Ancient Order of Hibernians

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Ancient Order of Hibernians
Abbreviation AOH
Motto Friendship, Unity and Christian Charity
Formation 4 May 1836
Type Catholic
American fraternal order
Headquarters 31 Logan Street,
Auburn, New York,
United States
President Brendan Moore
Website www.aoh.com

The Ancient Order of Hibernians (AOH) (Irish: Sean Ordú na nÉireannach) is an Irish Catholic fraternal organization. Members must be Catholic and either Irish born or of Irish descent. Its largest membership is now in the United States, where it was founded in New York City in 1836. Its name was adopted by groups of Irish immigrants in the United States,[1] its purpose to act as guards to protect Catholic churches from anti-Catholic forces in the mid-19th century, and to assist Irish Catholic immigrants, especially those who faced discrimination or harsh coal mining working conditions. Many members had a background with the Molly Maguires. It became an important focus of Irish-American political activity.[1]

Contents

Background in Ireland [edit]

The organisation had its roots in the Defenders and the Ribbonmen, Catholic agrarian movements of the 18th and 19th centuries.[2] It emerged in Ulster at the end of the 19th century in opposition to the Orange Order.[3] It was organised by Joseph Devlin of Belfast, who was Grandmaster by 1905.[4] The AOH was closely associated with the Irish Parliamentary Party, its members mainly members of the party.[5] It was strongly opposed to secular idologies such as those of the Irish Republican Brotherhood who were most unhappy at the re-emergence of this old rival 'right-wing' nationalist society.[6]

From a membership of 5,000 in 1900, nearly all in Ulster, it climbed to 64,000 by 1909, complementing the United Irish League.[7] By 1914 the order had spread throughout the country, mainly because of its utility as a patronage, brokerage and recreational association.[8] 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.[9]

AOH 1911 plaque, Kanturk, Co Cork, Ireland

After the 1916 Easter Rising the organisation declined outside of Ulster, its members absorbed into Sinn Féin and the Irish Republican Army.[10] In many areas the organisation provided by the AOH was the nearest thing to a paramilitary force. Many republican leaders in the 1916-1923 period, among them Sean MacDermott, J.J Walsh and Rory O'Connor, had been "Hibs" before the formation of the Irish Volunteers in 1913.[11]

The AOH is also significant as a link between the new nationalist organisations and the century-old tradition of popular militant societies. More directly, it lingered on as a pro-Treaty support organisation. Some Hibernians fought in the Irish Brigade in the Spanish Civil War. The quasi-Fascist Blueshirts movement of the 1930s may, in fact, have owed as much to the Ribbon tradition which it so much resembled as it did to continental analogies.[12]

Within Northern Ireland, the AOH remains a visible but somewhat marginal part of the Catholic community. It parades at Easter, Lady Day and a few other times a year.

United States [edit]

St. James Church, New York City
Helena, Montana Chapter of the Ancient Order of Hibernians banner

The Order in the United States was founded in New York City May 4, 1836 at St. James Church located near the old Five Points neighborhood. Its existence and activities were concealed for some years.

  • In 1982, in a revival of Hibernianism, the Thomas Francis Meagher Division #1 formed in Helena, Montana, dedicated to the principles of the Order and to restoring a historically accurate record of Meagher's contributions to Montana. Soon after, six additional divisions formed in Montana.[15]

See also [edit]

References [edit]

  1. ^ a b David W. Miller Church, State and Nation in Ireland 1898-1921 pp. 209-15, Gill & Macmillan (1973) ISBN 0-7171-0645-4
  2. ^ MacDonald, Sharon (1993). Inside European Identities: Ethnography in Western Europe. Berg. p. 155. ISBN 0-85496-888-1. Retrieved 5 September 2011. 
  3. ^ MacDonald (1993), p. 156.
  4. ^ Rees, Russell (1998). Ireland, 1905-1925: Text and Historiography. Colourpoint. ISBN 1-898392-40-4. 
  5. ^ Garvin, Tom: The Evolution of Irish Nationalist Politics, The Rise of the Hibernians, pp.107-110, Gill and Macmillian Ltd. Dublin (2005) ISBN 0-7171-3967-0.
  6. ^ Garvin, Tom: p.106 lines 25-26, p.107 lines 2-4
  7. ^ Garvin, Tom: pp.107-108
  8. ^ Garvin, Tom: p.108, lines 12-14
  9. ^ Garvin, Tom: p.108, lines 28-32
  10. ^ Garvin, Tom: p.109, lines 24-25
  11. ^ Garvin, Tom: p.109, lines 33-35
  12. ^ Garvin, Tom: p.110, lines 12-22
  13. ^ a b Save Outdoor Sculpture! (1993). "Nuns of the Battlefield, (sculpture)". SOS!. Smithsonian. Retrieved 18 December 2010. 
  14. ^ Jacob, Kathryn Allmong. Testament to Union: Civil War monuments in Washington, Part 3. JHU Press, 1998, p. 125-126
  15. ^ http://www.hibernian.org/helena/index.html
  16. ^ Benjamin Epstein (December 1998). "Willkommen! Bienvenuto! However you say it, if you've got a longing for that old county, join the club". Orange Coast Magazine (Emmis Communications) 24 (12): 129. ISSN 0279-0483. Retrieved May 26, 2012. 

Reading [edit]

  • Tom Garvin: The Evolution of Irish Nationalist Politics Gill & Macmillan (2005) ISBN 0-7171-3967-0 : Pages 105-110: The Rise of the Hibernians.
  • Prof. R.V. Comerford: Ireland Inventing the Nation (Hodder 2003).

External links [edit]

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