By JOHN O'DEA,
_National Historian, A.O.H._.
In the social organization of no nation of antiquity were societies
of greater influence than in pagan Ireland. During many centuries
these societies, composed of the bards, ollamhs, brehons, druids, and
knights, contended for precedence. In no country did the literary
societies display greater vigor and exercise a more beneficent power
than in pagan Ireland. Although the Hebrews and other Asiatic nations
had societies organized from among the professions, yet in Ireland
alone these societies seem to have been constructed with a patriotic
purpose, and in Ireland alone they seem to have had ceremonies of
initiation, with constitutions and laws. These societies existed from
the earliest times until after the coming of St. Patrick. Traces of
them are visible during all the centuries from the conversion of
Ireland down to the Anglo-Norman epoch, and it is apparent that the
clan system and the introduction of the feudal system by the English
failed to eliminate completely their influence.
When the Irish emigration flowed towards the American colonies in the
eighteenth century, the social instinct early found expression in
societies. One of the earliest of these was founded in Boston, where,
in 1737, twenty-six "gentlemen merchants and others, natives of
Ireland or of Irish extraction", organized the Charitable Irish
Society. In Pennsylvania, where the Irish emigration had been larger
than in any other colony, the Hibernian Fire Company was organized in
1751. The Friendly Sons of St. Patrick was founded in Philadelphia in
1771, and about that time societies bearing this name were founded in
Boston and New York, as convivial clubs welcoming Irish emigrants to
their festive boards. These societies were formed upon the model of
the Friendly Brothers of St. Patrick, which had existed in Dublin and
other Irish cities a generation before, and was well and favorably
known throughout Ireland.
The Society of the Friendly Sons of St. Patrick in Philadelphia
contained some of the most prominent merchants and leading citizens
of the city, and in 1780 they subscribed £103,000, or one-third of
the sum collected, to supply the Continental army with food. Among
its members were Commodore Barry, the Father of the American Navy;
General Stephen Moylan; General Anthony Wayne; and the great
merchants, Blair McClenachan, Thomas Fitzsimons, and Robert Morris.
Washington, who was an honorary member, described it "as a society
distinguished for the firm adherence of its members to the glorious
cause in which we are embarked." Whether upon the field or upon the
sea, in council or in the sacrifice of their wealth, their names are
foremost in the crisis of the Revolution.
The Hibernian Society for the Relief of Emigrants from Ireland was
founded in Philadelphia on March 3, 1790. Other Hibernian Societies,
with the same title and organized for the same purpose, were founded
in other cities along the Atlantic coast in the early years of the
nineteenth century, but the Philadelphia Hibernian Society was, from
the character of its members, the extent of its beneficence, and the
length of its existence, the most famous. The emigrants from Ireland
during the eighteenth century had pushed on to the frontier, or, in
some instances, remained in the cities and engaged successfully in
mercantile pursuits. The emigration which came after the Revolution
was, however, in great part composed of families almost without
means. Unable to subsist while clearing farms in the virgin forest,
thousands were congested in the cities. The Hibernian Society
extended a ready and strong hand to these helpless people, and not
only aided the emigrants with gifts of money, but also secured for
them employment, disseminated among them useful information, and
provided them with medical attendance. While the Hibernian Society
was regarded as the successor of the Friendly Sons of St. Patrick,
yet the two societies, which contained largely a membership roll
bearing the same names, flourished, in the work of patriotism, side
by side. The first officers of the Hibernian Society for the Relief
of Emigrants from Ireland were: President, Chief Justice Thomas
McKean; Vice-President, General Walter Stewart; Secretary, Matthew
Carey, the historian; Treasurer, John Taylor. It was said that no
other society in America contained so many men distinguished in
civil, military, and official life as the Hibernian Society. In
almost every city where the Friendly Sons of St. Patrick and the
Hibernian Society for the Relief of Emigrants were found, there was a
close and intimate connection between them, which ultimately resulted
in amalgamation.
The Ancient Order of Hibernians traces its origin to those orders
which flourished in pagan Ireland, and which exercised so potent an
influence upon the history of the Celtic race. The order of
knighthood was the first of these orders to be founded. It existed
from the earliest times, and is visible in the annals of the nation,
until the Anglo-Normans invaded the land in the twelfth century. In
pagan Ireland the knightly orders became provincial standing armies,
and there are many glorious pages describing the feats of the Clanna
Deagha of Munster, the Clanna Morna of Connacht, the Feni of
Leinster, and the Knights of the Red Branch of Ulster. When the
island was Christianized, these knightly orders were among the
staunchest supporters of the missionary priests, and were consecrated
to the service of the church in the sixth century, assuming the cross
as their distinctive emblem, and becoming the defenders of religion.
