For more than 35 years the AOH has helped American high school students study in Ireland through the Irish Way Program. This multifaceted program consists of a wide variety of classes, workshops and tours. The dates for the 2025 Irish Way Program are June 29 – July 23.

            The $1,000 scholarship offered is for an AOH member who is attending high school, as well as for the child or grandchild of an AOH member. For more information on this scholarship, and the Irish Way Program, please visit our AOH National Web Page (aoh.com) under Committees/ Scholarships. Information on this program and our Irish Way scholarship can also be found on the AOH Facebook page.

            If you are a college student, or the parent or grandparent of a college student who just might be on the fence to study or not study in Ireland, take the leap or at least give it some serious thought. This scholarship could be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to study abroad! Opportunity does not knock twice! We strongly encourage you to take advantage of this scholarship’s golden opportunity. Please check out the AOH National Board website under Committees/Scholarships for a Study Abroad Scholarship Application and other pertinent information on studying in Ireland at the undergraduate and graduate level. Information on our study abroad scholarships can also be found on the AOH Facebook page. Please note: our college scholarships are open-ended until filled.

            Please feel free to contact me with any concerns, comments or questions. I look forward to hearing from you! My email address is: williamjsullivan@verizon.net Happy Spring!

            On Monday, February 3, we held our second Zoom meeting with the HHP State Chairmen along with many of our national officers. Discussion centered on encouraging the state chairmen to contact divisions in their states to submit their hunger grant applications, as well as encouraging division presidents to appoint a hunger chairman. The data from the HHP applications may be beneficial when the AOH National Board applies for grants, since this information might impact the decision on the grant. The next HHP State Chairmen Zoom meeting will be held on Monday, May 5.

            As evidenced by the HHP applications received, divisions are addressing hunger in their communities in a multitude of ways. Due to the generosity of our members, 29 divisions received grants for their 2024 hunger projects. Due to the numerous first-class projects submitted, the HHP committee found the judging very difficult, but after much thought and discussion, decided on the five divisions who would receive $1,000 grants, and the 24 division who would receive $500 awards.

            Divisions selected to receive $1,000 grants were: Division 1, Allegheny County, PA; Division 87, Port Richmond, Philadelphia, PA; the Father John Lynch Division, Roanoke, VA; Division 1, Saratoga Springs, NY; and Division 1, of Sarpy County, NE.

            Divisions selected to receive $500 awards were: Division 2, Carbondale, PA; Division 2, South Amboy, NJ; Division 1, Columbus, OH; Division 1, Buck’s County, PA; Division 2,  Babylon, NY; Division 2, Middletown, NJ; Division 1, Watertown NY;  Division 1, Guilford County, NC;  Division 3, Fairfax, VA; Division 1, Watervliet, NY; Division 1, Binghamton, NY; Division 3, Silver Springs, MD; Division 5, Buck’s County, PA; Division 1, St Charles County, MO; Division 1, Omaha, NE; Division 39, Philadelphia County, PA; Division 1, Holyoke, MA; Division 2, Cape May County, NJ; Division 32, Cook County, Il; Division 1, Manchester, NH; Division 1, Helena MT; Division 1, Cambria County, PA; Division 1, Lucas County, OH; and Division 2, St Louis, MO. In future Hibernian Digest articles, we will report on how these Divisions addressed hunger in their communities.

            Tim Myles of Nassau County, NY, initiated a successful hunger project on his own, where customers of local businesses could purchase a paper shamrock and write their name on it for a nominal charge. The business would then display the shamrock for other patrons to see. All monies collected from this activity were donated to local food pantries in the New York area. This is certainly an idea that a division could utilize as their hunger project.

            The next round of Hibernian Hunger Project Awards will cover Division Hunger Projects that will take place between January 1 – December 31, 2025. If your division has not already begun planning a hunger project, now might just be the time to do so! 

            Please feel free to contact me with any concerns, comments or your questions. I look forward to hearing from you! My email address is: williamjsullivan@verizon.net

Last spring the AOH National Board awarded four college students $1,500 scholarships for a semester of study, and one college student a $3,000 scholarship for a full year of study in Ireland. If you have a member of your family who wants to study at the graduate or undergraduate college level in Ireland, we hope that you will take advantage of the scholarship opportunities that the AOH National Board offers just as these five individuals did. Please check out the AOH National Board website for our latest scholarship application and other pertinent information on studying abroad.

