THE FOUNDING OF THE ANCIENT ORDER OF HIBERNIANS IN AMERICA
Posted by Jim on November 7, 2018
Dedicated to the memory of my beloved Da, Brother Hugh P. McGowan, Flatbush Division No. 35, and my Grandfather, Brother Patrick J. McGowan of Daniel O’Connell Division No. 5, Kings County Board (Brooklyn). They always inspired me by their loyalty to family and faith, to nation and church, to fraternity and flag, to “Friendship, Unity and Christian Charity.”
Eternal rest grant unto them, O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon them. May they rest in peace. Amen. May their souls and the souls of all the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in in peace. Amen
“Faith of Our Fathers”
THE FOUNDING OF THE ANCIENT ORDER OF HIBERNIANS IN AMERICA
By Brother Denis P. McGowan
On May 4, 2018, the Ancient Order of Hibernians (AOH) will celebrate 182 years of their pride in their Irish heritage and Catholic faith and fraternalism in the United States of America. This article was written to describe this Irish Catholic fraternity’s roots and origins, and the story of when it was first established in America in 1836. I had revised it to include photographs and images to help enhance the article.
HARD TIMES
The AOH traces its origins back to the year 1565 in Ireland, when Irish Catholic men first banded together as the Defenders by Rory Oge O’More in the County Kildare, Province of Leinster, Ireland. In 1565, the Earl of Sussex issued a proclamation establishing a penalty of death for any priest found in the Province of Leinster. The head of a priest brought a higher reward than the head of a wolf.
Rory Oge O’More organized the Defenders to serve as sentinels, guarding both clergy and the congregation during the celebration of the Mass and the ministering of the sacraments, and helping them to safeguard the Mass in the woods, hills and glens. The Sogarth Aroon (Irish for “Dear Priest”) would celebrate Mass using a large rock for the altar. The Defenders would also secure a place of sanctuary for the hunted priest, in the caves of mountains, or a small cabin of the faithful, who risked all to shelter the shepherd of their flock.
To this day, the AOH has an officer called the Sentinel who guards the entrance to their meetings.
A secret celebration of Mass with the Defenders’ sentinels keeping watch for the English soldiers.
In those dark and dreary days, under the very oppressive and stringent English Penal Laws, it was illegal for Irish Catholics to attend Mass, to practice their faith, to speak their native Gaelic language, to hold a life annuity, to own land, to hold public office, to purchase land, to receive an education, to vote, to keep any arms for protection, and mandated Catholics to attend of Protestant worship services, along with a host of other offensive laws imposed upon the Irish people by the English.
Violations of the English Penal Laws were punishable by torture, exile, imprisonment or death.
Secret agrarian societies, such as the Defenders, the Terry-Alts, the White Boys, the Rapparees and the Ribbonmen, were formed in Ireland down through the centuries to right injustices, protect the Roman Catholic clergy, and to guard the celebration of Mass and the illegal “hedge schools” which taught Gaelic, Latin, Greek and Irish history and the Catholic faith to eager Catholic youths.
They often avenged displaced Catholic farmers and their families who had been cruelly dispossessed of their homes and native land by English landlords at the point of English bayonets. They usually struck at midnight, burning the offending landlord’s property and home in retribution for evictions.
It was from these early secret societies that the Ancient Order of Hibernians traces its origins in Ireland, according to Brother John O’Dea’s three-volume work, The History of the Ancient Order of Hibernians and Ladies Auxiliary (1923).
THE RIBBONMEN
One of the largest Irish Catholic secret societies was called the Ribbonmen. The Ribbonmen took their name from their badge of recognition, pieces of green cloth worn in their coat’s buttonhole. Brother John T. Ridge, in his excellent work Erin’s Sons in America: The Ancient Order of Hibernians, written during the AOH’s 150th Anniversary in 1986, writes how branches of the Ribbonmen were organized in nearly every Irish Catholic community, and were coordinated by an “Emerald Board,” the governing body of the Ribbonmen societies existing in Ireland, Scotland and England in the 1830s.
