12 Oct. 2020
Highlight was a presentation and discussion about instituting a bereavement ceremony.
This documents the the monthly meeting of the Father Kelley Division of the Ancient Order of Hibernians held electronically on video via Zoom
DISCUSSION
- Meeting is called to Order
At 7:30 p.m. by the Division President John Masarick called the meeting to order.
Zoom participants Brian Tumulty and Pete Hawkins were not included until 8 p.m.
Attending in person were 7 members: John Masarick, Thomas Masarick, Richard Aleksy, Richard Ring, Joe Cahill, Dan O’Leary, Greg Rebbert, and JP McCusker.
- Recitation of the opening prayer & Pledge of Allegiance:
- Our Father x
- Hail Mary x
- St. Michael the Archangel x
- Glory Be x
- Pledge of Allegiance x
- Roll call of Officers for Fraternal Year 2020
| Position | Name | By Exception: (P=Present, A = Absent E= Excused) |
| President | John Masarick | p |
| Vice President | Thomas Masarick | p |
| Chaplain | Fr. Ed Guilloux | E |
| Recording Secretary | Brian Tumulty | p |
| Financial Secretary | Richard S. Aleksy | p |
| Treasurer | Richard W. Ring | P |
| Standing Committee | Joe Cahill | p |
| Marshall | Bart Emanuel | E |
| Sentinel | Dan O’Leary | P |
| Immediate Past President | Richard W. Ring | P |
- Reading of minutes from previous meeting: Minutes from the September meeting was published on the division website.
- Reading of communications and correspondence: None
- Presidents Report:
- The Coronavirus has affected many Brother Hibernians, their families, friends, and members of our community. Please help our brothers, their families, friends, and neighbors by donating money and or food to the Bethanie pantry, House of Mercy, or other similar organization.
- Invitation from Col. Dowd and Father Mychal Judge Divisions asking if the Father Kelley Division wishes to participate in a countywide coloring contest.
Irish Immigration into the US
Colonial birth, death, marriage, and some shipping records cite the presence of Irish born people in the US as early as the 1630s. For instance, in 1655 the ship Goodfellow arrived in Boston carrying a group of indentured servants, and John Hancock’s ancestor, Anthony Hancock, arrived from Co. Down in 1681. Rev. Cotton Mather and Governor Winthrop corresponded with their Irish friends and relatives, with as many as 105 soldiers of Irish origin serving in various militias. However, up until 1715, the numbers of Irish in New England were less than 1%, a small percentage of the population.
The majority of the Irish in America before the nineteenth century were those who later became known as Scotch-Irish, descendants of people from Scotland who had moved to the northern part of Ireland in earlier centuries. These northern Irish were mainly Protestant, and distinctions between them and other Irish immigrants came into popular usage in the nineteenth century when much larger numbers of Roman Catholic Irish began to arrive. Northern Irish immigration peaked between the 1750’s and the early 1770’s, with an estimated 14,200 people from Northern Ireland reaching America during the 1750’s; 21,200 during the 1760’s; and 13,200 during the first of the 1770’s, leading up to the American Revolution. Most of the pre-Revolutionary War immigration from Ireland took place between 1760 and 1775, when about 25,000 new arrivals came to the colonies.
The first U.S. Census in 1790 may have underestimated the proportion of the population that was of Irish background. However, in 1931 scholars who studied the linguistic and national background origin of the American people at the time of that first U.S. Census estimated that about one out of every ten Americans in 1790 was of Irish ancestry, including both Protestants and a smaller numbers of Catholics. The 1931 estimates indicated that people of Irish ancestry could be found in all parts of the new nation, but that they made up the largest proportions of populations in the South. According to these figures, in 1790, people of Irish background made up 15 percent of residents in Georgia, 14 percent in South Carolina, 12 percent in Kentucky and Tennessee, and 11 percent in Virginia and North Carolina. As immigration from Ireland and other parts of Europe increased during the first half of the nineteenth century, however, the new immigrants tended to settle in the North and in the most urbanized parts of the country, rather than in the rural South.
