Friday, October 20, 2017
Yonkers Division Awarded 1st Place by NYC Parade Committee
 |
| Division #1 Yonkers in the 256th Annual NYC St. Patrick's Day Parade |
The New
York City St. Patrick’s Day Parade Committee announced its Marching Units Award
Winners at a meeting held on October 16th and the Myles Scully
Division #1 of Yonkers 1st Place
 |
| NYC Parade Director Hilary Beirne presents Marching Unit Award to Larry McCrudden of Best AOH Marching Unit for 2017 |
Division
member Larry McCrudden was present to receive the award from Parade Director
Hilary Bierne, who had many great things to say about the way the Yonkers
Division presented itself. “This award
is a testament to the dedication of our members to looking their very best when
marching up 5th Avenue Yonkers
 |
| 2017 marks the First Time Division #1 Yonkers has won this award from the NYC Parade Committee |
Division
#1 Yonkers 2nd
Place
Thursday, October 19, 2017
AOH Establishes New Division in New Rochelle
Hibernians Establish New Division
in New Rochelle
 |
| Division #17 Officers seated with AOH County, State and National Officers |
Exciting
things are happening in Westchester County New Rochelle
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| Westchester County President Brian Duffy Installs New Division #17 President James McGlashin with District Director Aidan O'Kelly Lynch |
AOH
Westchester County President Brian Duffy administered the membership oath to
over 28 young men in Pelham on October 16th. The Division will be
named after the memory of Thomas Addis Emmet who was a member of the United
Irishmen in the 1790’s and later served as Attorney General for the State of New York
 |
| Swearing in of new members of Division #17 New Rochelle |
The
Ancient Order of Hibernians is focusing on growth this year with a specific
emphasis on recruiting new and younger members.
This effort is spearheaded by a new committee formed by the AOH National
Board and will begin with a national advertising campaign, the first in the
organization’s history. The New Rochelle
Division was formed thru the hard work of its new Division President James
McGlashin, who has worked for months recruiting new members from the
surrounding communities.
 |
| Ancient Order of Hibernians launching membership drive with ad campaign |
The
Officers and Members of Division #1 Yonkers wish to welcome and congratulate
all of our new brothers in Division #17 New Rochelle, and we look forward to
working with them and wish them great success!
Tuesday, October 17, 2017
Yonkers Hibernians Support Chilly Hilly 5k Run/Walk
AOH Division #1 Supports
Benefit Pediatric Center
 |
| AOH Members Volunteer at the Chilly Hilly 5k Run/Walk |
The
Ancient Order of Hibernians was proud once again to support the 6th
Annual Chilly Hilly 5k Run/Walk that is sponsored by the North Yonkers
Scholarship Foundation. Division #1 has
been a supporter of this event since its inception.
This year’s
proceeds were to benefit the Elizabeth Seton Pediatric Center, a nonprofit pediatric specialty nursing facility for medically fragile children with complex and diverse clinical disabilities.
 |
| Hibernians handing out water at the Chilly Hilly 5k Run/Walk |
Division members volunteered at a water station along the route, and many members also participated in the run itself, which appears to be growing in popularity each and every year.
 |
| The Ancient Order of Hibernians is a Proud Sponsor this Year |
Thanks to all of our members who volunteered and helped make this year’s event a great success!
Monday, October 16, 2017
American Irish Association of Westchester Dinner Dance 2017
Yonkers
AOH Chaplain and LAOH Division President Honored at American Irish Association
Dinner
 |
| Fr. Matthew Janeczko (center) with Members of Division #1 Yonkers |
The American
Irish Association of Westchester held it Annual Dinner Dance at the Fairways at
Dunwoodie this past weekend and several Hibernians were included in the evening
honorees list.
Fr.
Matthew Janeczko, OFM is the new Pastor of Sacred Heart Church in Yonkers Yonkers
 |
| Fr, Matt Janeczko with AIA President Bob Stauf |
Allison
Burke was honored for her work in the community as the President of the Ladies
Ancient Order of Hibernians Division #19 of Yonkers
 |
| Allison Burke (center) with Executive Board of the AIA of Westchester |
The American
Irish Association also honored Fr. William Cleary, who is the new Dean of
Seminarians at St. Joseph Yonkers
Congratulations
to all of the honorees! Division #1 is a
proud supporter of the American Irish Association of Westchester and we
congratulate its leaders for a wonderful and successful event!
Thursday, October 12, 2017
Yonkers AOH Supports Barnabas Fundraising Campaign
 |
| Division President Kevin Ellis, Barnabas Trustee Bernadette Sciarabba, Division Treasurer Mike Morley and Principal Theresa Napoli |
Members of
Division #1 visited St. Barnabas High School this week to help support the
schools fundraising campaign in partnership with Youth INC’s Celebration
Program.