Brother Ridge describes how the Ribbonmen operated throughout Ireland in total secrecy, and branches were confined to a specific locality within a County for fear of detection by the English. The Ribbonmen used secret hand signals, passwords, and handshakes to conceal the identity of their members, maintain the secrecy of their organization and to protect themselves from the English oppressors.
The Ribbonmen continued the Defenders’ traditions by protecting the Catholic clergy and defending the downtrodden Irish Catholic people from the attacks, house burnings and murders committed by Protestant secret societies’ members, such as the “Peep O’Day Boys, “Oak Boys,”” and the “Hearts of Steel.” These loyalist organizations would evolve into the Orange Order in 1795, a quasi-Masonic Protestant secret society that opposes the Catholic Church.
The Orange Order still exists in Northern Ireland, Scotland, England, Wales, Australia, Canada, and the United States of America, and holds triumphalist and highly-offensive parades throughout Northern Ireland to commemorate the battle of the Boyne in 1690 of the Protestant King William of Orange over the Catholic King James II.
In Belinda Loftus’ work, Mirrors: Orange and Green (1994), she describes how the Ribbonmen had secret grades and rituals, and used emblems such as red hearts, red hands, crosses, clasped hands, harps and shamrocks on sashes and collarettes for ceremonial use. Her book also contains a photograph of a Master Ribbonmen’s regalia from 1838.
Many of these emblems can still be seen on AOH collarettes worn today by the AOH Board of Erin members in Ireland and Scotland (see a sample of an AOH collarette below).
In the early 1820s, branches of the Ribbonmen adopted public names such the “St. Patrick’s Boys,” “Saint Patrick Funeral Society,” “Sons of the Shamrock,” or the “Hibernian Funeral Society,” in order to function publicly, to provide death and sick benefits to members and their families in distress, and to operate more on the lines of “friendly societies.”
It was during this period of time that friendly societies became popular in the British Isles, with orders such as the Ancient Order of Foresters, the Order of Odd Fellows and the Free and Accepted Masons being formed in England.
The friendly societies gave birth to the lodge system of organization, using secret ceremonials for initiating new members, secret modes of recognition among the membership, the issuance of charters to the subordinate branches of the orders, a system of government and rules for the conducting of meetings and the business of the order and its branches, as well as providing their members with sick and death benefits. They often provided free burial services for their departed members, which was an attractive benefit of that time. They also devised regalia for their members to wear, such as collars, sashes, and ribbons bearing the secret symbols and emblems of their society.
In a period when there was no life insurance or social security, the friendly societies provided for their members’ families in the event of grave sickness or serious injury prevented their employment, or if they passed away, the sick and death benefits were the only form of income for families of the friendly societies’ members.
The Ancient Order of Hibernians evolved into a friendly society in Ireland, adopting the title “Hibernians” from “Hibernia,” the ancient Latin literary name of Ireland. The Ancient Order of Hibernians Board of Erin still refers to itself as a friendly society in its recruitment literature to this day.
ESTABLISHMENT IN AMERICA
The Irish also began to organize mutual aid and benefit societies in America, especially in key cities such as Boston, New York and Philadelphia. The Friendly Sons of Saint Patrick was established in 1784 in New York, and was proud to have General George Washington as a member.
The Irish Catholics began to organize to counter the anti-Catholic and anti-Irish prejudice and violence in America. Irish Catholics were being denied jobs with “No Irish Need Apply” signs at places of employment, faced discrimination and harassment, and denied housing with the famous “No Irish or Dogs” signs placed on doors. Roman Catholics and the Irish in particular were targeted with bigotry and hatred. The Irish Catholic was often depicted in newspapers with simian features, an English tradition, and portrayed in a very negative and derogatory manner. Nativist prejudice grew from intolerance to violence.
St. Mary’s R.C. Church in New York was burned to the ground in 1831; in 1832, 57 Irish railroad workers suffering from cholera near Malvern, Pennsylvania were refused medical attention, died and were dumped in an unmarked mass grave; on August 10, 1834, the Ursuline Convent in Massachusetts was burned down by an anti-Catholic mob; and throughout 1834 and 1835, anti-Catholic nativist gangs attacked the Irish neighborhood of Five Points in New York resulting in several major street brawls that lasted for days.
