and was gifted a coloring book and candy canes straight from the North Pole.  Brother Brian Reilly said it was a “this is exactly why I joined.  Proud day to be a Hibernian.”

Submitted by Nebraska State President Mike Addy

Hartford Division 2 continues to hold monthly food drives to benefit the pantry at Saint Augustine Church in the South End of Hartford and has been doing so since May 2020. In addition, the Division has provided over 100 loaves of bread to the shelter at St. Patrick and St. Anthony Church in Hartford in recent months and continues to make sandwiches for the House of Bread in Hartford on a regular basis.

MANORVILLE, N.Y. – On Sunday, September 18th, the Suffolk County Boards of the Ancient Order of Hibernians, and the Ladies Ancient Order of Hibernians dedicated a historic Irish Mass Rock on the grounds of the Tom and Kathleen Clarke Memorial in recognition of their commitment to Irish independence.

In 1987 A team of dedicated Ancient Order of Hibernians in America from the men’s ladies Suffolk County Boards embarked on a mission to uncover proof that Irish patriots Thomas and Kathleen Clarke owned a 60-acre farm in Manorville, New York. After many long hours, an arduous and diligent investigation had been completed and the Suffolk County Hibernian Team had found the property deed verifying the Clarke’s ownership of and residency on the farm from 1905 to 1907.

The discovery was a historic for the Irish and Irish American community here on Long Island, NY as Tom and Kathleen Clarke were a courageous unified force in the struggle for Irish Nationhood. The couple had both dedicated their Lives to the cause of freedom for their beloved homeland.

The Suffolk County Boards of the AOH and the LAOH felt compelled to memorialize these two Irish patriots. An Obelisk made of granite from County Wicklow, Ireland was erected at the edge of their Manorville farm to honor this dynamic couple. Since its dedication in 1987, the Ladies and Men Hibernians from Suffolk County host an annual wreath laying ceremony to honor and celebrate the Clarke’s work for Irish freedom.

On Sunday September 18, 2022, AOH Suffolk County Chaplain Fr. Henry Reid, along with Suffolk County members of the AOH and the LAOH dedicated a Mass Rock (Carraigh an t- Aifreann in Gaelic) as a new addition to this historic site.

Mass Rocks are natural stones found in Glens and desolate hillsides throughout Ireland. These stones of beauty would serve as alters to celebrate the then outlawed Roman Catholic Mass in Ireland. In 1695 a series of Penal laws, enacted by The English Monarch, subjugated Irish Catholics from practicing their religion and forced Catholics to celebrate mass in seclusion and secret locations to avoid prosecution from English authorities. The Suffolk County Hibernian Mass Rock is a tribute and a remembrance to the faithful believers and clergy who refused to give to tyranny and kept their religion and culture alive.

Town of Brookhaven, NY Supervisor Mr. Ed Romaine attended the ceremony and presented AOH Suffolk County President, Bill Gorham and LAOH Suffolk County President, Sue O’Neill with a special proclamation naming September 18, 2022, as “AOH & LAOH Day in the Town of Brookhaven”. Suffolk County, NY Legislator, and fellow Hibernian Steve Flotteron also attended the ceremony. After the Mass Rock dedication, Fr. Henry Reid celebrated Mass with approximate one hundred members and special guests in attendance.

The Mass Rock committee consisted of: Joe Kelly, AOH Suffolk County Historian; Patrick Spero, AOH Suffolk County Respect Life Chairman; AOH Suffolk County President, Bill Gorham; AOH Suffolk County Chaplain, Fr. Henry Reid; LAOH Suffolk County President, Sue O’Neill; LAOH Kathleen Ring; AOH New York State Past President, Vic Vogel & AOH Suffolk County Public Relations Director, Jim Killen.

The Clarke’s Manorville, NY home site is located on the west side of Suffolk County Road 111, just south of the Long Island Expressway (exit 70) in the Town of Brookhaven.

“I have but one request to ask at my departure from this world; it is-THE CHARITY OF ITS SILENCE. Let no man write my epitaph; for as no man who knows my motives dare now vindicate them, let not prejudice or ignorance asperse them. Let them and me rest in obscurity and peace, and my name remain uninscribed, until other times and other men can do justice to my character. When my country takes her place among the nations of the earth, then, and not till then, let my epitaph be written.”

