AOHDayton The Ancient Order of Hibernians is a Catholic, Irish American Fraternal Organization founded in New York City 4 May,1836. The Order can trace its roots back to a parent organization, of the same name, which has existed in Ireland for over 300 years. However, while the organizations share a common thread, the North American A.O.H. is a separate and much larger organization. The Order evolved from a need in the early sixteen hundreds to protect the lives of priests who risked immediate death to keep the Catholic Faith alive in occupied Ireland after the reign of England’s King Henry VIII. When England Implemented its dreaded Penal Laws in Ireland, various secret social societies were formed across the country. These groups worked to aid and comfort the people by whatever means available. Similarly, the Ancient Order of Hibernians in America was founded May 4th, 1836 at New York’s St. James Church, to protect the clergy, and church Property from the “Know Nothings” and their followers. At the same time the vast influx of Irish Immigrants fleeing famine issues in Ireland in the late 1840’s, prompted a growth of various social societies in the USA – the largest of which was, and continues to be, the Ancient Order of Hibernians.

Our Dayton, Ohio Chapter

Division #1 was organized in Dayton in 1878 and has been in continual existence now for 125 years. Two other divisions were organized in Dayton. Division #2 in September, 1882 and Division #3 in April, 1892. Both Divisions #2 and #3 went out of existence in the early 1900’s.

The National Board did not issue charters until 1889, thus our charter is so dated. A Hibernian Hall was located on East Second Street in the late 1800’s-early 1900’s where all divisions held their meetings. However that building and all early records were lost in the 1913 flood which devastated downtown Dayton. After that, Division 1 held their meetings in St. Joseph School and other locations until 1955, when we purchased a City of Dayton firehouse on Xenia Avenue, which was no longer in use. The second floor was remodeled into a club room and the first floor was used as a rental unit. Meetings and other Hibernian activities were held there until September of 1990, when the building was sold.

Our meetings were then held at the K of C 500 Hall on Bainbridge Street until November of 1995. In June of 1992, the Division purchased property at 3105 Wilmington Pike with the intention of building an Irish Cultural Center and home for the Division. The cost of the building was found to be unfeasible and the property was sold. Our present home, at 4156 Dayton-Xenia Road was purchased in November, 1995. It is one-half acre with a house and an attached barber shop. The barber shop is leased and the house was remodeled for club rooms.

It contains a meeting room, office, lounge, and a small room to display artifacts, memorabilia, genealogy, and all things common to Irish Heritage.

A History of the Order in Ohio

Although a St. Patrick’s Day Parade in 1873 in the city of Akron is the site of the first recorded public appearance of a division of Hibernians in Ohio, the origin of the division can be traced to South Akron when it was organized with 20 members by Michael McFarland, a county Leitrim native, who first joined the Order in Ireland in 1850. This may very well have been Ohio’s first Division.

Hibernian participation in a St. Patrick’s Day Parade came as early as 1869 in Cincinnati when  Archbishop Purcell blessed their new banners and continued the practice with regularity thereafter every March 17th.

The first record of the AOH in the state’s largest city comes in 1871 when a division was organized in Cleveland. By 1873 the Cleveland division as well as a branch from Berea, were participating in the local St. Patrick’s Day Parade, and a year later the AOH in the strength of 400 men marched to St. Malachy Church for mass and holy communion. There were 4  divisions in the city alone in 1875.

The Ohio AOH division grew rapidly. In the summer of 1875, Toledo organized it’s first division under President P. Garry. Springfield was organized on March 28, 1876, with W.L. Brian as President. A division in Ironton was started the same year, and Columbus joined in during August under president Peter Henchan.

In September of 1877 the Zanesville division, in an unusual step for the time, appointed a German priest as it’s Chaplain, a Father Metzger. Dayton’s first division came into existence in 1878, and John M. Sweetman, who would go on to lead the Irish farming colony in Minnesota, served as it’s recording secretary; a second Dayton Division appeared in 1886. Sweetman invested $8000 to keep the unit prosperous and enable benefits to be payed with certainty. Between June, 1875, and May of the next year, nine new counties were added in Ohio. By 1884 there were 17 divisions in the state, 27 different counties- the 4th largest in the country.

A second Dayton division was chartered in 1886. Then, on May 15, 1889, 56 years and 11 days after the original charter had been granted, the present division 1 received it’s charter.

At the Ohio State Convention of 1900, held in Toledo, James T. Carroll was elected State Secretary. Through his leadership in the Ohio State Board he authorized the creation of a military division known as the Hibernian Rifles. On July 18, 1905, the first regiment, Hibernian Rifles in Ohio, was established at the Chittenden Hotel, Columbus, Ohio. Officers named were: Ryan, M.J., Colonel; Owens, Charles E., Major; Shovlin, PJ, Lieutenant Colonel, Springfield; Burke, A.E., Major, Second Battalion, Cleveland, among others.

