Division Newsletter. Dutchess County Msgr. Sheahan Division # 1. Division Website:

Transcription

1 Division Newsletter Dutchess County Msgr. Sheahan Division # 1 Division Website: Gene Noone - Editor gene.noone@frontier.com (914) Presidents Message Dear Brothers, The days are getting shorter, and the air is getting brisker, the summer has faded into fall memories and we look forward to the coming holiday season. We have our annual fall Charity dinner dance at the Elks club, Halloween,Thanksgiving and our annual Christmas dinner, to be held on December 18 th at Mary Kelly s in Beacon. It is the time when the division will be seeking brothers to step up and fill leadership positions. The Fall dinner dance will be another grand affair with all the trimmings! However, our donations chairman Mike Shepheard is still looking for donations and also scratch off lottery tickets to make a board. The tickets can be any amount,1,2,5 etc.. In closing, I plan to attend the KBIC Sammuel Nielsan memorial at Poughkeepsie rural cemetery at 11:00AM October 18, followed by a luncheon at Mahoney s. So for me it will be a very long but fulfilling day. May god bless you and your family. In Brotherhood and Motto, Michael P Quinn October 2014 DIVISION OFFICERS Chaplain: Deacon Robert Horton President: Michael Quinn Vice President: Mike Kelly Financial Secretary: Stephen Ren Recording Secretary: Bill Schimpf Treasurer: Robert Shepheard Marshal: Michael Shepheard Sentinel: Historian: Matt Fitzgerald Down Church & Cathedral of Ireland with St. Patrick s Grave in forefront! Standing Committee: Glen Kelly May the raindrops fall lightly on your brow. May the soft winds freshen your spirit. May the sunshine brighten your heart May the burdens of the day rest lightly upon you. And may God enfold you in the mantle of His love.

2 A Wee Bit of Irish History By: Matt Fitzgerald, Division Historian Historian s Corner Before I get to the main theme of this month s article, I would like to address my personal concern over the St. Patrick s Day Parade Committee s decision to permit the group, OUT@NBCUniversal, to march on the 17 th of March, 2015 as a group under its own banner. The Parade is an annual expression of honor to the Glorious Saint of our Isle, as well as putting Irish culture and ethnicity on display. How does the inclusion of this lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender group promote Irish culture or religious expression regarding St. Patrick? No one prevented members of the gay community from marching before, just not under their own banner, as has been the Committee s past policy regarding all groups. The headline from MRC News Busters may say it all: 'Out At NBC-Universal' Group Will Be First Official Gay Delegation in NYC St. Patrick's Parade. [emphasis added] My next thought was to take another look at the history and purpose[s] of our organization. The National AOH website should be visited periodically be each member. Yes, the AOH does concern itself with Irish culture [including dance, music, and the verbal arts for openers], history, politics [mainly as it pertains to Irish affairs and a United Ireland, etc.], and fighting a Know-Nothing anti-catholic agenda, as well as a the debasement of the Irish and their culture, especially around St. Patrick s Day, and in various forms of media and entertainment presentments. It s with the Defense of the Church concept that I would like to deal with in the remainder of this article. Although it may be early days at this time, and to avoid involving our division in a premature conflict that could be termed political, I draw your attention to the recent decision of the St. Patrick s Day Parade Committee to permit the OUT@NBCUniversal to march on March 17, 2015 as a group under its own banner, along with His Eminence Timothy Cardinal Dolan leading the parade as Grand Marshal. I hope that my concerns are proven wrong in the future, but could this be likened to the camel finally getting his nose under the tent. My second concern is the decreasing influence and impact of the Catholic Church in Ireland, and religion in Ireland, in general. The religious, and perhaps even the general cultural, landscape in Ireland is changing from what was characterized in the songs and stories we all were pretty much raised on. Gone are the days when Irish missionaries dotted the globe, and/or exported priests to America and other countries. The Catholic Church is still maintains membership dominance over, with Protestantism still in a somewhat distant second place. Reflecting back, in 1946, Pope Paul VI called Ireland the most Catholic country, but starting in the mid-1960s, a growing number of the Irish like many in Western Europe and the United States began questioning the authority of religious institutions. Today, the percentage of Irish claiming membership in the Church remains high compared with most of the rest of Europe. But attendance at weekly Mass continues to decline, reflecting, in part, the fallout from two decades of revelations about clergy sexual abuse. Although Catholicism is declining in both the north and the south, the situation is different in each country. The Republic is 84 percent Catholic, while Northern Ireland is 48 percent. In both places, however, the number of those practicing their faith is significantly lower than those who just check the census box. According to Archbishop Diarmuid Martin of Dublin, in 1984, nearly 90 percent of Irish Catholics went to weekly Mass. In 2011, only 18 percent did. Numbers in the north are harder to come by. Rev. Edward McGee, spokesman for the Diocese of Down and Connor, where Belfast is located, said his jurisdiction has no longitudinal surveys on membership or attendance. While being faced with the seeming decline of traditional Christianity activity in the Republic, Ireland is experiencing somewhat of a surge in its Muslim population, with its concomitant adherence to Islam. The Muslim population in the Republic of Ireland is still pretty small, comprising 1.1 percent of the 4.5 million people in the country, but Islam has become the fastest-growing religion in Ireland in 1991 Muslims made up only 0.1 percent of Irish residents. In 2011, the Republic of Ireland s Central Statistics Office reported that there were about 49,000 Muslims, and a recent Pew Research Center analysis projects that by 2030 there will be 125,000. If true, that would be an approximate increase in population of 155 percent in 19 years. Pew continues that would be the largest percentage increase in Europe for Muslims. If the faith continues to grow at this rapid rate, Islam will eventually replace Protestantism as the second-most-popular religion in 2043, after Catholicism. In 2011, Protestantism made up 5 percent of the population in the Republic of Ireland [All denominations of Protestantism e.g., Church of Ireland and Presbyterian are included in this figure.] The reason for the increase in the Muslim population can be attributed to a combination of immigration, population growth and conversion, although the last at this time is only a small component of the growing faith. The first wave of Muslims in Ireland came in the 1950s when students moved to the Emerald Isle to study medicine. Ireland s economic boom in the 1990s and early 2000s also drew immigrants seeking work. The Atlantic reports that the majority of the would be the largest percentage increase in Europe for Muslims. If the faith continues to grow at this rapid rate, Islam will eventually replace Protestantism as the second-most-popular religion in 2043, after Catholicism. In 2011, Protestantism made up 5 percent of the population in the Republic of Ireland [All denominations of Protestantism e.g., Church of Ireland and Presbyterian are included in this figure]. (continued on next page)

