9 Nov. 2020
Highlight of this meeting was the announcement of the proposed slate of officers for our annual election in December meeting, including a nomination from the floor of an additional candidate for president.
This electronic/paper instrument documents the formal proceedings of 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
- 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 | E |
| Immediate Past President | Richard W. Ring | p |
- Reading of minutes from previous meeting: Minutes from the October meeting was published on the division website.
JP asked for a clarification of the other business under new business.
List of officers should say 2020
Clarification requested that Dan O’Leary wants an explanation of the division’s relationship with the Anchor Club
Minutes were unanimously approved as amended.
- Reading of communications and correspondence:
President John Masarick said the division has received thank you letters from Independent Empowerment, St. Vincent DePaul and Medical Missionaries.
- 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 Bethany Food Pantry, House of Mercy or other similar organization.
Father Kelley Deceased Members
Francis X. Riley, Charter AOH Past President
George A. Patrick, AOH Past President
Kenneth Concannon, AOH Past President
Frank Grimes
Robert Callahan
Thomas Howley, AOH Past President
William D. Newton
Virginia State Senator Charles Colgan
Francis J. O’Neill, Jr.
William F. O’Brien
Richard H. Sheridan
Bradley T. White
Arthur R. McAndrew
Ambrose “BO” Conlon
Dr. John J. Kelly
Martin Kilfeather
E. Paul Byrne
William J. Doyle
Paul Purtell
John Hayes
Tomorrow, November 10 is the date of my mom and dad’s wedding anniversary. Also tomorrow, November 10 is a holy day because it is the birthday of the US Marine Corps.
History, Ancient Order of Hibernians
The organization had its roots in the Defenders and the Ribbonmen, Catholic agrarian movements of the 18th and 19th centuries.[4] It emerged in Ulster at the end of the 19th century in opposition to the Orange Order.[5] It was organized by Joseph Devlin of Belfast, who was Grand Master by 1905.[6] The AOH was closely associated with the Irish Parliamentary Party, its members mainly members of the party.[7] It was strongly opposed to secular ideologies such as those of the Irish Republican Brotherhood (the IRB), who were most unhappy at the re-emergence of this old rival “right-wing” nationalist society.[8] Membership in the group was initially banned by the Catholic Church, although this was lifted in 1904.[9][verification needed]
From a membership of 5,000 in 1900, nearly all in Ulster, it climbed to 64,000 by 1909, complementing the United Irish League.[10] By 1914 the order had spread throughout the country, mainly because of its utility as a patronage, brokerage and recreational association.[11] As a vehicle for Irish nationalism, the AOH greatly influenced the sectarian aspect of Irish politics in the early twentieth century. In Ulster and elsewhere it acted as an unruly but vigorous militant support organisation for Devlin, Dillon and Redmond against radicals and against William O’Brien: O’Brien regarded himself as having been driven from the party by militant Hibernians at the “Baton Convention” of 1909.[11]
United States – Early years
The order was founded in the United States on 4 May 1836, at St. James Church in New York City,[17] near the old Five Points neighborhood.[18][19] A branch was formed the same year at Pottsville, Pennsylvania.[20] The existence and activities of the order were concealed for some years.
During the late 1860s and early 1870s many of the lodges of the order in Pennsylvania were infiltrated by the Molly Maguires. However the Molly Maguires and their criminal activities were condemned at the 1876 national convention of the AOH[21] and the order was reorganized in the Pennsylvania coal areas.[22]
Split, reunion and auxiliary
In 1884 there was a split in the organization. The order had previously been governed by the Board of Erin, which had governed the order in Ireland, Great Britain and the United States, but was composed of officers selected exclusively by the organizations in Ireland and Great Britain. The majority left in 1884 and became the Ancient Order of Hibernians of America, while the small group called itself Ancient Order of Hibernians, Board of Erin. In 1897 the Ancient Order of Hibernians, Board of Erin, had approximately 40,000 members concentrated in New York, New Jersey, Ohio, Illinois and Michigan, while the Ancient Order of Hibernians of America had nearly 125,000 members scattered throughout nearly every state in the union. The two groups reunited in 1898.[23]
A female auxiliary, the Daughters of Erin, was formed in 1894, and had 20,000 members in 1897. It was attached to the larger, “American” version of the order.[23]
The Ladies Auxiliary of the Ancient Order of Hibernians raised $50,000 to build the Nuns of the Battlefield sculpture in Washington, D.C., which the United States Congress authorized in 1918.[24][25] The Irish-American sculptor, Jerome Connor, ended up suing the order for non-payment.[25]
John F. Kennedy joined the AOH in 1947.[21]
Important Dates prior to 1882:
1836… The Ancient Order of Hibernians was founded in New York City
1869……..First A.O.H. Division in Connecticut was founded in Bridgeport
1872……First annual state convention in Connecticut was held in Hartford……..P. Daley of Hartford was elected first A.O.H. State President
1875……..1,000 Hibernians march in New Haven for O’Connell centennial
1876……..John P. Murphy of Norwich elected state president for first time
1882……..First Biennial A.O.H. Convention held in Stamford
- Chaplain’s Report: No report
- Propositions for membership: Report on candidates for membership Initiation of the candidates (Lesson of the Motto): There is a candidate that came down from the sate named Michael O’Hara who is out of the country at the moment.
