The C in Cincinnati could well stand for Celtic since there are so many connections with our race in the municipality known as the Queen City of the West on the banks of the Ohio River.  It is the site of many historical beginnings and among them: America’s first municipal fire department was established in [...]

The organized colonization of Ulster by settlers from England and Scotland began in 1609 under King James I.  Half a million acres of the best land in Ulster were confiscated to settle colonists who had to be English-speaking and Protestant and agree to expel the native Catholic Irish.  After 32 years of land theft, the [...]

The Irish Echo newspaper recently held a St Patrick’s Day reception on Capitol Hill to unveil a portrait of the late Pat Finucane (1949-1989) – the slain civil rights attorney from Belfast.  The Echo commissioned artist Robert Ballagh to produce the painting.  Congressman Richard E. Neal Chairman of the Friends of Ireland and Congressman Chris [...]

Nassau County Vice President Sean O’Rourke and his wife Patricia announce the birth of their son Brendan Michael, who was born April 25, 2010 at 8lbs, 15ozs. Brendan is grandson of AOH National Life Member Michael O’Rourke.

Mary’s Gift Irish Language Foundation is a US-based charitable endowment fund which provides financial support to Irish-immersion schools in the Six Counties.  Similar conceptually to a college endowment, Mary’s Gift distributes earnings from donations to preschool, primary and post-primary schools where all subjects are taught through the medium of the Irish language.  Mary’s Gift is [...]

At their recently-concluded National Board Meeting with the Convention Committee, J.C. Sullivan was appointed AOH Press Officer for the 95th Biennial National Convention to be held in July in Ohio’s Queen City, Cincinnati. Sullivan began his media expertise as Public Policy Spokesperson for the Reagan Administration in the then-14th Ohio Congressional District. He served two [...]

We continue to make progress on the initiative to have March permanently declared as National Irish American Heritage Month. For the twentieth consecutive year, the President declared March 2010 as IAHM. We reported on states that had done so in the previous Digest. Additionally, we have received information from Delaware that the Governor had made [...]

The Official Call has gone out for the 95th Biennial National Convention and all eye’s now look to Cincinnati for the upcoming gathering in July.  The opening Mass will be celebrated at 5:15 p.m. on Wednesday, July 7th at St. Peter in Chains Cathedral.  The Convention will convene for business at the Millennium Hotel Cincinnati [...]

Members of the AOH attended a memorial Conference and Mass to mark the 10th anniversary of the death of Cardinal John O’Connor in Saint Patrick’s Cathedral on Monday May 3, 2010. Cardinal O’Connor was a proud Hibernian, a member of Division 9, NY County, recipient of the John F.Kennedy Memorial Medal from the AOH National [...]

At the past national convention in New Orleans, the AOH unanimously endorsed the effort to build a memorial to Irish-born, first Flag Officer of the United States Navy, Commodore John Barry.  In August of 2008, led by Washington DC State Historian Jack O’Brien, a proposal was submitted to erect a memorial to Commodore John Barry [...]