By 1906, Dayton had 3 divisions and there were 101 in the state of Ohio. Although the drop in the number of Irish-born in Ohio had been severe between 1910 and 1930, the  45% decline was less than every other Midwestern state except for Illinois. The largest cities didn’t feel the losses as badly as the smaller communities.

Ohio divisions have at several points taken strong stands on Irish political activities. The combined Cincinnati divisions hosted enthusiastically the visiting Michael Davitt in 1866 and collected $1000 for John Redmond in 1909. Youngstown division #2 became a vociferous Devalera supporter in 1920 in preference to the Devoy and Cohalan factions. Two years later these factions crystallized into Republican and free state factions.
The first reliable membership figures show that in 1892 there were 5810 men in 92 divisions in in the society, increasing two years later to an all-time record of 101 divisions and 5853 men. A sharp decline set in after this, dropping the membership total to 3257 in 82 divisions in 1900. While an Ohio delegate claimed there were 6000 members enrolled under John Cantwell after a period in which the society was “Practically in dissolution and disintegration”, the totals show only 4132. In 1904 there were 5410 members recorded, and additional divisions in Piqua, Jacksonville, Middletown, Oxford, East  Liverpool, Urbana, Toronto, Wellington, Lorain, London, Marion, Junction City, Barberton, Canton, Dennison, and Medina. Whilst Illinois, Indiana, and Michigan were all climbing in membership, Ohio fell to 3332 in 1916. The post-war era saw the totals drop to below 1000 by the late 1920s. Cincinnati was down to two divisions by 1930.

The remaining divisions in Cleveland, Cincinnati, Youngstown, and Dayton continued sending delegates to the national conventions in the late 1930s, but by 1941 there were 111 Hibernians in five divisions left in the state. It did show gains in 1946 though, with 330 men in nine divisions on the rolls.

How We Do It

Active across the United States, The Order seeks to aid the newly arrived Irish, both socially, politically. The many Divisions and club facilities located throughout the U.S. traditionally have been among the first to welcome new Irish Americans. Here, the Irish culture — art, dance, music, and sports are fostered and preserved. The newcomers can meet some of “their own” and are introduced to the social atmosphere of the Irish-American community. the AOH has been at the political forefront for issues concerning the Irish, such as; Immigration Reform; economic Incentives both here and in Ireland; the human rights issues addressed in the MacBride Legislation; Right-To-Life; and a peaceful and just solution to the issues that divide Ireland. The Order has also provided a continuing bridge with Ireland for those who are generations removed from our country.

Historical Men of Mention

Michael Collins Brief

Michael (“Mick”) Collins (Irish: Mícheál Ó Coileáin; 16 October 1890 – 22 August 1922) was an Irish revolutionary leader, Minister for Finance and MP for Cork South in the First Dáil of 1919, Director of Intelligence for the IRA, and member of the Irish delegation during the Anglo-Irish Treaty negotiations. Subsequently he was both Chairman of the Provisional Government and Commander-in-chief of the National Army. Throughout this time, at least as of 1919, he was also President of the Irish Republican Brotherhood. He was shot and killed in August 1922, during the Irish Civil War.

James Connolly (Irish: Séamas Ó Conghaile; 5 June 1868 – 12 May 1916) was an Irish and Scottish socialist leader. He was born in the Cowgate area of Edinburgh, Scotland, to Irish immigrant parents. He left school for working life at the age of 11, but became one of the leading Marxist theorists of his day. Though proud of his Irish background, he also took a role in Scottish and American politics. He was shot by a British firing squad following his involvement in the Easter Rising of 1916.

Kevin Gerard Barry (Irish: Caoimhín de Barra; 20 January 1902 – 1 November 1920) was the first Republican to be executed by the British since the leaders of the Easter Rising. Barry was sentenced to death for his part in an IRA operation which resulted in the deaths of three British soldiers. Barry’s death is considered a watershed moment in the Irish conflict. His execution outraged public opinion in Ireland and throughout the world, because of his youth. The timing of his death was also crucial, in that his hanging came only days after the death on hunger strike of Terence MacSwiney – the Republican Lord Mayor of Cork – and brought public opinion to fever-pitch.

His treatment and death attracted great international attention and attempts were made by U.S., British, and Vatican officials to secure a reprieve. His execution and MacSwiney’s death precipitated a dramatic escalation in violence as the Irish War of Independence entered its most bloody phase.

Because of his refusal to inform on his comrades while under torture, Kevin Barry was to become one of the most celebrated of Republican martyrs. A ballad bearing his name, relating the story of his execution, is popular to this day.