The Irish needed mutual benefit societies, such as the friendly societies, to provide protection of their communities and their houses of worship, as well as to aid their members’ families in need in times of the breadwinner’s sickness and death.
In 1836, a group of members of the Order who had emigrated to the United States of America appealed to the Board of Erin in Ireland for permission to establish a branch of the Ancient Order of Hibernians in New York City. At the same time, another group of Hibernians in the Schuylkill County of Pennsylvania were also seeking to formally establish a branch in their state. The two groups joined together to march in the New York Saint Patrick’s Day parade in 1836.
The Hibernians in New York City met in the parish house at 23 Oliver Street of St. James R.C. Church, located on St. James Place in Manhattan near the Five Points section. This area is presently known as Chinatown, but was inhabited during this period of time mainly by Irish immigrants.
In June of 1836, these Hibernian Brothers received a reply from the Board of Erin. Although the original charter has unfortunately long been lost, the words have been preserved for over 180 years by the officers and historians of the AOH. In Brother John T. Ridge’s work, Erin’s Sons in America: The Ancient Order of Hibernians, the words of the charter of the Order in America reads as follows:
“From the Brethren in Ireland and Great Britain to the Brethren in New York,
Brothers, Greetings:
Be it known to you and all it may concern that we send to our few brothers in New York full instructions with our authority to establish branches of our Society in America: the qualifications
must be as follows:
First: All members must be Roman Catholics and of Irish descent and of good moral character,
and none of your members shall join any secret societies contrary to the laws of the Catholic Church and at all times and all places your motto shall be ‘Friendship Unity and True Christian Charity.’
You must love without dissimulation, hating evil, cleaving to good, love to one another as
brotherly love, without preventing one another, let the love of brotherhood abide in you and
forget not hospitality to your immigrant brother that may land on your shores, and we advise you, above all things, have natural Charity among yourselves.
And be it known unto you that our wish and prayer is that when you form your Society in many
cities and towns, you will do all in your power to aid and protect your Irish sisters from all harm
and temptation. As the Irishwoman is known for her chastity all over the world – some may differ
with you in religion – but brothers bear in mind that the good Lord died for us all. Therefore, be it known unto you that our wish is that you do all you can for the Irish immigrant girls, no matter who they may be, and God will be good to you in your new country: and in doing this you will keep the high standing and honor of the Irish in America.
We send you these instructions to you, hoping that you will carry them out to the best of your
Ability. Be it known unto you that you are at liberty to make such laws as will guide your workings
And for the welfare of our old Society, but such laws must be at all times according to the teachings
of the Holy Roman Catholic Church, and the obligations that we send to you, and all your workings must be submitted to any Catholic priest when called for.
We send these instructions to you as we promised to do, with a young man who works on the
ship and who called on you before. Send a copy to our friend who you spoke of and who is now working in Pennsylvania. Hoping that the bearer and this copy with land safe, and that you will treat him right, we remain your brothers in the true bonds of Friendship, this fourth day of May, A.D., 1836.
— Patrick Maguire, Fermanagh; Patrick Reilly, Meath; James McManus, Antrim; Daniel Gallagher, Glasgow; Patrick Boyle, Sligo; Thomas O’Rourke, Leitrim; Patrick Hamill, West Meath; Patrick McKenna, Monagahn; John Farrell, Meath; Patrick Dunn, Tyrone; John Reilly, Cavan; John Derkin, Mayo; John McMahon, Longford; John Murphy; Liverpool.
