St Brendan’s Feast Day May 16th Ancient Order of Hibernians St Brendan the Navigator Division Mecklenburg County Division # 2 ISSUE #2 MONTHLY NEWSLETTER VOLUME#3 February 2011 Our next business meeting is on Thursday, February 10th at 7:30 PM Room 200 & 201
2011 Officers
Chaplain Father Brad Jones President Joe Dougherty Vice President Brian Bourque Secretary Ray FitzGerald Treasurer Chris O’Keefe Financial Secretary Ron Haley Standing Committee Scott Stephan Marshall Ted Leahy Sentinel Deacon Bob Murphy Chaplain Emeritus Father Pat Hoare www.aohmeck2.org
PRESIDENT’S REPORT Brothers, On February 10th, at our monthly meeting, the division’s Shamrock degree team will conduct a degree for all the members that have not had an opportunity to be so honored. I would ask each of you to please mark this date in your calendar and make every effort to make this meeting. On February 24th, instead of a regular social meeting, we will have the installation of the 2011 officers and social at Harvey’s Pub & Grill, 13812 Cinnabar Place, Huntersville. The National Director of the Southeast, brother Bob Mott, has agreed to come and conduct the installation. This is open to the family, so bring the wife and kids. You can check out Harvey’s menu on their website at www.harveysinhuntersville.com. The pledging of the County flags of Ireland is moving right along. As of today, of the 32 county flags, 12 have been pledged. If you are interested in pledging a flag, the cost is $35.00, which will allow the purchasing of a pole and pole carrier. As soon as we reach 16 flags pledged and paid for, the division will order them from Ireland. If this can be done in the next week or so, it may be possible to have them by the dinner show on March 12th.
Joe Dougherty
BIRTHDAYS IN THE MONTH OF January
Bev Leahy Wife of Brother Ted February 2nd
Jim Mann Son of Brother Gene February 2nd
Angela Murphy Wife of Brother Bob February 14th
Molly Leahy Daughter of Brother Ted February 20th
Ryan Stephan Son of Brother Scott February 29th Irish Saints
Saint Brigid Feast Day February 1st
Daughter of Dubtach, pagan Scottish king of Leinster, and Brocca, a Christian Pictish slave who had been baptized by Saint Patrick. Just before Brigid’s birth, her mother was sold to a Druid landowner. Brigid remained with her mother till she was old enough to serve her legal owner Dubtach, her father.
She grew up marked by her high spirits and tender heart, and as a child, she heard Saint Patrick preach, which she never forgot. She could not bear to see anyone hungry or cold, and to help them, often gave away things that were Dubtach’s. When Dubtach protested, she replied that “Christ dwelt in every creature”. Dubtach tried to sell her to the King of Leinster, and while they bargained, she gave a treasured sword of her father’s to a leper. Dubtach was about to strike her when Brigid explained she had given the sword to God through the leper, because of its great value. The King, a Christian, forbade Dubtach to strike her, saying “Her merit before God is greater than ours”. Dubtach solved this domestic problem by giving Brigid her freedom.
Brigid’s aged mother was in charge of her master’s dairy. Brigid took charge, and often gave away the produce. But the dairy prospered under her (hence her patronage of milk maids, dairy workers, cattle, etc.), and the Druid freed Brigid’s mother.
Brigid returned to her father, who arranged a marriage for her with a young bard. Bride refused, and to keep her virginity, went to her Bishop, Saint Mel of Ardagh, and took her first vows. Legend says that she prayed that her beauty be taken from her so no one would seek her hand in marriage; her prayer was granted, and she regained her beauty only after making her vows. Another tale says that when Saint Patrick heard her final vows, he mistakenly used the form for ordaining priests. When told of it he replied, “So be it, my son, she is destined for great things.”
Her first convent started c.468 with seven nuns. At the invitation of bishops, she started convents all over Ireland. She was a great traveller, especially considering the conditions of the time, which led to her patronage of travellers, sailors, etc. Brigid invented the double monastery, the monastery of Kildara, which means Church of the Oak, that she ran on the Liffey river being for both monks and nuns. Saint Conleth became its first bishop; this connection and the installation of a bell that lasted over 1000 years apparently led to her patronage of blacksmiths and those in related fields.
