Ancient Order of Hibernians
of Hampden Hampshire Counties
PO Box 826
Holyoke, MA 01041-0826
Next Meeting –
Monday, April 7, 2014 7:00 p.m.
At The Wherehouse?
Ladies AOH 6:30 p.m.
www.AOH-Holyoke.com
For Rosalie Pratt, the LAOH 2014 Hibernian of the year, leading the AOH contingent in the Holyoke Saint Patrick’s Parade was full of love and surprises. Marching along the route she was at first amazed at all the people congratulating her by name. She didn’t recognize many and soon realized that her name was on our banner.
And later heading down Beach Street, Rosalie was greeted to cheers by family including her one month old, niece, Casey Pratt. It was a great Parade, wasn’t it, Rose?
And though President Hogan was praying for a large number of volunteers to march in the Parade (he had flags from all the counties in Ireland), we did have three floats and proudly displayed our large Irish flag. Joining Rosalie and AOH Man of the Year President Paul Hogan were his son, Patrick (our Saint Patrick) with Mary Mulvena, Amanda Olmo, Noranne Duquette and Paula Paoli carrying our banners. Distinguished guests, LAOH National Past President, Mary Ryan; LAOH State Past President, Kathy “The Quilt” Rafuse. Our color guard consisting of Dan Burns, Owen Donohue, Judy Pratt, Barbara Twohig, Wendy Dietrich and Monica Cameron. Drivers of our floats, JD and Jackie Watson, the Barney family, Chris, Glynis, Kelly and Christian, Peter Hogan, Charlie Popp. Irish Dancers, Cayla Brown, Meaghan Carey, Bridget Barcomb, Kelsey Prive with their chaperones, Janet Dwyer and Lucinda Brown. Jeff Meon, driver of Paul’s AOH Mustang convertible. Division 1 & 2 marchers, Fran Hennessey, Tim O’Shea, Dan and Barrie Ann Lynch. And finally, finishing our contingent, James A. Curran with his grandson, Matt in their green golf cart. Job well done!
Congratulations to our float builders, Peter and Patrick Hogan, Charlie Popp, JD Watson, Chris Barney and Jim and Scott Curran. This year we took home a prestigious Honorable Mention award.
Thank you to Jay Driscoll on running another successful Communion Breakfast. Our speaker, William Dowling, a Holyoke native, former legal counsel to New York Yankees and former CEO of the New Britian Rock Cats Double AA baseball team gave an entertaining talk about “The Boss” George Steinbrenner.
“To Be Irish Is a Blessing – To Be A Hibernian An Honor”
The next AOH State Board meeting will be held on Saturday, April 5 in Worcester hosted by Division 36. If you would like to join Paul call him at 210-1416.
Thank you to Tim Burns, Dr. Tom Moriarty, Noranne Duquette, Barb Twohig, Paula Paoli, Paul Hogan, Peter Hogan, Rosalie Pratt, Charlie Popp, Dan Leary, Paul Mengel, Fran Hennessey and Mary Pat Murphy for volunteering at Kate’s Kitchen last month. Our next opportunities to serve meals at Kate’s Kitchen are on Sundays, April 13 and June 1, 9 a.m. – 1 p.m. Call Fran Hennessey if you would like to volunteer at 413 785-5687.
Dues for 2014 ($30.00) were due on November 1st so if you have not paid for 2014 please pay ASAP. For all members that have not paid your 2013 and 2012 dues a vote will be taken to drop you as a member. If you are experiencing financial difficulty please call Paul 413-210-1416 or Peter Hogan 413-330-6635 to make arrangements. The Club does not want to lose any members but on the other hand we cannot afford to carry non-paying members any more.
Applications for the Maurice A. Donahue Scholarships are on-line at our website www.AOH-Holyoke.com. The deadline this year is Friday, May 9. To qualify, the applicant must be a child or grandchild of a member in good standing
Plans for the 2014 AOH Summer Picnic otherwise known as the “Hennessey Hoe-Down” are progressing. The event will be held on Saturday, June 14 at The Wherehouse? This year the club will present a new honor, “the 2014 Christian Charity Award to Barbara Bernard.
LAOH News
Our monthly reminders:
Kate’s Kitchen, is in dire need of cleaning supplies. Also are the regular items including non-perishable food, spices and oil for cooking, plastic forks and 8 oz. plastic cups. Donations will be gladly accepted at the March monthly meeting.
LAOH Dues
Dues for the Ladies Ancient Order of Hibernians are $25 for 2014 and $20 for 2013 and can be sent to Mary Pat Murphy, 9 Magnolia Ave., Holyoke, MA 01040.
At the March club meeting, Marty Dunn’s card was plucked from the raffle bin. Poor Marty was not in attendance and did not collect his winnings.
Upcoming Events:
Saturday, June 14, 2014 –Summer Picnic
“To Be Irish Is a Blessing – To Be A Hibernian An Honor”
Irish Cultural Center Events
Irish Language Day
The Irish Cultural Center is sponsoring its fourteenth Irish language immersion day, Lá na Gaeilge, on the Elms campus, Saturday, May 3. It is a unique opportunity for those with an interest in the language - beginners and those with varying levels of competence - to deepen their knowledge and appreciation of this vital component of Irish culture. Lá na Gaeilge begins with registration at 8:30 am and continues throughout the day with language classes and workshops, including set dancing, Irish films, and conversation groups. Consul General Breándan Ó Caollaí of the Boston Irish Consulate, an enthusiastic and fluent Gaeilgeoír, will attend and provide an address. It concludes with a seisiún at about 5:00 pm. The cost for ICC members is $40 and for non-members is $50. The cost for college-age and under students is $15. The price includes coffee, tea and light refreshments throughout the day and a generous luncheon. For further information contact Ellen Dziura at the ICC (413) 265-2537 or email . You can also download a registration form.
… And finally, the winner of the 2014 LAOH “Ireland Parish” quilt was Meg Greaney. The ticket was sold on Parade Day by Patty Meon. Meg will be coming to the AOH meeting on Monday night to accept her prize. Selling the most tickets was our LAOH Ms. Hibernian of the Year, Rosalie Pratt.
“To Be Irish Is a Blessing – To Be A Hibernian An Honor”