ST. JAMES R.C. CHURCH
Saint James R.C. Church still stands at St. James Place, also known as Ancient Order of Hibernians Place, in the Lower East Side section of Manhattan. On the front of this
historic house of God is a bronze plaque that was erected by the AOH Centennial Committee on May 3, 1936. The plaque reads as follows:
ANCIENT ORDER OF HIBERNIANS
1836-1936
FRIENDSHIP, UNITY AND CHRISTIAN CHARITY
Near this Church of Saint James in May, 1836, the first Division of the Ancient Order of Hibernians in America was organized by the venerable Board of Erin. This tablet is reverently dedicated in connection with the 100th Anniversary of the organization of the Ancient Order of Hibernians in America as a tribute to the dauntless Catholic Irishmen, who penniless and alone in a strange land, founded the Ancient Order of Hibernians in America to be a bulwark of Faith and Fatherland, a protector of the weak and friendless, and a defender of American democracy.
“ALL, ALL ARE GONE BUT STILL LIVES ON
THE FAME OF THOSE WHO DIED
ALL TRUE MEN, LIKE YOU MEN,
REMEMBER THEM WITH PRIDE.”
John E. Fenton of Massachusetts, National President
John J. Walsh, State President, New York State
Thomas Rogers, County President, New York County
CENTENNIAL COMMITTEE
William T. Collins, Chairman Edward J. McMullen, Secretary
THIS TABLET ERECTED MAY 3RD, 1936
It should be known that the first Division of the Order still exists, and is known as the Thomas Rogers Memorial Division No. 1. Brother Thomas MacRory Rogers, the Division’s namesake, was a native of Omagh, County Tyrone, in modern day occupied Ireland. He immigrated to the USA as a young man in or about 1912 and married Teresa MacGlade, a fellow immigrant and native of Dunganamohr, outside Dungannon, County Tyrone.
Brother Rogers was a lifelong Hibernian active in Irish-American affairs including Clan na Gael and the Irish struggle against the British crown in the occupied counties. Brother Rogers served on the Division, County, State and National level of the AOH.
THE 150TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE ORDER IN AMERICA
Under the leadership of Brother Joseph A. Roche, National President of the Order, the 150th Anniversary of the Order was observed at Saint James R.C. Church. The holy sacrifice of the Mass was celebrated in Irish on May 4, 1986 as part of the anniversary.
Several hundred Brother and Sister Hibernians from all the United States of America and Canada were in attendance at the Mass, wearing Hibernian medallions of office and tricolor sashes. Brother Roche reported with pride how the church was almost closed, but that through the generous donations and support of the Order, St. James Church was renovated and stayed an active parish.
A second bronze plaque was placed by the Order to commemorate the 150th Anniversary and the renaming of the street to mark it as Ancient Order of Hibernians Place.
Hibernians can hold with pride their memberhsip in our Order, our long history and cherished traditions of protecting the Church and our Faith, service to the Irish American community, and the fine spirit espressed in our Order’s motto, Friendship, Unity and Christian Charity.
Brother Denis P. McGowan is a member of St. Columcille Division No. 4 of the Richmond County Board (Staten Island, NY), and holds a B.A. in History from Saint Francis College (Brooklyn, NY). He joined the Order’s Flatbush Division No. 35 on April 12, 1984 in Brooklyn, NY, and received the Order’s Major Degrees on November 18, 1984 on Staten Island from the Round Tower Degree Team. He is proud to be a third generation Hibernian.
Sources:
Erin’s Sons in America: The Ancient Order of Hibernians, by John T. Ridge, AOH Publications (1986)
The History of the Ancient Order of Hibernians in America and Ladies’ Auxiliary, by John O’Dea, University of Notre Dame Press (1923)
Mirrors: Orange and Green, by Belinda Loftus, Picture Press (1994)
The Flatbush Irish, John T. Ridge, AOH Publications (1980)
Celebrating 250 Years of the New York City St. Patrick’s Day Parade, by John T. Ridge (2011)
History of the Ancient Order of Hibernians from the Earliest Period to the Joint National Convention at Trenton, New Jersey, June 27, 1898, With Biography Of The Rt. Rev. James A. Mcfaul, by Thomas J. McGrath (1898)
History of the Ancient Order of Hibernians, Catholic Encyclopeadia (online 2016)
The History of the Ancient Order of Hibernians and Ladies Ancient Order of Hibernians in Ohio: A Comparative Analysis, by Nicole M. Creech, Thesis, University of Ohio (2005)