The Ancient Order of Hibernians in America

  • The Ancient Order of Hibernians (AOH) in America is a Catholic, Irish-American Fraternal Organization founded in New York City in 1836 at New York's St. James Church. It was formed to protect the clergy and the church property from the "Know Nothings" and their followers.
  • The Order can trace its roots back to a parent organization, of the same name, which had existed in Ireland for over 300 years.
  • The Order evolved from a society formed in 1565 in Ireland to protect the priests, who risked immediate death, to keep the Catholic faith alive in occupied Ireland during the reign of England's King Henry VIII.
  • In 1697, when England implemented its Penal Laws in Ireland, secret societies were formed across Ireland to aid the clergy and the people by every means available.
  • The flow of Irish immigrants fleeing The Great Hunger, An Gorta Mor, in Ireland in the late 1840s caused the growth of various social societies in the United States, to aid these refugees, the largest of which was, and continues to be, the Ancient Order of Hibernians.

The Sean MacBride Division

  • The Sean MacBride Division in Trumbull County was formed in June of 1997. The division received its Charter from the late Michael Coogan,  a past National President, past State Board President and State Organizer. A total of 16 members attended to inaugural meeting.

Sean MacBride

The Trumbull County Division of the AOH  is named after Dr. Sean MacBride (1904 - 1988). MacBride was the son of Major John MacBride, who was responsible for the Irish Brigade in 1899 which fought for the Boers against the British in the unsuccessful Transvaal (Boer) War of 1899 - 1902. Major McBride fought the British at Jacob's favtory during the Easter Week Rebellion. He was sentenced to death by the English and executed at Kilmainham Jail on May 5, 1916. Sean MacBride's mother was Maud Gonne MacBride, a beauty and one of the strongest advocates or Irish Nationalism. She was idolized by W. B. Yeats in many of his poems.

Sean MacBride grew up in France and permanently returned to Ireland with his mother in 1918. He immediately joined the Fianna. In 1921, he was with Michael Collins in London during the negotions for the Anglo-Irish Treaty. When the treaty was ratified in 1922, MacBride exhibited his Anti-Treaty philosophy primarily because of the parition of Ireland. He fought against the Irish Free State and was captured and jailed with Ernie O'Mally in the Four Courts Battle. Years later, MacBride succeeded Moss Twomey in 1936 as Chief of Staff of the IRA.

A change in his life occurred and he departed the IRA. He was admitted to the Bar and became a Senior Barrister in 1943. From 1948 to 1951, he was a Minister for Foreign affairs for the Irish Government. He was responsible for declaring Ireland a Republic. He appeared in many leading civil and criminal cases in Ireland, Africa and before International Courts. In 1958, he acted as adviser to the Greek government.

In addition, he was the cofounder of Amnesty International.

In 1974, Sean MacBride was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for Peace and he was awarded the American Medal of Justice by President Jimmy Carter in 1978. His receipt of these awards is quite unique in human history. His work in defense of human rights called him to many parts of the world. He was United Nations Commissioner from 1973 to 1976 and in Iran in 1979 in an effort to secure the release of hostages. MacBride played a significant role and was honored with high office awards and distinctions for various international organizations.

MacBride died in Dublin on January 15, 1988.

He was the author of the MacBride Principles, an anti-discrimination code, which has been opted by many states in America. The MacBride Principles are aimed at forcing American companies operating in Northern Ireland to ensure equal employment opportunities for Catholics who are denied equal rights by the British.