St Brendan The Navigator Feast Day May 16th Ancient Order of Hibernians St Brendan the Navigator Division Mecklenburg County Division # 2 ISSUE #1 MONTHLY NEWSLETTER VOLUME# 6 January 2014 Our next business meeting is on Tuesday, January 14th at 7:30 PM Holy Spirit Parish Center , PAC Room 9 2014 Officers Chaplain Father Matthew Codd President Ray FitzGerald Vice President Dick Seymour Secretary Tom Vaccaro Treasurer Chris O’Keefe Fin. Secretary Bill Murphy Standing Committee Joe Dougherty Marshall Walt Martin Sentinel Frank Fay Past President Joseph Dougherty www.aohmeck2.org "Meallan muilte dé go mall ach meallan siad go mion." God's mill may grind slowly, but it grinds finely . President’s Message Brothers, I hope all of you and your families had a very joyous Christmas holyday and holiday. With the arrival of 2014 all of us are now probably embarking on our annual New Year resolutions of dieting and exercising, which, if you’re like me, never seem to get off the ground. For 2014, consider, from a Hibernian perspective, the ways you can put into practice some of the principles covered in the AOH’s Preamble to its National Constitution, http://www.aoh.com/pdf_docs/national_constitution/national_constitution_updated_102008.pdf, primarily: friendship, unity and true Christian charity as well as promoting Irish Culture. A few resolutions you may want to consider is to attend some more AOH meetings, participate in some of our activities, help with some of calls for manpower (e.g., selling tickets after Masses), being part of our semiannual stream cleaning effort, attending our annual Hibernian St. Patrick’s Day celebration or our socials and volunteering to be a member of one of our committees. We had an excellent turn out and a good time at our joint Christmas social with the Sons of Erin Division and the Ladies of the Lough LAOH Divison. We are considering a more extensive 2014 party with families and a visit from Santa. At our December meeting, we held the election of Officers for 2014, followed by their installation to their respective Office by North Carolina AOH State President (Bob Driscoll) and Secretary (Pat Tracey). I want to thank all those who served the Division during 2013, as well as those who volunteered and accepted the nomination for 2014. The 2014 annual dues are now payable. Please bring $35 cash or check to our January meeting or contact our Financial Secretary, Bill Murphy ([email protected]), to coordinate the payment. We are planning on having an Irish History Night at St. Mark sometime in February. More information will be forthcoming. As we enter 2014 let’s continue to recruit more members. Whenever you meet someone who has an Irish surname, the first question you should simply ask them is: “With a name like _____, why aren’t you a member of the Hibernians?” We meet in two of the surrounding parishes, St. Mark and Holy Spirit. It would be great to include St. Therese as well. There has to be hundreds of Catholic men of Irish heritage in the Lake Norman area that should be included in our membership. All it takes is a little effort and some nudging. Our January meeting will be on Jan. 14th at 7:30pm at Holy Spirit Parish Center (PAC Room 9). We will start our meeting with a Shamrock Degree, where we will formally induct recently approved candidates into our ranks. If you know of anyone else who may be interested in joining our Division, let Joe Dougherty or myself know, so we can get the application process rolling and they can be inducted at the meeting. Becoming a member of our Shamrock Degree Team as a regular member (or even as a substitute) is another way of increasing your participation as a Hibernian. Since we keep making our Holy Spirit brothers go to some obscure place on the east side of the Catawba River for our socials, our January social will be tentatively be on Tuesday, Jan. 28th at Safari Miles Restaurant in Denver (located on Business 16 - we pass it on the way to Holy Spirit). We’ll discuss it further at our January meeting. I’d like to wish each of you and your families a healthy and happy 2014. St. Brendan the Navigator, pray for us! Ray FitzGerald “ Cuimhnigi ar na daoine ar thainig sibh” “Remember the people from whom you came” Deacon’s Corner “Your life is either a celebration or a chore. The choice is yours.” A priest friend of mine, expounding on the marvelous mercies of God, prayed fervently, We thank Thee, O Lord, that You coverest all our falling shorts.” Question: Who was the greatest financier in the Bible? Answer: Noah. He was floating his stock while everyone else was in liquidation. “If