Youth
INC is an organization that works with New York City
 |
| Youth INC Selected St. Barnabas as a Partner School for 2017 |
School
Principal, Theresa Napoli, stated that funds would be used to invest in new
technology for the school such as the Chrome books for students program.
 |
| The AOH of Yonkers Supports Local Catholic Schools with Funds Raised at its Annual Charity Golf Outing |
Division
#1 was proud to present a $1,000 pledge of support to help St. Barnabas reach
their goal of $125,000.
To
learn more about how you can help St. Barnabas is achieving their goal this
year, please visit their website at:
Tuesday, October 10, 2017
Historian's Report for October 2017
Historian’s
Report
A RIVALRY THAT BECAME A FRIENDSHIP
By Mike McCormack, NY State Historian
 |
| Monsignor Hugh O’Flaherty |
On October 30, 1963, Cahirciveen, County Kerry saw the largest
outpouring of grief since the loss their favorite son, the great Daniel
O’Connell in 1847. This time it was for another one of their own – Monsignor
Hugh O’Flaherty. Although he was born in Kiskeam, County Cork and grew up in
Killarney, Msgr. Hugh retired to Cahirciveen three years before his death and
was honored as one of their own. He was also honored with many decorations,
including Commander of the British Empire and the US Medal of
Freedom for Hugh O’Flaherty was a very special man who was mourned throughout
the world, including in a front page tribute in the New York Times.
Young Hugh had a vocation for the priesthood and as a seminarian
he was posted to Rome in 1922, the year that
Mussolini came to power. He earned a degree in Theology and was ordained in
1925. Continuing his studies, he earned doctorates in Divinity, Canon Law and
Philosophy. He became a skilled diplomat and served the Vatican at posts in Egypt, Haiti, San Domingo and Czechoslovakia before being called
back to Rome to serve the Holy Office at the Vatican.
Father O’Flaherty was an excellent golfer, having learned at the
Killarney Golf Club where his father was employed. While in Rome, he played regularly
with Mussolini’s son-in-law and other social luminaries. In 1934, he was
elevated to Monsignor and enjoyed a high standing in the social life of Rome which he made use
of after 1937 when Italy joined Germany and Japan as part of the
Axis. The new Monsignor was from an
Irish nationalist background and in his youth witnessed atrocities by Black and
Tans during which a number of his friends were killed. When WWII began in 1939, he refused to take
sides believing that the Brits were as bad as the Nazis; however, that soon
changed. When the Americans invaded at Salerno on Sept 3, 1943, Italy left the Axis and an
armistice was declared on Sept 8 between Italy and the Allies. When Germany learned that the
Italians signed an armistice, they took over critical defensive positions in Italy and on Sept 10 they
occupied Rome.
The Nazis began to crack down on prominent Jews and aristocratic
anti-fascists. Having socialized with
these people before the war, the Monsignor hid them in farms, monasteries,
convents and his own residence.
O’Flaherty’s views changed after he saw the violence perpetrated by the
Nazis. He visited Allied prisoners held
in harsh conditions in Italian jails and began to offer shelter to Allied
servicemen who turned up at the Vatican looking for sanctuary.
He expanded his operations to help escaped allied prisoners-of-war and
shot-down pilots. He gradually recruited
a group to assist him and set up a network of safe houses. Allied military who evaded capture made their
way to the Vatican or to the Irish
Embassy to the Holy See – the only English-speaking embassy open in Rome during the war. The great Irish singer, Delia Murphy, was the
wife of the Irish Ambassador at the time and she was one of Msgr. O'Flaherty’s
aides.
By the war’s end the Monsignor and his group had helped more than
6,500 allies escape the Nazis and he was referred to as ‘The Scarlet Pimpernel of the Vatican’. He became a master of disguises to avoid capture
from the Germans when he had to go beyond the 'White Line’ on his rescue
missions. The line was painted on the
streets outside the Vatican on the instructions of
Herbert Kappler, the head of the Gestapo, to mark the point where the Vatican’s authority ended and
Nazi rule began. Kappler had learned of
O’Flaherty’s operation and reminded O’Flaherty that if he was caught beyond
that line he would be executed! In March
1944, after the Italian Resistance killed 33 German soldiers in a bomb attack
Hitler demanded revenge so Kappler drew up plans to kill 10 Italians for each
German soldier killed. His men killed
335 people in the Ardeatine Caves outside Rome. It was the worst atrocity on Italian soil
during the War. This was the man who
tried several times to kidnap and kill O’Flaherty; he even put a bounty of
30,000 Lire on his head. Meanwhile,
O’Flaherty continued to outwit Kappler with fake credentials and documents
printed in the Vatican; through his secret
communication network and by disguising himself to evade capture by the
Gestapo.