Irish Way

The Irish American Cultural Institute (IACI) in collaboration with the AOH National Board, offers an opportunity for high school students to study in Ireland during the summer through the Irish Way Program.

Naturally, like many, you just may be wondering what exactly this program is. In a nutshell, it is a unique cultural and educational program for American high school students that was established in the mid 1970s. During the summer, students travel to Ireland for a three-plus week stay to participate in a comprehensive program involving the Irish language, literature, culture and history under the guidance of the (IACI) Irish Way Coordinator, who leads the trip. Students return home with a new and better understanding and appreciation of their Irish heritage.

Last summer the National Board had two students who participated in the Irish Way and received an Irish Way Scholarship. The dates for the 2025 Irish Way Program are June 29 – July 23. Information on the Irish Way Program, as well as a direct link to the IACI Irish Way Program’s website and Irish Way application are posted on the AOH National Board website under Scholarships. The National Board offers a $1,000 scholarship for the Irish Way to help offset some of the cost of the program.

Still have questions about the Irish way or our study abroad scholarship? Please feel free to contact me. I look forward to hearing from you! My email address is:
williamjsullivan@verizon.net Happy Saint Patrick’s Day and a Happy and Blessed Easter!

By the time you read this article, the 2024 HHP applications will have already been received and will be judged by the National Board HHP Committee. If your division applied for our 2024 awards, terrific! However, if not, do not despair! Why not begin planning your 2025 Hibernian Hunger Project now? Need ideas for your HHP? Please feel free to contact me.

In 2026, the AOH National Board will award a total of $11,000 in Awards to Divisions who have developed Hibernian Hunger Projects during the year 2025. These grants will be spread out over 17 awards. To be eligible for these awards, a division must submit a Hibernian Hunger Application to the AOH National Board Hibernian Hunger Project Committee. To be considered for the Hibernian Hunger Project Awards, all activities must have taken place between January 1 – December 31, 2025, and all reports must be filled by February 15, 2026.

As you know, all divisions must send in a Form 9 (Certificate of Election) to our National Secretary Ray Lynch by February 15, 2025, as well as a Form 11. Hopefully, when you submitted your Division’s Form 9, you listed a Hibernian Hunger Chairman. If not, I ask that Division Presidents appoint a Hibernian Hunger Chairman and amend their Form 9 noting who your HHP Chairman is. Your division and Hibernianism will benefit from this request.

In future Digest articles and Web Blasts, we would like to highlight your division’s efforts to fight hunger. Please email me a short article on an activity your division is doing or has done. Without your help we cannot showcase the efforts of your division. When available, photos are most welcome, too. My email address is noted at the end of this article.

My best wishes to you and your families for a Happy Saint Patrick’s Day, and a Happy and Blessed Easter! God Bless!

Questions, concerns, comments? Please feel free to contact me. I look forward to hearing from you! My email address is: williamjsullivan@verizon.net

Every Division must fill out and submit an Official Hibernian Hunger Report and Awards Application to the AOH National Board Hibernian Hunger Project Committee. To be considered for these Hibernian Hunger Awards, all projects must have taken place between January 1 – December 31, 2021, and reports must be filled by February 15, 2022. An Application Form for these awards is posted on our national web page. Please feel free to contact AOH National Board Hibernian Hunger Project Chairman, Bill Sullivan, with any questions. His email address is: williamjsullivan@verizon.net

The AOH National Board will present a total of $4,000 in Awards to Divisions who have developed Hibernian Hunger Projects that help to eliminate hunger in their communities. This $4,000 will be spread out over 7 Awards. The award for First Prize is $1,000, and there will also be six (6) Second Prizes of $500 each.