3 A Wee Bit of Irish History (Continued) By: Matt Fitzgerald, Division Historian The reason for the increase in the Muslim population can be attributed to a combination of immigration, population growth and conversion, although the last at this time is only a small component of the growing faith. The first wave of Muslims in Ireland came in the 1950s when students moved to the Emerald Isle to study medicine. Ireland s economic boom in the 1990s and early 2000s also drew immigrants seeking work. The Atlantic reports that the majority of the Irish have been welcoming to Muslims, partly because early immigrants were students and professionals. Now that the number of refugees and asylum seekers is growing, a socioeconomic shift that could eventually lead to a rise in friction is occurring within the community. For now though, religious prejudice against Muslims is not the norm. A 2012 survey on discrimination in the European Union found that about 79 percent of Irish people polled said religious discrimination was rare or nonexistent in their country. That s not to say discrimination does not exist, but there is a marked difference from that experienced in other countries in the EU, such as France, Belgium and Sweden, where more than half of respondents said religious discrimination was widespread. For the near future, mosque building will change the landscape of Ireland from thatched cottages and stone cathedrals. The Dublin City Council approved a new $50 million, three-story Islamic center in north Dublin in March The mosque, school and event space at the Clongriffin Center will be able to hold at least 3,000 people, making it the country s largest mosque. While it initially met with approval, concerns over the development s size led to an appeal; it is expected to measure about 60,000 square feet. However, project coordinator Abdel Hassib expects construction to begin late this year or in early Another purpose-built mosque opened in Galway on September 26, The Masjid Maryam or Mosque of Mary was designed with a blend of Muslim and Irish features. It is being used for traditional Friday prayers and the religion's supreme leader delivered a sermon there. Members from Sligo, Limerick, Mayo, Leitrim, Roscommon and Galway are expected to attend for prayers there on a regular basis. The foregoing not meant to present a totally idyllic picture of the increase of the Muslim population and Islamic adherents. In a recent article in the Irish Voice [September 3, 2014] columnist John Spain explores some of the problems which have been surfacing, much the same as they have in other countries. Spain reports that, although the number is probably small, some of these new Irish residents may have already gone off to join ISIS. He writes that a few years ago Garda sources said that they were monitoring a number of al-qaeda operatives who were based n Ireland. This group included several men who went to Ireland as asylum seekers up to as many as 10 years earlier and who now are Irish citizens. Some of those being watched by the Garda regularly went missing from their Irish addresses for months at a time. Others were known to be part of an international charitable organization which was funneling money to Bin Laden. Spain asserts that the phenomenal level of immigration into Ireland during the boom years, a considerable number of which came from Middle Eastern and North African countries, now poses a real challenge for security in Ireland. And finally, Spain reports that in August the Muslim community made its presence felt at one of the many anti-israeli rallies in Dublin. As an aside, The Jewish population of Ireland reached around 5,500 in the late 1940s, but has since declined to around 1,800, mainly through emigration to larger Jewish communities such as those in England and Israel. AOH Activities Charity Dinner Dance Dutchess County s Annual Charity Dinner Dance is scheduled for October 18th. The Elk s Lodge on Rte. 376, Wappingers Falls is the place. A complete roast beef dinner with all the trimmings can be had for just $40, entertainment by Dennis Gallery & Celtic Justice, raffles, and Irish Step Dancers are all part of the festivities. Contact Gerry McVicker, Jack Fedigan or Matt Fitzgerald for tickets. Jets Charity Raffle The drawing for the annual Jets ticket raffle that the proceeds from help out our many charities will be held on October 18th. The winning ticket will be drawn at the Charity Dinner Dance. The tickets are $5.00 each and the winner will receive 4 tickets to the NY Jets vs Pittsburgh Steelers game on November 9th, 1:00PM at MetLife Stadium. For tickets please contact Jack Fedigan. Msgr. Sheahan Memorial Mass November 2nd is the date for this annual tradition. St. Peter s Our Lady of the Rosary Chapel in Poughkeepsie is the place. Mass is at 7:00PM, but please plan on arriving by 6:30PM. Thank you.