Among the names which are upon the rolls of the ancient orders of
knighthood are those of most of the kings, bards, saints, and
statesmen, and in the long list there was no family of greater renown
than that of Roderick the Great, to which belonged Conall Cearnach
and Lugaidh, who, according to MacGeoghegan and others, were the
direct ancestors of the O'Mores of Leix. In this family the ancient
splendor of the knightly orders was a tradition which survived for
centuries, and they were in almost continual rebellion against the
English, from the siege of Dublin by Roderick O'Connor until the
rebellion against Queen Elizabeth, led by Rory Oge O'More and his son
Owen in the latter part of the sixteenth and the early seventeenth
century. A nephew of Rory Oge, the sagacious and statesmanlike Rory
O'More, revived the ancient orders in the Catholic Confederation of
Kilkenny in 1642. A grandson of Rory O'More, Patrick Sarsfield, Earl
of Lucan, was the most distinguished commander of Irish armies who
opposed, in Ireland, the forces of William of Orange.
There is no stranger story in all history than the intimate
connection of the O'More family with the annals of the Ancient Order
of Hibernians. The lineage of this family furnishes the links
connecting the ancient orders of pagan Ireland through the centuries
with the Ancient Order in modern times. Under the names of Rapparees,
Whiteboys, Defenders, Ribbonmen, etc., the Confederation of Kilkenny
was carried on through the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries until
the nineteenth. At various times the duties of these organizations
were subject to local conditions. Thus the Defenders were occupied in
protecting themselves and their priests against the hostility of the
Penal Laws, engaging in armed conflict with the Orangemen in the
north, while the Whiteboys were waging war against the atrocities of
landlordism in the south. Between these two organizations there was a
secret code, which operated until they were combined, under the name
of Ribbonmen, in the early nineteenth century. The contentions of the
Whiteboys regarding Irish landlordism have since been acknowledged to
be just, and have been enacted into statutes. The Defenders joined
with Wolfe Tone in the formation of the United Irishmen.
About 1825 the Ribbonmen changed their name to St. Patrick's
Fraternal Society, and branches were established in England and
Scotland under the name of the Hibernian Funeral Society. In 1836 a
charter was received by members in New York City, and in Schuylkill
County, Pennsylvania. The headquarters were for some years in
Pennsylvania, but in 1851 a charter was granted to the New York
Divisions under the name of "The Ancient Order of Hibernians." New
York thus became the American headquarters. National conventions were
held there until 1878, since which year they have been held in many
other cities biennially. Many of the most distinguished leaders of
the Irish race in America have been members of the Order, and from a
humble beginning, with a few emigrants gathered together in a strange
land, the membership has grown to nearly 200,000. General Thomas
Francis Meagher, Colonel Michael Doheny, General Michael Corcoran,
and Colonel John O'Mahony were among the members in the late '50's.
Among the organizations which have sprung from the ranks of the
A.O.H. were the powerful Fenian Brotherhood, the Emmet Monument
Association, and scores of smaller associations in all sections of
the United States and Canada. During the Know Nothing riots, the
Order furnished armed defenders for the Catholic churches in New
York, Philadelphia, and Charleston, and it has ever been foremost in
preserving its position as the hereditary defender of the faith. In
1894, the Ladies' Auxiliary was founded, and this body of women
numbered in 1914 over 63,000, and had donated great sums to charity,
education, and religion. The A.O.H. had, in 1914, assets of
$2,230,000. It pays annually, for charity, sick and death benefits,
and maintenance, over $1,000,000, and during its existence in America
has donated nearly $20,000,000 to works of beneficence. One of the
most celebrated of the gifts of the Order was the endowment of the
Chair of Celtic in the Catholic University of America, and one of its
greatest gifts to charity was its contribution of $40,000 to the
sufferers from the San Francisco earthquake.
The Clan-na-Gael is a society organized to secure the independence of
Ireland by armed revolution. Its organization is secret and it is the
successor of the Irish Revolutionary Brotherhood, called in America
the Fenian Brotherhood, which promoted many daring raids and risings
in Ireland in 1867. The I.R.B. was perfected by James Stephens in
Ireland, and by John O'Mahony in America, from 1857 to 1867. An
invasion of Canada was made in great force under the general
direction of Colonel William R. Roberts, president of the Fenian
Brotherhood, but was unsuccessful owing to the attitude of the United
States Government, which declared that the Fenians were violating the
principles of neutrality. After the disorganization of the Fenian
Brotherhood, the idea of revolution languished until revived by the
founding of the Clan-na-Gael by Jerome J. Collins in 1869, and the
membership during the twenty years from 1880 to 1900 included almost
fifty thousand of the flower of the men of Irish blood in America.
