St Brendan The Navigator Feast Day May 16th Ancient Order of Hibernians St Brendan the Navigator Division Mecklenburg County Division # 2 ISSUE #3 MONTHLY NEWSLETTER VOLUME# 5 March 2013 Our next business meeting is on Thursday, March 14th at 7:30 PM St Mark’s Parish Center, Room 200 2013 Officers Chaplain Father Matthew Codd President Ray FitzGerald Vice President Dave Foley Secretary Tom Vaccaro Treasurer Chris O’Keefe Fin. Secretary Ron Haley Standing Committee Pat Phelan Marshall Brian Bourque Sentinel Frank Fay Past President Joseph Dougherty www.aohmeck2.org "Níor bhris focal maith fiacail riamh" A good word never broke a tooth President’s Message Brothers, We are now entering our busiest month, the month of the Irish. It’s time to be doubly proud of our heritage. If you haven’t been able to participate in or volunteer to help at our events or activities in the past, this is the perfect time to make that extra effort. There is much to be done and we can’t leave it up to a handful of members to do it all. Keep alert to our e-mails, website and information in this Newsletter to see how you can help. As we approach St. Patrick’s Day, be alert to stores, kiosks, vendors promoting or selling merchandise that defames or disparages the Irish heritage. Typical are t-shirts depicting the Irish as drunkards and the like. Don’t hesitate to complain either in person or in writing to the vendor that you find this offensive and politely ask them to discontinue displaying selling them. There is an interesting column by the National AOH Anti-Defamation Chairman on this subject in the January-February edition of the Hibernian Digest. If I can be of help, let me know. Our big day will be Saturday, March 9th. We start out with an 8am St. Patrick’s Mass at Old St. Joseph’s Church in Mt. Holly (2139 Mountain Island Highway -NC 273- at the intersection of Sandy Ford Rd.). The Mass will be celebrated by Division Member and County Board AOH Chaplain, Fr. Joshua Voitus. We will be joined by our Brother Hibernians from Charlotte and the Ladies AOH Ladies of the Lough Division. Before the Mass we have a blessing of the grave of the church’s founder, Fr. Cronin. Be aware that there are no restroom facilities at the church. St. Joseph’s is the oldest standing Catholic Church in North Carolina and is an historical site. Since the parish is inactive, the St. Patrick’s Mass is one of the two or three Masses celebrated there throughout the year. Later that evening we will be hosting our Third Annual Hibernian Dinner & Show celebrating St. Patrick. We have great entertainment lined up and, like last year, there will be a ceili. We need a strong turnout from our members, their families and friends to ensure the success of the event. In the event that your wife can’t make it to the dinner, consider buying a ticket and try to join us anyway. We always need help during the night selling raffle tickets, 50-50 tickets, taking pictures, etc. as well as help with the clean-up. On Saturday March 16th, we’ll join other Hibernians from the Carolinas marching in the annual Charlotte St. Patrick’s Day Parade. Brothers should wear khaki slacks and green shirts (Division shirts would be preferable, long or short sleeve). Families are invited and encouraged to march with our group. The parade route is probably less than a mile, so you won’t be too winded. After the march visit the Charlotte Goes Green Street Festival. Stop by the Sons of Erin AOH Division’s booth, where they sell the best corn beef sandwiches around. We will not be marching in the Mooresville St. Patrick’s Day Parade since, unfortunately, it conflicts with our Hibernian Dinner. If you haven’t already done so, don’t forget your 2013 dues payment ($35) and to purchase your tickets for our outing to the Charlotte Knights baseball game on April 27th. Ticket includes a reserved seat, fireworks after the game and dinner in the Brewhouse restaurant at the stadium. Don’t forget to check out our Division website, where you will find information on the upcoming State AOH Convention and Major Degree Ceremony. At our last meeting we welcomed a new member, Bill Murphy. At our February social at Taco Mac’s we had decent turnout, along with two recruits. Congratulations to Jason & Erica (who did all the work) Atkins on the birth of their newborn son, Chase. The winner of February’s $25 meeting incentive award was Scott Fisher. Since Scott wasn’t there, the pot will be $50 at our March meeting, which will be at St. Mark on March 14th at 7:30pm in the Msgr. Kerin Parish Center, Room 200. Out monthly social for March (including spouses and guests) will be at the Woodshed Restaurant in Stanly (http://www.woodshedsteakhouse.com/ ) on Thursday, March 