During the early nineteenth century, Ireland was one of the main sources of immigration to the United States. Irish immigrants provided much of the labor for American cities and transportation systems and helped to establish Roman Catholicism in the United States.
The first identifiable wave of Irish migration to the United States began in 1729, when a poor harvest and a depression in the linen trade created economic hardship in Ireland. By 1784, just after the American Revolutionary War, an estimated 400,000 Irish lived in the new United States. During the six decades leading up the U.S. Civil War (1861-1865), the Irish became one of the nation’s largest and most recognizable minority groups. Despite a decline in migration from Ireland in the twentieth century, Irish immigrants and their descendants have continued to play an important part in American history.
- Chaplain’s Report: No report
- Propositions for membership: Report on candidates for membership Initiation of the candidates (Lesson of the Motto):
Michael Eggleston
Paul Hannan
- Report of the committee on the sick: Joe Cahill – The division received a thank you from Nancy Emanuel
- Bills and Claims: Financial Secretary — Rich Aleksy
| Date | Submitted by | Amount | |
| 12 Oct | John Masarick | 3 months of Zoom meetings | $47.22 |
| 12 Oct | Joe Cahill | Mass cards | $27.00 |
| TOTAL MONTHLY BILLS & CLAIMS | $74.22 |
- Report on the Standing Committee: No Report
- Report on Special Committees:
| Committee | Chairman | Report / Discussion |
| Events/Calendar | Greg Rebbert | We sold 40 raffle tickets for the trip to Ireland during Halfway to St. Patrick’s Day. Most events are canceled except for bingo kitchens, raffle ticket sales and the deceased members Mass.. JP has been talking to the parish office about a deceased members Mass. JP said we are discussing an 8 am Saturday Mass on the 14th or 21st of November. He suggested we take it. Members voted for it. JP will get back to us on whether we can do the 14th and, if not, he will schedule it for the 21st. Rich Aleksy pointed out that recently the attendance at Saturday morning Mass has been high. Pete Hawkins noted that Nov. 14 is the opening day of deer season. JP suggested that people save themselves the aggravation of coming home empty handed from hunting and go to Mass instead. |
| Freedom for all Ireland | Tom Masarick | Christmas grants are made each year. This just a little bit different spin for Ireland. And this is the Hibernians freedom grants. This is Martin Galvin and Danny O’Connell. And basically it says that each year the AOH and LAOH make a Christmas appeal to award grants to groups working for complete and absolute independence, peace and unity for all Ireland. The categories include supporting for former Republican political prisoners, truth and justice groups, cross community initiatives, Irish culture, heritage, and language, preserving Irish History, and cross border programs. These contributions are made because Americans are inspired by you and your work for Freedom for All Ireland. We want to support you. We take pride and satisfaction in being a small part of your tremendous efforts. |
| Historian | John Holohan | No report |
| Immigration | Rick Ring | No report |
| Trip to Ireland | J.P./Greg | No report |
| Parade | Vince Fitzpatrick | No report |
| Pro-Life | Mike McManus | No report |
| Webmaster | Brian Tumulty | Need to call the state webmaster |
| Political Education | Vince Fitzpatrick | No report |
| Veteran’s Affairs | Mike Riley | |
| Hunger Project | Bart Emanuel | No report |
| Project St. Patrick | Rich Aleksy | We just made a donation tonight as part of our charitable donations. |
| Charities | Rich Aleksy | Rich noted that the division already has approved a donation for Bike for Babies earlier this year. The officers met last week and decided on seven charities with donations of $300 to each Medical MissionariesMother of Mercy pro-life center in ManassasMcGrath School of DanceIndependence Empowerment Center, which is a community based nonresidential organization to help the intellectually disabled in Prince William County, Manassas, Manassas Park and Fauquier CountySt. Vincent de Paul of All Saints ParishProject St. Patrick, which is a national AOH vocational project AIS PIO Research Foundation which is a group that our late brother John Hayes had been involved with After a discussion about the groups and what they do, Rich made a motion for the division to approve that was seconded The vote was unanimous |