- Report of the committee on the sick: None
- Bills and Claims: Financial Secretary — Rich Aleksy
| Date | Submitted by | Amount | |
| Rich Aleksy | Past president medallion and pin | $49 | |
| Rich Aleksy | FFAI | $100 | |
| Rich Aleksy | Manassas Anchor Club | $500 | |
| TOTAL MONTHLY BILLS & CLAIMS | $649 |
President John said the AOH years ago held its regular meetings at the American Legion and in 2006 the AOH president at that time, Jim Conroy, arranged to change the venue to the Knights of Columbus Hall.
Conroy didn’t think the American Legion was the appropriate venue for a Catholic organization, so he wanted it to meet in the Father Kelly Hall. Father Kelly Hall wasn’t available because they were using the hall for RCIA.
Jim ended up talking to the Anchor Club and was able to arrange meet here in the hall and, in appreciation, he started the donation. Jim thinks we ought to continue with that.
We have most of our monthly meetings here. We had the use of the hall for two Christmas parties. Our 30th anniversary dinner was here. And they didn’t charge us.
We also have the closet over there to store things.
Several members of the Anchor Club are members of members of the division.
- Report on the Standing Committee: No Report
- Report on Special Committees:
| Committee | Chairman | Report / Discussion |
| Events/Calendar | Greg Rebbert | Decreased members Mass will be Saturday at 8 am. That’s all we have in terms of events between now and December. We had a discussion of a Christmas party. Tom M. said the committee met and looked at the options. One was meet in the club room and bring food. The hall is available Dec. 12 and that could include a bagpiper. The third option was to have beverages upstairs after the meeting with chips, which they decided to do. John M. asked what the division thinks. A motion was made to do that and seconded. Unanimous vote except for one abstention. |
| Freedom for all Ireland | Tom Masarick | Tom read from the national Hibernian Digest. They are in desperate need of grants. Freedom for All Ireland is being expanded across the country in Chicago, Jim Sullivan in Florida, Jim Gallaher in Connecticut, John Callahan in Missouri are joining the National Committee on the recommendations of our national directors and our national president Dan O’Leary. There’ll be working with state presidents and officials to make Freedom for All Ireland more effective in the South, Midwest in New England. They join Brandon Moore, Jerry McHale and others. The military interventions are really violent. Right now, with the pandemic, a lot of places are being shut down. So, when we think of our charities, give a lot of thought to donating or in giving grants, because they are in desperate need just to keep these folks going. |
| Historian | John Holohan | “Oh, what it is to be Irish!” is a quote from the book Juno and the Paycock by Sean O’Casey. And here’s another quote: “We don’t forget them things, Jackson. If they’re taking everything from us Chuck sir, they have left us with memories.” And I’m going to follow that up. I just want to emphasize again, the memory. Because that’s why we’re here, remembering what the Irish did for the better part of seven centuries. To be Irish in Ireland was to live in a land that was not your own. They had refused to become English. The Irish people stuck to what they were. Now what had the Irish done to this to deserve these cruelties? Our time is short, so I’ll tell you what I think. They had refused to become English. That’s the thing I wanted to talk to you about. The Irish people stuck to what they were. At our next meeting, I want to talk about the seven centuries of this organized torment and how it started. And I think you’d be surprised how this started. John plans to update the map of where our members have ancestors in Ireland. |
| Immigration | Rick Ring | No report |
| Trip to Ireland | J.P./Greg | There are 49 tickets sold and we need to get moving a little bit. We have times set up for sales in the church during January, February, and March |
| Parade | Vince Fitzpatrick | We now are moving forward with planning for holding the parade on March 13 and we will let you know of any updates |