4 Financial Secretary s corner I had a wonderful occasion while traveling to attend Mass in one of the oldest Catholic churches in Boston, named of course "St. Patrick's" in Watertown, MA. What caught my attention was a large, beautiful stained glass of St. Patrick himself behind the main altar under which was the following: "Gift of AOH - Div 14". I immediately thought of my Brothers back home in Wappingers Falls and decided to learn more of this Irish parish. - Stephen Ren, Financial Secretary In the late 1770s, the colonial alliance with France prompted a change in the Massachusetts constitution granting religious freedom to Roman Catholics. Soon, Masses were being celebrated in Boston by chaplains from the French fleet, and in 1788 regular Sunday services began.. In 1808, the first Bishop of the Diocese of Boston was appointed and a short while later the first wave of Catholic immigrants from Ireland broke on Boston s shores. In 1820, Catholics were granted full political liberty in the Commonwealth. As the Catholic share of Boston s population rose from five to twenty-five percent, the rapid increase precipitated an anti-catholic backlash which manifested itself in a series of violent acts in the 1820s and 1830s. The most notorious of these was the burning down of the Ursuline convent in Charlestown (now East Somerville) in In 1837, a satellite parish without a church was begun in Watertown. For the next decade, Masses were said, when possible, in private homes by priests from Boston. As fortune would have it, the local Methodist Society wanted to sell its meeting house to fund construction of a new church. The Methodists quickly came to terms with a man who claimed to be a bonnet manufacturer from Boston, although his identity is unknown a century and a half later. Only after signing the purchase agreement did the Methodists discover that their building was actually being sold to Watertown s Catholic parish. They tried to nullify the deal through a technicality in the contract, but backed down when Bishop Fitzpatrick threatened court action. The new parish and church were named Saint Patrick in honor of the predominantly Irish heritage of its immigrant congregation. The parish enjoyed continued expansion of her rolls and great improvements in her facilities. In 1888, St. Patrick Grammar School opened in a newly constructed building adjacent to the church. Upon the advice the pastor's friend, a Dominican priest, the Sisters of Saint Dominic of Springfield, Kentucky were invited to provide the faculty. It is a testimony to the pastor, Fr. Stack, that he was able to foster good relations between the parish and the town at a time when Boston was experiencing its last spasm of anti-catholic bigotry. During this period, No Irish Need Appy signs began to appear outside Boston businesses, and the predominantly Protestant state legislature proposed standards, curriculum, and practices for parochial schools. So hostile was anti-catholic sentiment that three churches were burned in the city in 1895, and a fourth one threatened. In 1909, a newly cast bell was installed in the belfry of the new church. The identity of the bell s donor remains a mystery. An envelope containing a large sum of money was left on the altar one day with a note stating that the money was to be used for that purpose. It was signed The gift of one who wishes to be known only to God. The bell was named The Guardian Angel and it contains the following inscription: May all who hear my voice, Praise, honor and glorify One God in Three Divine Persons; Venerate, love and involve the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of God Pray and labor without ceasing for Peace among men Remember their duty to the poor and the afflicted; Beg relief and consolation for the dying Incessantly ask God s mercy for the Souls in Purgatory Seek always the Kingdom of God Receive the Last Sacraments Believe, Hope and Trust in God as in a Father of Infinite Wisdom and Love; Abide with God, in Life, in Death In Eternity. The immigrant tide which had been swelling Catholic rolls throughout the nineteenth century continued into the early twentieth. While the Irish still came to Boston in great numbers, they were joined now by Italians, French-Canadians, Poles, and Eastern Europeans. An Armenian community had begun to settle in Watertown, bringing its own rite of worship. As a consequence of this continuing influx, several new parishes were carved out of the old Watertown-Waltham mission. These included Saint Luke s in 1919, Our Lady of Mercy in 1926, and Saint Theresa of the Child Jesus in The immediate post WWII period witnessed a boom in Boston s Catholic population. Fifty parishes were founded in the Archdiocese between 1944 and 1954, including Saint Jude s of Waltham which incorporated the western part of Saint Patrick within its territory. At the same time, the Church was reaching out to the faithful in new ways. Beginning in the late forties, Archbishop Cushing gave daily recitations of the Rosary over the radio, and in June of 1953, he authorized the transmission of the first Mass ever celebrated in a television studio. Noteworthy among the St. Patrick school s scholastic accomplishments was that the recipient of the Ancient Order of Hibernian's first National Essay Prize was Madeline Duffy of the class of 53 for her essay on the Irish patriot, Robert Emmet. On May 4, 1997, as part of the parish s one hundred and fiftieth anniversary celebration, Saint Patrick Alumni Association hosted a Mass of Thanksgiving. Graduates from each decade rose and were recognized. The loudest applause, however, was reserved for the Dominican nuns in attendance who continue to live in the service of God and Man.