Every Division must fill out and submit an Official Hibernian Hunger Report and Awards Application to the AOH National Board Hibernian Hunger Project Committee. To be considered for these Hibernian Hunger Awards, all projects must have taken place between January 1 – December 31, 2020, and reports must be filled by February 15, 2021. An Application Form for these awards is posted on our National web page. Please feel free to contact AOH National Board Hibernian Hunger Project Chairman, Bill Sullivan, with any questions. His email address is: williamjsullivan@verizon.net

For over a half century, members of the Tomas Cardinal O’Fiaich Division 14 AOH in Watertown, Massachusetts have been marching in Watertown’s Annual Memorial Day Parade to honor those who have gone before them. Prior to the parade, members gather at the Cottage Street Cemetery in Watertown to place a wreath near the graves of the many Irish immigrants who are buried there.

However, this year with Covid 19 epidemic and social distancing rules in effect throughout Massachusetts, these annual Memorial Day traditions were not to be. Realizing the needs in their community and wanting to honor and remember those that have served our country and have gone on to their eternal rest, Division 14 in collaboration with the Watertown Catholic Collaborative Food Pantry set up a safe, no contact food drop – off station in their Division home’s parking lot from 8 am to 3 pm on Memorial Day. As one might expect, the members of the Division and community overwhelmingly supported this endeavor with boxes and carloads of food donations. Without a doubt, it was one of the largest food drives, Division 14 and the Watertown Collaborative Food Pantry had ever seen!

Congratulations to the officers and members of Division 14 in Watertown, Massachusetts for their creative efforts in establishing a new way to honor the memory of those who came before them, while at the same time contributing financially and with their time and talents to their community in the true spirit of Friendship, Unity and Christian Charity. It is this exemplary effort and spirit by the members of the Tomas Cardinal O’Fiaich Division in Watertown, that make us all proud to be members of the oldest, largest, and greatest Irish Catholic organization in the United States, the AOH!

When Hibernians in Massachusetts speak of the “Golden West” they are referring to the James A. Curran Division 1 in Holyoke, MA. Found 147 years ago by Irish immigrants who worked on the Holyoke Dam, it has been a Division that is truly community orientated. For the past 40 years Division members have volunteered at Providence Ministries Kate’s Kitchen to prepare and serve dinner the last Sunday of every month to 150 plus of the area’s neediest residents. Division 1 member, “Sarge” Nugent helped establish Kates’s Kitchen in 1980. In addition to volunteering to serve and prepare meals, Division members also donate food items to Kate’s food pantry. Since its inception, Kate’s Kitchen has provided over two million meals.

Just prior to the pandemic on February 22, Division 1 celebrated “Irish Night in Holyoke” in memory of their late Hibernian Brother, Daniel P. Curran. The event was held at the Log Cabin in Holyoke to a sellout crowd of 450, where attendees feasted on a delicious New England style Corned beef and Cabbage Dinner with entertainment provided by the Noel Henry Irish Showband, the Cassin School of Irish Dance and piper Matt O’Connor This annual event is a celebration of Irish Culture, as well as, a fundraiser for the Division’s charitable endeavors. The monies raised from this dinner benefit: the Maurice A. Donahue Memorial Scholarship; Holyoke’s St Patrick’s Parade; Kate’s Kitchen; Pan Mass Challenge for Cancer Research, as well as a host of other charitable groups in the western part of state.

During the festivities, Kelly O’Connor was named Ms. LAOH Hibernian 2020, and Matt O’Connor was named Mr. AOH Hibernian, 2020. Each of the recipients were recognized as members who exemplified the Hibernian motto of “Friendship, Unity, and True Christian Charity.”

Holyoke’s Division President and Immediate Past Massachusetts AOH State President Paul Hogan, in a recent email to Division 1 members optimistically noted, “Please hold onto the fond memories of times past and be determined that soon you will create even better times.”
What a terrific philosophy to live by!

Congratulations to the officers and members of the James A. Curran Division in Holyoke, Massachusetts for keeping our Hibernian traditions and culture alive, while at the same time contributing both financially and with their time and talents to their community in the true spirit of Friendship, Unity and Christian Charity. It is the exemplary works and spirit of the members of Division 1 in Holyoke that make us all proud to be members of the oldest, largest and greatest Irish Catholic organization in the United States, the AOH!