At the War Crimes trial after the war, Kappler was sentenced to
life imprisonment with no parole for the Ardeatine Caves massacre. In a surprising move, Italy’s most hated prisoner
wrote to his old rival inviting Msgr O’Flaherty to visit him in prison; the
Kerry cleric immediately went to meet with his former foe. Their meetings became regular affairs during
which they discussed religion and literature.
The Monsignor joked, “Here I am
with this man who a price on my head and now we are sort of pals.” The feeling was mutual as Kappler described
O’Flaherty as “a fatherly friend”.
After his sentence Kappler, who was Protestant, called on the Monsignor and the
two men prayed together after which Msgr O’Flaherty received Kappler into the
Faith. In what was probably Monsignor
O’Flaherty’s greatest victory, Italy’s most notorious Nazi
was welcomed into the Catholic Church by the very man he had tried so hard to
kill.
 |
| Herbert Kappler Prison Photo circa 1945 |
Kappler remained in prison in Italy until he contracted
cancer in 1975 and was transferred to a military hospital in Rome. In August 1977 his
wife dramatically smuggled him out of the hospital into a waiting car and took
him back to Germany where he died in
1978. As for his courageous rival, in
October 1963, (54 years ago this month) the village of Caherciveen, County Kerry saw the biggest
funeral it had ever seen.
Representatives from the Vatican and officials from the
British and Irish governments and friends from his days in Rome were among the
mourners. The 1983 film 'The Scarlet and the Black’ with Gregory
Peck describes his wartime activities, but the rivalry, forged in wartime,
which became a friendship created in peacetime remains one of the most
fascinating stories to emerge from World War II.
Wednesday, October 4, 2017
AOH Attends Respect Life Sunday Mass at St. Patrick's Cathedral
 |
| Division Members Brendan Murphy and Bob Eggen with The Sisters of Life at St. Patrick's Cathedral for Respect Life Sunday |
Members of
the Myles Scully Division #1 of Yonkers
The Mass
at St. Patrick’s Cathedral in New York City
Division
#1 was proud to present a $1,000 pledge to the Sisters of Life after the mass to help support them in
the important work they do protecting the sanctity of every human life.
To learn
more about the amazing work of the Sisters of Life and how you can support
them, please visit their website at:
Sunday, October 1, 2017
Presidents Message - October 2017
PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE
 |
| Division One President Kevin Ellis |
October 2017
Brothers,
Fall is in the air and we are entering a very busy time of year for the AOH as we transition from the Irish Festivals of September to the Dinner Dance months of October and November. We have a few things to keep in mind this month, but first a few items left over from September.
I would first like to welcome the new members that have joined Division #1 over the past 5 weeks. Please join me in welcoming Eamonn Goodwin, Matt Mclean, Brendan Stephenson. Paul Tuffy, and John O’Brien! I am thrilled these men have decided to join and help us grow and expand our mission. We have placed a specific emphasis on recruitment this year and we are off to a great start. Please continue in your recruitment efforts as we want to see growth every single month!
The McLean Avenue Festival was a tremendous success this year and I wish to thank all of our members who assisted us in manning our booth and helping to sell raffle tickets. Special recognition belongs to Mike Klein who sold hundreds of tickets the day of the festival and who was a big reason we were able to raise so much.
This month, the American Irish Association of Westchester will have their Annual Dinner Dance at Dunwoodie on October 14th and they will be honoring our Division Chaplain Fr. Matt Janeczko and Ladies AOH Division #19 President Allison Burke. I hope to see many of our members in attendance so please contact Bob Stauf to reserve your spot.
The NY GAA Minor Board have reserved the date of November 5th for the 9th Annual Firefighter Sean Tallon Tournament beginning at 10:45am . Please keep this date clear as I expect members to make a good showing this day as the AOH is the principle sponsor of this event. There are other events throughout the month and we will cover these as well as inform each of you through the email chain so please watch your inboxes for these important announcements.
Since this is election season and there are many local races taking place, I will remind the membership that the AOH is a Non-Political Organization. We are forbidden by our national Constitution from formally endorsing any political candidate, party or platform. The penalties for violations can be severe so please contact me directly if you have any questions or need any clarification regarding this policy.
Also, please remember that we will be having our first round of nominations for Division Officers at our next General membership Meeting on November 1st at Clarke’s Bar & Restaurant on Saw Mill Road
Yours in Our Motto,
Kevin Ellis, President
Division #1, Yonkers
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