Division 10 of Mercer County, New Jersey held its third annual Gael Scoil for children on March 6 and 7 at Notre Dame High School in Lawrenceville, New Jersey.  Most remarkable is that we sold out. Enrollment for our two day program has doubled every year for the three years it has been in existence and this year we could not have accepted any more students. The Gael Scoil is not a fund raiser for Division 10 and most of the material we present is available for free or at a very low cost and the kids love it. Many of them were returning for their third year. Our Gael Scoil Committee is comprised of just five AOH members. We meet once a week and produce a high quality product that is in demand throughout the region. One of the goals we set for ourselves is to encourage other Divisions to put their own Gael Scoil together. We haven’t been successful in achieving that goal as of yet. Our Committee would be happy to help any Divisions get their programs rolling. Meanwhile the Committee is already thinking about our 2011 program and how we can expand to allow more kids to attend. Please follow this link for pictures and information on our program. http://www.aohdiv10.org/

Students of Gael Scoil

Jersey Brothers Raise Money for Injured Soldier

On April 17, 2010 The Fr. Mychal Judge/ Hudson 1 Division attended a fund raiser for Iraqi war veteran Brendan Marocco.  The division had 20 members in attendance.  Alex Marocco, Brendan’s dad, spoke to fellow brothers of the rehabilitation that Brendan is doing.  Jim O’Donnell, AOH Div1 Financial Secretary said it best “We had to come” when thanked by Alex Marocco.  Almost a year to the day, in the early morning hours of April 12,2009 Brendan’s unit was returning from a night mission, his vehicle was hit directly by a Explosive Fired Projectile (EFP).  The attack killed a fellow soldier. Brendan lost both arms and legs, had a severed carotid artery, fractured face and eye socket and a pierced eardrum. Brendan was saved by his platoon medic and fellow soldiers long enough to be transported to a US Army trauma hospital in Tikrit, Iraq. Today Brendan is currently recovering and undergoing physical and occupational therapy at Walter Reed hospital.  A trust has been set up, to help Brendan when he returns home.  The fund will offset costs for Brendan and his family to make his home compatible to his disabilities.  The AOH/Hudson 1 is planning a fund raiser for Brendan is the fall. If you would like to know more about Brendan, please visit his website at www.brendan morocco.org. He is one remarkable person, a real inspiration.

Brendan Marocco receives a check from Jim O’Donnell and the Hudson Div 1 AOH. (L to R) Tom Murphy, Jim Donovan, Pat Murphy, P Coleman, Jim O’Donnell, Alex Marocco, Brendan Marocco, Ed Coleman, Pete Walsh, Tom Donlin, and Mike Collum.

New Jersey State Board Endorses National Candidates

The NJ State Board on Saturday April 17^th at a board meeting endorsed the following candidates running for office this July in Cincinnati Ohio at the National Hibernian Convention:

Jere Cole – Director

Seamus Boyle – President

Brendan Moore – Vice President

Tom McNabb – Secretary

Jim McKay – Treasurer

Danny O’Connell – Director

Keith Carney – Director

All incumbents and candidates were unanimously endorsed.  “It’s the leadership and experience and energy that makes these men great leaders”, stated State President Cole