| 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 | The Last of the Few is a book about Irish pilot John Hemingway who fought in the Battle of Britain. In an August 1940 speech British Prime Minister Winston Churchill paid tribute to these 3,000 men from the Royal Air Force, who repulsed the German Luftwaffe during the summer and autumn of 1940 and prevented the Nazi invasion of Britain. Churchill said, “Never in the field of human conflict was so much owed by so many to so few.” Hemingway began training for the Royal Air Force in 1939. He was shot down twice in August 1940. In July 1941 he was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross. He served as a flight controller during Operation Overlord, which was the Allied invasion of Normandy in 1944. He was later restored to active duties as a Spitfire combat pilot fought in the 1944 and ‘45 campaign in northern Italy. After the war, he served as a staff officer in the Middle East, spent two years at the Air Ministry in London, and as a senior staff officer at NATO headquarters in France. He then returned to England as station Commander. He retired from the RAF in 1969. He was one of the 36 Irish pilots who fought in the Battle of Britain. Last year he gave an interview with the Irish Times on the occasion of his 100th birthday. |
| Hunger Project | Bart Emanuel | No report |
| Project St. Patrick | Rich Aleksy | No report |
| Charities | Rich Aleksy | No report |
| Bylaws Committee | Rich Aleksy | |
| Nominating Committtee | J.P., Greg, Vince | The nominating committee has recommended these people and it does not preclude others: For president, Tom Masarick For vice president, Patrick Sullivan For recording secretary Brian Tumulty For financial secretary Richard Aleksy For treasurer, Richard Ring For standing committee, Pete Hawkins For marshall, Mike Curry For sentinel, Dan O’Leary Patrick Sullivan also nominated Mike Riley for president The nominating committee’s report is a recommendation ad does not preclude anyone seeking to run for any of these offices from the floor.w The election is Dec. 14 on Zoom, dial-in and in person. |
| Bingo | Tom Masarick | On Nov. 1 team one had the bingo kitchen and earned $95. Next up is team 2 in December. John M. said around $900 has been raised. |
| Audit | Vince Fitzpatrick Jerry Partsch Patrick Sullivan | |
| Club Room | Tom Masarick | Closed for another month. |
| Bereavement / Monuments Committee | Tom Masarick | |
| 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 |
| 9 Nov | Rich Aleksy | Bingo Kitchen | $95 |
| 9 Nov | Rich Aleksy | Ireland trip raffle | $75 |
| 9 Nov | Rich Aleksy | Refund from Historic Manassas Fall Festival | $100 |
| Total | $270 | ||
| We have Keep Christ and Christmas magnets that the Knights of Columbus will be selling on our behalf at the church. Rich also has magnets for anyone in the division who wants them. |
- Report of the Treasurer: Richard Ring
Starting Monthly Budget Balance for October 2020 = $15,444.06
October 2020 Deposits (INCOME) = $538.00
October 2020 EXPENSES = $ 2,174
Ending Monthly Budget Balance for September 2020 = $
Check # Check Item Check Amt: Date of Check
None
Closing Bank Statement Balance $13,772
Closing Bank Register Balance $13,772
Bank register is reconciled
| I just want to put this out here out there. With one month to go, we have taken in $642 in bingo kitchen money this year. Normally we would take in $1,200 dollars. So, it’s just over 50% of what we normally would expect. |
- Unfinished Business:
| Member | Topic | Discussion |
| Dan O’Leary | Beer tasting Jan 29 | Pat Sullivan 53 minutes |
| John Masarick | Christmas Party | |
| Dan O’Leary | Four budget line items that total $800 – Anchor Club, LAOH, FFAI, and Fall Festival | |
| Tom Masarick | Bereavement ceremony | Pat Sullivan said some of it may be redundant with the bylaws Rick Aleksy said there is a mention in the bylaws about the death of a member. We need to find our charter We have already inquired to the national organization. We at one time requested a replacement copy of the charter. We were founded in July 1988. |
- New business
| Member | Topic | Discussion |
- Adjournment Motion & Closing Prayer
Prayers were offered.
Patrick Sullivan requested prayers for Greg’s wife who is pretty sick right now and has had lots of difficulties.
Rich Aleksy asked for prayers for his wife who is continuing chemo, and also for himself. He has a tumor in his bladder.
Vince Fitzpatrick said his sister has had surgery
Paul Hannan asked for prayers his uncle, Jeremiah Hannon, 98 years old, who was born March 17th. He was one of eight children, and he’s the last of the eight children to pass away.
- Closing Ode: none
- 18. Adjournment: Time: 8:34 pm