5 Sponsors Page Custom Machine Embroidery Vicki Dunning 7 Jordan Court Poughquag, NY (845) vicki@embroideryd.com web page: Stephen P. O Hare Attorney at Law 488 Freedom Plains Road Tel: (845) Suite 103 Fax: (845) Poughkeepsie, NY oharelaw@optonline.net Your Ad Here! Attention, all AOH members, your help is needed. This newsletter needs sponsors, for a small yearly fee we will print a business card sized ad monthly. This newsletter goes out to all our membership and to several other Irish organizations. If you or someone you do business with wants to advertise with us, just get a business card to the newsletter editor. And the money to our Financial Secretary the cost is just $25.00 per year.

6 Important Dates October 16th: Regular Business Meeting October18th: Charity Dinner Dance October 18th: Jets Charity Raffle November 2nd: Msgr. Sheehan Memorial Mass November 20th: Regular Business Meeting (nominations) December 18th: Christmas Party Meeting (elections) Prayers for the Sick Paul Becker Deacon Bob Horton Kevin Moran Noel Morris Nathan Redmond Bill Schimpf Richard Whalen * In Memoriam * On the Radio 91.3 FM: A Little Bit of Ireland Hosted by our own Brendan Daly and broadcast from Vassar College. Saturday s from 1 PM to 3:30 PM. Please remember to watch for children Trick or Treating on Halloween! Let s keep the children safe! There is no language like the Irish for soothing and quieting ~ Sir John Millington Synge ~ Dutchess County Msgr. Sheahan Division #1 PO Box 1530 Wappingers Falls, NY 12590