The principle of revolution was first given organized public
expression in America through the formation in 1848 of the Irish
Republican Union, which was succeeded by the Emmet Monument
Association, these societies influencing the creation of the
Sixty-Ninth and Seventy-Fifth Regiments of the New York State
Militia, and the Ninth Massachusetts, which became so famous for
valor during the Civil War. Although not putting forth all its
strength, so as to allow full scope to the parliamentary efforts to
ameliorate the state of the Irish people, the Clan-na-Gael is as
vigorous a section as ever of the forces organized for the service of
patriotism.
The Land League, founded in Ireland in 1879, was transplanted to
America in 1880, when the first branch was established in New York
City through the efforts of Patrick Ford, John Boyle O'Reilly, John
Devoy, and others. Michael Davitt soon after came to America and
travelled through the country founding branches of the League. In a
few years the whole American continent was organized, and in this
organization Michael Davitt declared that the members of the Ancient
Order of Hibernians and the Clan-na-Gael were everywhere foremost. To
the enormous sums collected by the League in this country, and to the
magnificent labors of Parnell, Davitt, Redmond, Ferguson, Dillon,
Kettle, Webb, and others in Ireland, is due in a large measure the
present improved state of the people, resulting from the sacrifices
made by those who supported this greatest of leagues devoted to the
amelioration of unbearable economic conditions. A Ladies' Auxiliary
to the Land League was established by the sisters of Parnell, and was
for some years a brilliant vindication of the power and justice of
feminine participation in public questions.
The Land League, the name of which was changed to the Irish National
League in the early '80's, having prepared the path to eventual
victory, declined in potency after the political movement was divided
into Parnellites and Anti-Parnellites in 1890. The elements composing
these rival parties were, through the initiative of William O'Brien,
M.P., and in commemoration of the one hundredth anniversary of the
United Irishmen of Wolfe Tone's day, joined in 1898 under the name of
the United Irish League, John E. Redmond becoming the first
president, and also the chairman of the Parliamentary Party which it
had been instrumental in uniting. This organization is now a living,
vital force in the affairs of Ireland on both sides of the Atlantic,
Mr. Redmond being still its head, with Michael J. Ryan, of
Philadelphia, as president of the American Branch.
The Knights of Columbus were organized in 1881 by Rev. Michael
McGivney, in New Haven, Connecticut, and a charter was granted by the
Connecticut Legislature on March 29,1882. At first the activity of
the organization was confined to Connecticut, but the time was ripe
for its mission, and it soon spread rapidly throughout New England.
In 1896 it began to attract the attention of Catholic young men in
other parts of the nation, and during the next few years its appeal
was made irresistibly in almost every State. It now exists in all the
States of the Union, the Dominion of Canada, Nova Scotia,
Newfoundland, Panama, Porto Rico, Mexico, Cuba, and the Philippine
Islands, with a total membership of 328,000, of whom 108,000 are
insurance members and 220,000 associate members. Its mortuary reserve
fund is $4,500,000, being over $1,000,000 more than is required by
law. It is one of the most successful fraternal societies ever
organized, and the Irish-American Catholics have given to it the full
strength of their enthusiasm and purpose.
The temperance movement among Catholics was, from the visit of Father
Mathew in 1849, largely Irish. The societies first formed were united
by no bond until 1871, when the Connecticut societies formed a State
Union. Other States formed unions and a national convention in
Baltimore in 1872 created a National Union. In 1878 there were 90,000
priests, laymen, women, and children in the Catholic Total Abstinence
Benevolent Union. In 1883 the Union was introduced into Canada, and
in 1895 there were 150,000 members on the American continent. From
the C.T.A.B.U. were formed the Knights of Father Mathew, a total
abstinence and semi-military body, first instituted in St. Louis in
1872.
The Catholic Knights of America, with a membership chiefly
Irish-American, were organized in Memphis, Tennessee, in 1877, and
the advantages offered for insurance soon attracted 20,000 members.
The decade of the '70's was prolific of Irish Catholic associations.
The Catholic Benevolent Legion was founded in 1873, shortly followed
by the Catholic Mutual Benevolent Association, the Catholic Order of
Foresters (which started in Massachusetts and spread to other
States), the Irish Catholic Benevolent Union, and the Society of the
Holy Name, which latter, although tracing its origin to Lisbon in
1432, is yet dominantly Irish in America.
In the large industrial centres there are scores of Irish county and
other societies composed of Irishmen and Irish-Americans, organized
for the service of country and faith, beneficence and education, and
all dedicated to the uplifting of humanity and to the progress of
civilization. The ancient genius for organization has not been lost,
the spirit of brotherhood pulsates strongly in the Irish heart, and
through its powerful societies the race retains its place in the
advance of mankind.