What You Should Know about the Ancient Order of Hibernians !

Pearl River NY

12 March, 2022

1:31 PM

Description

I start by telling any reader who might not know what the Ancient Order of Hibernians is -> The Ancient Order of Hibernians [AOH] is America's oldest Irish Catholic Fraternal Organization founded concurrently in the coal-mining region of Pennsylvania and New York City in May,1836. The Order can trace its roots back to a series of similar societies that existed in Ireland for more than 300 years. Today the AOH exists in America, Canada, Ireland, England, Wales and Scotland, however, while the organizations share a common thread, the American AOH is a separate and much larger organization [per Google]. The American AOH has many many noble missions, which include Friendship, Unity, and Christian Charity, a Charity that extends to people of all ages, ethnicities, races and creeds. These words are code words with a heavy meaning in the story. As it happened, I am an AOH member for longer than 5+ decades and for 4+ decades of those 5 decades I was blessed to be the President of a Charity with the mission of serving our beloved intellectually and developmently brothers and sisters of all ages, ethnicities, races and creeds. Its name was Camp Venture. At some time I reached out to Pat Hogan, Denis Troy and other Hibernian leaders and members, to help me. I wanted our Brother Hibernians to join the struggles of Camp Venture to elevate the quality of life in Rockland County for Venture's care recipients. One of Camp Venture's mission was to integrate their care receivers into our community as their lives transitioned out of State institutions. It was the result of a TV expose of Geraldo Riviera. His images of the State's institutions in Staten Island and Stony Point/Haverstraw on the TV screen made us cringe in shame and sorrow. The entire AOH family of Rockland County responded with passion. I had no idea how serious the Hibernians took their mission of Charity to all ages, ethnicities, races and creeds. The AOH fully understood that the populations to embrace were not just the Irish population; it had an open heart for all victims of birth defects, the only criteria for the AOH embrace. Here are some examples: every organization serving the disabled in Rockland was invited to march up front in the New York State's second largest St. Patricks Parade. This was a mega social step for the DNA of Rockland. It was soon decided in a blink of an eye and a handshake. I did not know how the 50,000 Parade spectators would react to seeing 60 or more of a group practically hidden strutting along in the honored public demonstration of all things Irish. All I heard were cheers, clapping and parade spectators rising to their feet and saluting. The time honored Parade had added another honor and as clear statement of the AOH mission. A second example was also something I never expected. The horror unveiled a State Policy of "Deinstitution" for mega sized "Isolated Islands" removed from the State's general population. It was to be implemented by moving the care receivers into family sized "Group Homes' in the community. This caused a backlash of many of the homeowners who moved to Rockland for a suburban setting, not an urban setting, and the fears that their property values would crash. A few had the fear of the intellectually disabled. Many thought them to be community degraders or even dangerous. I was in that war. It got very ugly sometimes. And when Division III of the AOH in Pearl River offered to sponsor a "Group Home", in the neighborhood and name it "Hibernian House II" I almost burst with pride to be a member and have such an ally. My last example is how Pat Hogan, Denis Troy and other Hibernians who were fired up for Justice for the Disabled became my Partners in Producing fund raising entertainment on a local TV Station for Camp Venture and made sure every popular Irish Performer from the New York area and some from Ireland, gifted their artistry as did so many great entertainers who did not have a drop of Irish blood in their veins. Many performances were produced in the Helen Hayes Performing Arts Center in Nyack I could go on and on about what took and still takes place in the Hibernian House for folks with "Special Needs", plus our Exchange program with Ireland, Golf Outings, etc., but I am content that you might have learned how much the AOH lived up to its mission of Charity with kindness, respect, sacrifice, generosity for people of all ages, ethnicities, races and creeds. I close by clearly declaring that this story was possible by the bold and strong leadership of Pat Hogan and Denis Troy. Of course there were many others, including the Ladies Ancient Order Of Hibernians who lit the skies with love. They will never stop doing God's work.