28th at 6:30pm. I’d be remiss if I didn’t remind you that we are now in the season of Lent. Try to increase you spirituality during this period. Your parish bulletin will provide you with opportunities. ‘Tis a great month to be Irish! St. Patrick, pray for us. St. Brendan the Navigator, pray for us. March Birthdays Patrick Phelan Division Brother March 1st Heather Seymour Daughter of Brother Dick March 4th Father Josh Voitus Division Brother March 5th Leanne Vaccaro Wife of Brother Tom March 6th Jack Leahy Son of Brother Ted March12th Deacon Bob Murphy Division Brother March 12th Frank Fay Division Brother March 16th Andrew Vaccaro Son of Brother Tom March 19th Dan O’Brian Son of Brother Bob March 22nd Patty Leahy Daughter of Brother Ted March 24th Chris O’Keefe Division Brother March 31st March Anniversaries Vicky & Mike Daniels March 4th Kristi-Anne & Shawn Gilmore March 18th Irish America News President Obama officially launches Irish- American Heritage Month, 2013 Presidential Proclamation -- Irish-American Heritage Month, 2013 IRISH-AMERICAN HERITAGE MONTH, 2013 BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA A PROCLAMATION For more than two centuries, America has been made and remade by striving, hopeful immigrants looking for a chance to pursue their dreams. Millions among them were born in Ireland, separated from our shores but united by their belief in a better day. This month, we celebrate the Irish-American journey, and we reflect on the ways a nation so small has inspired so much in another. Generations of Irish left the land of their forebears to cast their fortunes with a young Republic. Escaping the blight of famine or the burden of circumstance, many found hardship even here. They endured prejudice and stinging ridicule. But through it all, these new citizens never gave up on one of our oldest ideas: that anyone from anywhere can write the next great chapter in the American story. So they raised families and built communities, earned a living and sent their kids to school. In time, what it meant to be Irish helped define what it means to be American. And as they did their part to make this country stronger, Irish Americans shared in its success, retaining the best of their heritage and passing it down to their children. That familiar story has been lived and cherished by Americans from all backgrounds, and it reaffirms our identity as a Nation of immigrants from all around the world. So as we celebrate Irish-American Heritage Month, let us retell those stories of sweat and striving. And as two nations united by people and principle, may America and Ireland always continue to move forward together in common purpose. NOW, THEREFORE, I, BARACK OBAMA, President of the United States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and the laws of the United States do hereby proclaim March 2013 as Irish-American Heritage Month. I call upon all Americans to observe this month with appropriate ceremonies, activities, and programs. IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this twenty-eighth day of February, in the year of our Lord two thousand thirteen, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and thirty-seventh. BARACK OBAMA Irish Folklore Kathleen Ni Houlihan Caitlín Ní Uallacháin, literally, "Kathleen, daughter of Houlihan") is a mythical symbol and emblem of Irish nationalism found in literature and art, sometimes representing Ireland as a personified woman. The figure of Kathleen Ni Houlihan has also been invoked in nationalist Irish politics. Kathleen Ni Houlihan is sometimes spelled as Cathleen Ni Houlihan, and the figure is also sometimes referred to as the Sean-Bhean Bhocht (pron. Shan Van Vukt), the Poor Old Woman, and similar appellations. Kathleen Ni Houlihan is generally depicted as an old woman who needs the help of young Irish men willing to fight and die to free Ireland from colonial rule, usually resulting in the young men becoming martyrs for this cause. In the days before the Anglo-Irish War, the "colonial" power was the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. After the Anglo-Irish War, Kathleen Ni Houlihan was a figure more associated with the Irish Republican Army in Northern Ireland, especially during the Troubles. As a literary figure, Kathleen Ni Houlihan was perhaps most famously used by William Butler Yeats and Lady Augusta Gregory in their play Cathleen Ní Houlihan. Other authors that have used Kathleen Ni Houlihan in some way include Seán O'Casey (especially in The Shadow of the Gunman) and James Joyce who introduces characters named Kathleen and Mr Holohan in his story "A Mother" (in Dubliners) to illustrate the ideological shallowness of an Irish revival festival.