A Bi t of Irish History
JOHN PHILIP HOLLAND 1841-1914 IN PARTS OF west Clare, the Christian Brother who went on to reinvent modern naval warfare is a local hero, with a street named after him and his likeness on the walls of local pubs. But in the rest of the world, the name John Philip Holland barely registers more than a quizzically raised eyebrow. This is a shame, because the “father of the submarine”, as he is rightfully known, is a fascinating figure. Born as he was – in 1841 in Liscannor, Co Clare in an Irish-speaking household – within sight of the Atlantic ocean, it was fitting that his intellectual curiosity was so intertwined with a fascination with the sea. His father died while he was young, but Holland managed to survive the famine years and attended the Christian Brothers school in nearby Ennistymon. He subsequently became a Christian Brother himself, teaching in schools around the country, including Limerick and Cork. It was during this time that he developed an interest in science and engineering, with a particular view to developing a functioning, modern submarine – he wrote that he began his study of submarines in the 1860s. Like many technological developments, the submarine had already seen many aborted designs and incremental improvements over the preceding few centuries – including the French Nautilus, designed by American engineer Robert Fulton, which debuted in 1800 – but the feasibility of long-distance subaquatic vessels was very much in question when Holland embarked on his earliest designs. According to a 1996 profile of Holland in the Clare Champion , he was inspired by Jules Verne’s 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, which featured another Nautilus under the surface of the water, to bring his inchoate plans to reality. By 1873, Holland had left the Christian Brothers and moved to the US, where his mother and siblings already lived. Although he resumed his teaching career, this was where he pursued his grand scheme in earnest, aided by the unlikely assistance of the Fenian Brotherhood. Eager to undermine British naval might and disrupt shipping channels, the Fenians agreed to fund Holland’s experimental designs – Holland’s reported desire to see an independent Ireland also played a part in the unusual alliance. His first effort, the one-man, 14-foot Holland No 1, wasn’t an unqualified success when launched in the Passaic River in New Jersey in 1877, but was deemed satisfactory enough to secure funding for a more advanced model (the remains of the Holland No 1 are now in a museum in Paterson, New Jersey). The result, in 1881, was the Fenian Ram. This may sound like a small-town ice hockey club, but was actually a landmark in the evolution of submarine design, most notably in its cylindrical, cigar-shaped design that has become the classic submarine shape. It also marked the end of Holland’s association with the Fenians, who refused to fund any more of his designs. After so many years of working on submarines with so little success, many lesser men might have resigned themselves to the classroom, but Holland demonstrated the quality that denotes so many pioneering innovators – sheer, bloody- minded stubbornness. Thus, he proceeded to seek new benefactors, this time with somewhat deeper pockets: the US navy. The navy had been commissioning various submarines since the 1860s, with the Alligator being the most notable, but Holland oversaw a more sophisticated series of designs, many of which met with skepticism. It was a long, arduous journey, but when Holland unveiled his 53-foot-long, gas-powered Holland No 6 on St Patrick’s Day, 1898, it was the successful culmination of years of obstinate experimentation. It was two years before the US navy actually purchased the design, but at the dawn of the 20th century, the Holland No 6 became the first commissioned submarine in the US Navy, the USS Holland . It was to mark the start of a fruitful relationship for his company, the John Holland Torpedo Boat Company. The company that built Holland’s designs, the Electric Boat Company, continues to be the main builder of submarines for the US navy to this day, although it is now a subsidiary of the giant defense contractor, General Dynamics Corporation. Holland actually became mired in a protracted patent dispute with the Electric Boat Company when he tried to create a new submarine company in the Netherlands, fittingly enough, and the end result was the loss of control of his business. But by that stage he had sold submarines to the Japanese navy (earning a Rising Sun as recognition for his contribution to the Japanese victory over Russia in the war of 1904-05), and even the British navy (his sense of Irish nationalism evidently being more pragmatic than idealistic). He died in 1914, days before the first shots of the Great War, during which tragic conflict his invention would prove its military worth. In his final years, however, he had been preoccupied with thoughts on aviation technology rather than submarines, and his short book on the topic, How to Fly As a Bird , contains a most telling insight into what separates the great innovators from the rest of us: “Although it has been remarked that professional persons are generally conservative, that is, opposed to the acceptance of new ideas, and that many of them even manifest a tendency to run in a rut and to keep running there persistently, yet, in this particular, they are no different from the rest of humanity.” The above article was suggested by Sister Margret Shannon, a member of the LAOH in Charlotte
Division Calendar of Events for February
10th Shamrock Degree at Regular St Brendan Division Business Meeting 24th Division Social & Officer Installation Dinner at Harvey’s Pub and Grill in Huntersville
Ir ish Easter T r a d i t i o n s
Easter is the most important date on the Roman Catholic calendar – far more important the Christmas from a religious standpoint. Because Catholicism has been the dominant religion in Ireland, Easter has been almost universally celebrated there for centuries. Over time, many traditions have grown up around the holiday that are peculiar to Ireland.
Although Easter doesn’t appear to be connected to a specific old Roman or Celtic holiday (unlike Christmas and Halloween), it seems related to a variety of old spring festivals that relate to the farming calendar. Given its timing in spring, around the Vernal Equinox, Easter is associated with old fertility celebrations which dovetail well into the Christian story of resurrection. Some of the popular non-religious traditions of the holiday – the Easter bunny and others - seem to have come down from these pre-Christian rites. Lent, a season of fasting begins 40 days before Easter. No meat is eaten during this time, though very observant people may choose an additional favorite food or pleasure like alcohol or smoking to give up as well. The last week of Lent, from Palm Sunday until Easter, is when fasting is observed most strictly.