The Ancient Order of Hibernians Hartford Division 2 held its annual Irish Road Bowling Tournament on Saturday, July 16. The event was held at Riverside Park along the Connecticut River in Hartford. Approximately 30 teams took part in the event, which raised funds to fight hunger in the Hartford area. The championship trophy was named for Jamie Forzono, a former AOH Hartford president who passed away in the last year and originally brought Irish Road Bowling to the area several years ago.

The tournament featured Brothers from all over the state of Connecticut, plus Worcester and Springfield, Mass., and Staten Island, N.Y.

Following the awards ceremony and a raffle drawing, contestants socialized at the Hartford Food Truck Festival and at nearby Vaughan’s Public House, who offered discounts for contestants. “Two for the Road” – a local favorite Irish band – performed at the finish line.

On May 25, 2022, the Nashville Ancient Order of Hibernians were honored to attend and participate in a Nashville Irish networking event.  Special guest Daniel Mulhall, the Irish Ambassador to the United States, is shown here receiving an Associate Membership plaque from members of our Sons of Erin Division. The event was coordinated in large part by local AOH member Conor Doolan and Ms. Caoimhe Ní Chonchúir, the Irish Consul General for the Southeastern U.S. in Atlanta.

New to the Clarke site was the newly installed Mass Rock, where NYS/Suffolk County & Suffolk Division 9 Chaplain, Fr. Henry Reid blessed and celebrated the very first Mass on the Mass Rock.  The Mass Rock represents the rocks the Irish used to conduct hidden Masses, when Catholic worship was banned in Ireland. A formal dedication of the Mass Rock at this site is set for a later date in early summer.

Dauphin County, Division One (Harrisburg, PA) “Bobby Sands” Division

Brother Caba presented to the Division, in his second appearance, the significance of the Irish in the Civil War. He also displayed memorabilia from the J. Howard Wert collection which he now curates. A private collector for over 40 years, Brother Caba has authored several books on the Civil War and has lectured to many organizations, notably the Union League of Philadelphia. He is a graduate of the University of Kentucky and former High School teacher.

In March of 2020 the brothers of the Wake County Division #1 helped form a new Irish pipe band called An Gorta Mór Pipes & Drums. Despite the hurdles they faced in getting the band started amid a global pandemic, their Irish spirit and tenacity drove them to push forward with their plans. This past week they met their initial goal by marching in their first Raleigh St. Patrick’s Day Parade. They hope to celebrate many more St. Patrick’s Day parades and help share our Culture with their local community.

Band President brother Dennis O’Brien recently met with local news reporter Kyleigh Panetta before one of the weekly band practices for an interview. They spoke about the name of the Band and it’s mission to help remember the over one million people who died and the additional two million people who were forced to leave Ireland during the period of An Gorta Mór (The Great Hunger). They also spoke about the Irish Diaspora tartan the band selected for their kilt, which represents those that have emigrated from Ireland.

The band is closely tied to the local Wake County AOH division and performs for many of the divisions functions and provides a Piper for the funeral service of any AOH members. There is no requirement for band members to join the AOH or to be Irish or Catholic. However, most of the bands founding members are long time members of the division and many of the band’s musicians are AOH members or associate members. The division recently donated the funds for a very important piece of equipment for the band, their bass drum which will feature the divisions logo on it.

In particular, the memorial honors those canal workers and family members that are buried in an unmarked cemetery that is located about 100 yards and across the canal from where the memorial is placed.
The fundraising for the memorial came from gifts as large as $500 to just loose change raised at various events. Members of the Irish-American Home Society were very generous to the cause, as was Ahlstrom-Munksjo, Inc., an international company, which has a location in Windsor Locks that dates back for 250 years. A fundraising night was also held at Puerto Vallarta Restaurant in Newington, Conn., that raised money for the memorial.

The monument was designed and constructed by K.G. Kenna Memorials, Inc., of Wethersfield, East Hartford, and Manchester, Conn.
United States Senator Richard Blumenthal and Congressman John Larson attended the event as did AOH National Director Richard Thompson and Connecticut State President Brian O’Neill.