| Bylaws Committee | Rich Aleksy | |
| Trustees Report | J.P., Greg, Doug | |
| Bingo | Tom Masarick | Team 4 had Mike Curry and Dave Riley. The division will receive $84. Team one will be up on Nov. 1 led by Rick Ring. The Knights are getting about 90 people for bingo. |
| Audit | Vince Fitzpatrick Jerry Partsch Patrick Sullivan | |
| Club Room | Tom Masarick | Closed for another month. |
| Bereavement / Monuments Committee | Tom Masarick | A book has been assembled with four major pieces that will be al a carte for family members to decide on what to do. We have the template and a format for a certificate. It needs to be edited. Rich Aleksy has a copy on his computer. The ceremony could be done at a funeral home or at a luncheon and/or include a trifold as well as the certificate. The division might do one for John Hayes or two other members who recently died. JP suggested one approach. John noted that some families may not want it at the church. Others might not want it at the funeral home. |
| Music | Jerry Laffey | No report |
| Spring festival | John Holohan | It was canceled |
Receipts of the Meeting (Income): Financial Secretary — Rich Aleksy
| Date | Submitted by | For | Amount |
| 12 Oct 12 Oct | Rich Aleksy Rich Alesky | Ireland Trip Raffle Bingo Kitchen | $420 $83 |
| Total | $503 |
- Report of the Treasurer: Richard Ring
Starting Monthly Budget Balance For September 2020 = $15,946.11
September 2020 Deposits (INCOME) = $64.00
September 2020 EXPENSES = $566.05
Ending Monthly Budget Balance For September 2020 = $15,444.06
Check # Check Item Check Amt: Date of Check
None
Closing Bank Statement Balance $15,444.06
Closing Bank Register Balance $15,444.06
Bank register is reconciled
| Date Updated: 01 October 2020 |
- Unfinished Business:
- The president said at the September meeting that he was preparing to appoint a nominating committee to select a slate of nominees to serve as 2021 officers.
- Dan O’Leary spoke of plans to sell raffle tickets at the Old Town Sports Pub on Sept. 17 during the observance of Halfway to St. Patrick’s Day.
- New business
| Member | Topic | Discussion |
| JP McCusker | Nominating Committee | JP McCusker reported that he, Vince Fitzpatrick and Greg Rebbert were appointed to the nominating committee during last week’s officers committee. JP said that anyone interested in serving as an officer in 2021 should contact any of the three members of the committee. JP said they have a couple of resumes and are looking for more. The election will be in December |
| John Masarick | Christmas Party | Dan O’Leary said we should hold it. Rick suggested we have a vote. John said we are looking to volunteers for the committee. Tom said he is interested. Greg Rebbert said it is simple to do and we don’t need a committee. Rich Aleksy said we do not have a budget line item for the Christmas Party. Tom, Greg, JP, and Patrick Sullivan will serve on the committee. John said the basement will be in use to store toys. The Club Room is a possibility. The committee will decide on the room. |
| Dan O’Leary | Jan 29 beer tasting | Dan said we have a month and a half to decide whether we are going to do the beer tasting or not. This year would be our 11th year and the 6th year with Old Busthead. Each year we have had three of the same beers – Graffitti House, Red Vixen and a Czech – with two other different beers. Another topic: Dan suggested that at the next meeting we should discuss 4 line budget items totaling including the Fall Festival for $100, FFAI for $100, and the Anchor Club for $500 and the Ladies Auxiliary. Dan wanted to know abut the understanding the AOH has with the Anchor Club about the use of the building. John M. said Rich Aleksy will review the budget and make recommendations |
- Adjournment Motion & Closing Prayer
Prayers were offered.
- Closing Ode: none
- 18. Adjournment: Time: 8:58 pm