on any particular day we do nothing more than give a little joy to a neighbor, that day will not be wasted, for we have succeeded in giving comfort to an immortal soul.” - Contardo Ferrini When things go well and the world is good to you, read Deuteronomy 8 When you are in trouble and things go wrong, read Psalm 27 When your faith is weakening, read Hebrews 11 When sins trouble you, read Psalm 51 When seeking forgiveness, read John 1:7-10 God Bless you! Deacon Ron Connamara, County Galway Galway City, County Galway January Birthdays Andrew Smith Son of Brother Ray January 5th Mary Frances Haley Daughter of Brother Ron January 9th Kathleen Dougherty Daughter of Brother Joe January 15th Tom Martin Son of Brother Walt January 16th Katie Clancey Daughter of Brother Richard January 19th Conor McSweeney Son of Brother Sean January 27th Dolly O’Brian Wife of Brother Bob January 28th Bill Murphy Division Brother January 28nd January Anniversaries Bev & Ted Leahy January 30th Irish America News Irish Texans Irish immigrants played a large part in early Texas history, largely because of a carrot-and-stick situation. The "stick" was the political and religious persecution they were suffering at home. The "carrot" was Texas itself: an area with enormous natural resources, but with a paucity of population – an area that was luring immigrants with cheap land in order to exploit those resources. The Battle of Kinsale, Ireland, in 1602 began the Irish exodus from their homeland, for it ended with the English defeat of the Irish armies. For the next 320 years, the Irish were denied both education and political representation. The predominantly Catholic Irish were also persecuted for their religion by the Anglican English. After the passage of the Test Act in 1703, many of the same abuses were inflicted also upon the Presbyterian Irish. Time after time the Irish attempted to overthrow English domination; time after time they were defeated. Each defeat generated a new wave of emigration – first to France, Spain and Austria, later to New Spain and Texas. The Potato Famine in the 1840s, when Irish livestock and grain were shipped to England while the Irish starved, created an even larger tide of Irish immigration to all parts of the United States. One of the first sons of the Emerald Isle who played a part in early Texas history was Hugh O'Connor, born in Dublin in 1734. He was one of those who escaped to Spain, and later, as Hugo Oconór, he served as the Spanish governor of Texas from 1767 to 1770. Many Irish-born Spanish subjects were counted in the censuses in Nacogdoches during the late 1700s. Stephen F. Austin's Old Three Hundred in the early 1820s included a number of Irish-born colonists. Two pairs of Irish empresarios founded colonies in coastal Texas in 1828. John McMullen and James McGloin honored the Irish saint when they established the San Patricio Colony south of San Antonio; James Power and James Hewetson contracted to create the Refugio Colony on the Gulf Coast. The two colonies were settled mainly by Irish, but also by Mexicans and other nationalities. At least 87 Irish-surnamed individuals settled in the Peters Colony, which included much of present-day north-central Texas, in the 1840s. The Irish participated in all phases of Texas' war of independence against Mexico. Among those who died defending the Alamo in March 1836 were 12 who were Irish-born, while an additional 14 bore Irish surnames. About 100 Irish-born soldiers participated in the Battle of San Jacinto – about one-seventh of the total force of Texans in that conflict. Some of the Irish came to Texas with the U.S. Army during the War with Mexico, many serving as sutlers and teamsters. So many settled near the Alamo in San Antonio, the area became known as Irish Flat. Some remained in the army, while others were artisans, merchants and politicians. Other Irish came to Texas later to work on the railroads. The 1850 census in Texas listed 1,403 Irish; by 1860, there were 3,480. Is it any wonder that today there are Irish celebrations all over the state? St. Patrick, the absent honoree, is a figure of controversy. In fact, there is so much conflicting information about the 4th century holy man that some scholars believe that there may have been two men named Patrick. The St. Patrick legend states that he was born in Britain, perhaps Wales, in A.D. 390. He was captured by pirates at the age of 16 and was taken to Ireland, where he tended sheep for six years. He made his way back to his native land. Later he received religious training, was ordained a bishop and returned to Ireland about A.D.