Here’s a list of Easter traditions and beliefs. Some are religious, some purely social and some of seem based mainly on old superstitions:
GOOD FRIDAY
Cleaning the house completely (“spring cleaning”), sometimes as a preparation for an old ceremony where a local priest comes to bless the house. Planting a small quantity of seed (crops not flowers) to create a blessing on the family. Avoiding any possible bloodshed by doing no work with tools. Go To Confession and remain quiet for part of the day. Holy well water is said to have curative powers on this day. Mark one egg laid on Good Friday to be eaten on Easter Sunday. If a child is born in Good Friday and then baptized on Easter, he or she will have the gift of healing (a boy born on Good Friday will go into the priesthood). Anyone who dies on Good Friday will do directly to heaven. Visits should be paid to holy wells and graveyards. No fishing is done from boats – only sea food gathered on shore (seaweed; shellfish) will be part of the Easter meal. One should get a haircut, to prevent headaches!
MORE ON EASTER TRADITIONS NEXT MONTH If you have something you would like added to the website, please send to Brother Chris O’Keefe @ www.aohmeck2.org
O’Flynn
This is a famous Irish surname. Originally O'Flynn it is now almost always recorded as Flynn, although recently some named holders have re-adopted the Gaelic O' meaning the male descendant of Flynn. The surname was originally a nickname given to the first chief of the clan. It derives from Floinn itself from flann meaning 'ruddy faced'. Whether he liked a drink or two or was naturally ruddy, remains a mystery. Several branches of this clan held independent settlements in various parts of Ireland, with one important sept belonging to Skibbereen and Baltimore in County Cork and another to Muskerry, where they were lords of the land extending from Ballyvourney to Blarney in the same county. Another family settled on the borders of Connacht and Ulster chiefly in counties Roscommon, Leitrim and Cavan, and the head of the Roscommon family had the curious privilege of "mounting the same steed as the royal O' Connor". The territory of the Ulster branch lay between Lough Neagh and the sea, where the name also took the form of O'Loinn. The name spread abroad in the 16th century and early recordings in London for instance, include Kathleen Fline, the daughter of William Fline, who was christened at St. Dunstan's, Stepney, on January 16th 1596, whilst Anne Flynn, was christened at St. Anne's, Blackfriars, on December 26th 1708. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Fiacha O Flynn, Archbishop of Tuam. This was dated 1255, when he was the emissary of the Irish Church to England. Throughout the centuries, surnames in every country have continued to "develop" often leading to astonishing variants of the original spelling.
Fine Gael and Labour on track to form government
FINE Gael and the Labour Party are still well on the way to forming the next government, according to the first opinion polls of the election campaign. New Fianna Fail leader Micheal Martin yesterday described his party's small recovery in opinion poll support as "a turning point" in the General Election 2011 campaign. But his embattled party is fighting an uphill battle to even overtake Labour as the second biggest party in the country. Fianna Fail was on 16pc support in two polls at the weekend, Fine Gael was on low-to- mid 30s and the Labour Party on low-to-mid 20s. Fine Gael leader Enda Kenny even refused to be drawn on whether his party was on track for an overall majority. "Fine Gael's track record over the last number of elections has been one of consistent and solid progress. We are going to fight for every vote and every seat," he said. And he poured cold water on Mr Martin's suggestion that Fianna Fail would back a minority Fine Gael government. "I wonder why he said that. I don't see any circumstances in which Fine Gael will be doing a deal with Fianna Fail." Mr Kenny said his "team" would take the fight to the people. "We're looking for the maximum number of votes and the maximum number of seats because we believe that we have the best plan and the best team," he said. Labour Party leader Eamon Gilmore insisted it was still a "three-horse race" and that he could still become Taoiseach as leader of a Labour- Fine Gael coalition. "This election is an election that we have never seen before in this country and past form and traditions and indicators are no clue as to what will happen on polling day," he said. Objective "Our objective is to positively make the case for a Labour-led government," he said. Mr Martin admitted Fianna Fail has a long way to go, but he insisted there are signs a fight-back has begun. However, he said Fianna Fail will not be complacent about expecting their traditional late surge in support. "I am pleased with the polls in that they do show that aspect of it and a stabilisation in support for FF," he said. "But it is a long journey and 16pc is simply not enough from our perspective. We are underdogs going into this campaign -- there is no doubt about that," he said. "We need to convince many people that supported FF in the past that they can renew their faith and trust in us. That will be the challenge for us, it will be a key objective," he added. Ralph Riegel, Michael Brennan and Fionnan Sheahan Irish Independent
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