Ancient Order of Hibernians

As the school year progresses, we frequently hear of children trekking to Washington, our nation’s capital, for all the historic and memorial sites. But those trips seldom, if ever, include a visit to the Irish Embassy. It is probably not well known that the Embassy of Ireland in Washington, D.C., is open to the public Monday to Friday from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. and from 2 to 4 p.m. Calling in advance is highly recommended.

Two Philadelphia natives, Brian Grady and Paddy O’Brien, recently visited Washington to see the Arlington National Cemetery and the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial in Washington, D.C., where Brian placed wreaths in Arlington at the grave of his uncle and at the memorial walls for slain Philadelphia Police Officers Daniel Faulkner, Gary Skerski, Daniel Boyle and Chuck Cassidy.

On the following day, the two set out to visit the various World, Vietnam and Korean War memorials and happened to be riding in a taxi when they passed the Irish Embassy at about 9 a.m. They asked the taxi driver to pull over so they could snap a few photos and found that the embassy was open. After sending the taxi on its way, the two went inside.

After explaining that they had traveled from Philadelphia to pay respects at the various memorials, they inquired if it was possible to take a tour. They were escorted to a waiting area where they were later greeted by Martina Monaghan, the executive officer of the embassy. Ms. Monaghan indicated that the embassy does not typically give tours unless scheduled. While chatting with the very pleasant Longford native, it was mentioned that there may be something scheduled in the afternoon and that if the Philadelphia lads left a contact number that someone would ring if an opportunity became available.

Brian Grady with Ambassador Michael Collins
To their complete surprise, about a half hour later, Ms. Monaghan phoned Brian and asked if they could return around 3 p.m. The Philly guys visited other historic sites, and upon their return in the late afternoon, they were once again overwhelmed by the hospitality and pleasantries of true Irish personalities.

Paddy O’Brien with the ambassador.
As they toured the magnificent building, they passed by an office, and were coaxed to enter and they were introduced to himself, Michael Collins, Irish ambassador to the United States. The introduction would have been enough, but the defining moment was when the ambassador asked them to have a seat. The ambassador inquired what they were doing in Washington and Brian had about a 20-minute chat describing his mission to lay wreaths at the memorials.

The ambassador was extremely cordial and discussed his experiences with the Northern Ireland Peace Accord, the disarmament of weapons, the Good Friday Agreement and other issues such as the undocumented Irish in America, the devolution of policing and justice powers, and the challenges surrounding visas.

The ambassador showed the lads a picture of himself and Dr. Ian Paisley, which the ambassador indicated he was very proud of, of them shaking hands after helping broker the renewed peace in Northern Ireland through diplomatic means. The ambassador also showed them a silhouette of Ireland cut from a single piece of metal that Paddy O’Brien correctly identified as a piece of armor plating from one of the towers dismantled in Northern Ireland. As the ambassador commented that Paddy O’Brien knew his Irish history, he presented the lads with copies of the program from Bertie Ahern’s address to the joint session of Congress.

After Paddy O’Brien commented that he had voted for Bertie Ahern when he lived in Ireland, and that Bertie Ahern was one of only a few foreign heads of state to address both the U.S. Congress and the British Parliament; the ambassador turned once again to his personal desk and said, “I am sorry that I only have one copy of this left, but I would like you to have it.” And the ambassador handed a copy of the program from when Bertie Ahern addressed the British Parliament to Paddy O’Brien. The ambassador then cordially autographed both programs. The lads snapped a few photos, shook the ambassador’s hand and went on their way, not immediately realizing that they had just met for over an hour with one of the most historic and influential peacemakers of the 21st century.

Paddy O’Brien stated later “I learned more in a half hour from the ambassador about the challenges the Irish and Irish Americans are facing today than I have learned in the last 10 years from U.S. media and local Irish groups, I am committed to helping more than ever before.”

Brian Grady said of the ambassador, “He was such a great person to speak with, and he had such a demeanor of comfort, intellect and focus about him, that you would certainly be impressed through your life that you had indeed met a great man.”

In speaking to the Irish Philadelphia staff, Paddy O’Brien said, “in respect of the ambassador’s great efforts on behalf on the Irish people and Irish Americans, I am honored to donate the two autographed programs of Bertie Ahern’s historic speeches to a local heritage historical collection which is yet to be selected. There are several Philadelphia area based historical societies, and we are evaluating and discussing with them the appropriate manner to display and preserve these two pieces of history.”

Brian Grady is a Philadelphia attorney, heavily involved with the law enforcement and Irish communities. Paddy O’Brien is an information technology project manager who is a member of several charitable groups such as the Knights of Columbus, American Legion and various Irish and Celtic Heritage organizations.

– Submitted by Paddy O’Brien

Kevin Kane, center, and his brothers, John, left, and Christian, during a recent trip to Galway, Ireland.

Every Ancient Order of Hibernians division across the US spends a good part of its time and effort raising money for local charities. In Havertown, the Dennis Kelly Div. 1 AOH is no different. But its focus has been on helping veterans, either on the battlefield or, as they’re doing this year, on the home front. We spoke to Div. 1 Vice President Kevin Kane about Saturday’s benefit at St. Denis Gym in Havertown—featuring live Irish music by The Shantys, comedy, TVs all around for watching the Phillies, and gourmet food and drink—that will raise money for The Hero’s Homecoming Fund, the division’s own charity.

What is the Hero’s Homecoming Fund?

The “Hero’s Homecoming Fund” is a name we gave to the monies that we will be raising at our October benefit.  The idea is to cut as many checks as possible directly to injured troops and their families for them to use as they see fit to improve their holiday season this year. We did not want to shower a family with $300 worth of Christmas gifts if what they really needed was help with their PECO bill, so it would seem actual checks cut directly to the troops would be the most effective way to help. Last year our fundraiser was “Treasures for our Troops” where we raised money, bought the care items for troops currently stationed in Iraq and Afghanistan, and sent over about 100 individual packages to them.  This year, we are going on the home front with returned soldiers.

What got you personally involved in this particular charity?

It’s a cause near and dear to my heart. On October 14, 2006,  Staff
Sergeant Joseph Kane, my cousin and friend, was killed by an IED (improvised explosive device) outside Baghdad.  He was a Monsignor Bonner graduate and from Darby. Because of my AOH Division’s work in the cause and also my obvious family attachments to the cause, I was put in touch with one of the heads of Operation First Response, Nick Constantino.  While it is a national organization that helps wounded troops, Nick is a local guy in Broomall who knows my aunt and uncle well (the parents of my cousin who was killed in action. After the final tally from our event we will sit down and figure out how many checks we can write, then Nick will give our division access to as many cases as we wish to review for donations.  We hope to be able to help local guys but will not hesitate to go outside of the area as well.

Your division has other personal links to the troops, isn’t that right?

Yes, one of our division members, Jim McCans, spent time
in Iraq last year with his cadaver dog “Stashe.” When Jim was working with the military there, they came across a land mine and two of the soldiers assigned to help and guard Jim were severely wounded, Sgt. Rob Laux and Sgt. Chris Payne.  Both soldiers are still recovering from their injuries at Walter Reed Hospital.  Our division is putting both of the up for the night at a
local hotel, and they will be the guests of honor at our event.

[Editor’s note: This week, Havertown paramedic Jim McCans and Stache will receive an ASPCA Presidential Service Award for their work in Iraq, searching for the remains of US troops. The incident Kane refers to resulted in Stache breaking his eardrum, leading to temporary hearing loss from which the four-year-old Police Academy-trained black lab has since recovered.]

Like the other AOHs in the region, your division is active in the Hibernian Hunger Project, which was launched in this area and is now a national AOH charity. You’ve linked your work with veterans to that too, haven’t you?
 
Our commitment to veterans is also evident by our selection of recipients for our recent Hibernian Hunger Drive, where local schools and parishes donated food stuffs that we delivered to The Philadelphia Comfort House, at 41st and Baltimore Avenue, a temporary residence operated for the benefit of financially needy veterans and family members who require temporary housing while being treated at the VA Hospital. Our division also supported the recent charity benefits for Corporal Matthew Sonderman, another local severely wounded vet.

Your division recently co-sponsored a charity basketball game at Msgr. Bonner High School involving a ball team from a Belfast School. Tell us about that.

Our division sponsors a group of Irish basketball players from St. Malachy’s in Belfast to come over and tour the area, and play some basketball against some local high school basketball teams.  In turn, we send a dozen or so local high school players once a year over to Belfast to do the same. We used part of the monies we raised at our “Bonner to Belfast and Back” basketball game this past Monday night to donate, along with the Bonner Fathers Association, a $500 check to the foundation set up for Officer Patrick McDonald, a Philadelphia cop of Irish descent shot and killed in the line of duty last month.

If you can’t make it to the benefit, you can still donate to help a returning injured vet. Send checks payable to “AOH Inc.” and mail them to division financial secretary Chuck Harrington at 715 Ardmore Ave, Ardmore, PA 19003.