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RAFFLE - RAFFLE -
RAFFLE
Brothers-
As you may be aware, the New York State Board is sponsoring a jumbo
raffle to benefit our National Convention Delegate Assistance fund. More
than $7000 in prizes will be awarded, all for a low $10 per ticket
price. The winning tickets will be drawn at our State board meeting on
May 3rd in East Durham. ALL proceeds from this raffle will be used to
subsidize delegates to the National Convention. Every State board member
who was at our State meeting in Binghamton in October received 50
tickets. If no tickets have found there way back to your jurisdiction or
if you need more tickets, please contact NYS Vice President Chip McLean
or myself immediately.
We can certainly make as many tickets available as our needed in any
jurisdiction, but you must let us know that there is a need. I would
greatly appreciate it if you could share this information with anyone in
your area that may have a question about this raffle, so that any
confusion can be avoided.
Once the profit from the raffle has been determined, we will publicize
the dollar amount per delegate that will be given in assistance to our
members. Basically this is how it will work.
1) Delegates will go the National convention.
2) Delegates will receive a delegate seating card before voting, and
keep the portion that is not collected by the election committee.
3) If a Division or County Board paid for your expenses to attend the
convention, your division or county President will collect these cards
and send them to the State Secretary and a check will be sent to your
division or county on a per member basis
4) If you pay for your own expenses, you will send this card to the
State Secretary yourself and be reimbursed for a portion of your
expenses.
Again. right now the key is to sell as many of these $10 tickets as
possible. I you need more or have questions, e-mail NYS Vice-President
Chip McLean at chipaohny@yahoo.com or call him at (718) 981-3196,.
Remember that this money is being raised for the benefit of local
divisions and their members, not for the State Board. Every dollar
counts. Please have a happy new year, and help us make this raffle a
success.
Yours in our motto,
Matt Nelligan
NYS AOH President
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WARNING - MOVIE - "THE
GOLDEN COMPASS"
As we approach this holiday season you
should be aware of and make your members aware of this new attack on our
faith. On December 7th there is the movie being released called THE
GOLDEN COMPASS staring Nicole Kidman. This movie is primarily advertised
for our children to see. It was written by none other than Philip
Pullman an Englishman that is an avowed atheist!! The fear is that after
seeing this movie, that parents will go out and buy the other books in
this trilogy as Christmas gifts. What is disturbing is that these books
which the movie is the first one of the trilogy series called THE DARK
MATERIALS also written by Philip Pullman. In an interview with Al Roker
on the “Today” show November 2nd Roker mentioned that the Catholic
League is charging that Pullman is selling “atheism to kids”, Pullmans
response was: “Well, you know I always mistrust people that tell us how
we should understand something. They know better than we do what the
book means or what this means and how we should read it, and whether we
should read it or not. I don’t think that’s democratic. I prefer to
trust the reader. I prefer to trust what I call the democracy of
reading. Then everybody has the right to form their own opinion, and
read what they like, and come to their own conclusion about it. So I
trust the reader.”
The Catholic League had a great response, but the matter at hand about
this movie is that it starts out in a very light hearted manner, but the
main goal is to teach our children that there is NO GOD!! In the movie
there are some very strange things, and at the end a boy & girl are
supposed to be depicting Adam & Eve, and then they KILL GOD!!
My only hope as your Catholic Action Chairman is that we get this
message out in time for all our Brothers to see, and make the decision
not to let their children see it. By the way there is already plans if
this movie does well at the box office to go on to the next movie in
this trilogy.
This we must not let happen to our children,
our faith is already under attack by these atheists. But to target the
most vulnerable section of our society, the children.
http://www.catholicleague.org/
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At the New York State Board meeting, held on
Saturday, October 27, 2007, the State Board voted unanimously to send
this letter to Arby's CEO, Roland C. Smith:
October 31st, 2007
Roland C. Smith
CEO, Arby’s
1155 Perimeter Center West
Atlanta GA. 30338
Dear Mr. Smith:
On behalf of the more than 15,000 members of our organization in New
York State, I
write to protest your recent commercial featuring apes performing
traditional Irish Dance.
At our recent State meeting we voted unanimously to condemn this
commercial and to seek an
apology. Our organization was founded in 1836 to stand guard against the
ethnic and
religious bigotry that was so prevalent at the time. Luckily most of
these issues have been
resolved and an atmosphere of respect generally accompanies all
discussions of Irish
culture. Unfortunately, your commercial plays into many old and damaging
stereotypes about
the Irish people, that have long been discredited and abandoned by
mainstream society. While
I am sure that this was not your intent, that fact remains that this has
been one of the
results.
I have enclosed several examples of cartoons that have been published in
the past that
depict the Irish as gorillas or as less than human. Cartoonist Thomas
Nast who drew cartoons
for Harpers Weekly used these offensive images of the Irish quite
frequently. This helped to
stir up a good deal of anti-Irish and anti-Catholic bigotry in the
United States.
I urge you to immediately stop the use of this offensive commercial and
to issue an
apology to the more than 40 million Irish-Americans whom you have
insulted in this ill
conceived marketing campaign. .
I eagerly await your reply.
Sincerely,
Matt Nelligan
New York State President
Ancient Order of Hibernians in America
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NEW YORK
STATE AOH ENDORSES US-IRISH RECIPROCAL IMMIGRATION DEAL FOR THE FURTHER
PROMOTION OF NORTHERN PEACE PROCESS
October 4, 2007 – Ancient Order of Hibernians
New York State President Matt Nelligan and Board Chairman of Immigration
Dan Dennehy reported recent developments on the topic of immigration and
the official position of the New York State Board on this important
topic.
The NYS Board of the AOH applauds the efforts of Irish Foreign Affairs
Minister Dermot Ahern in addressing the issue of immigration between the
United States and Ireland during his recent visit to the US. In meetings
with top US officials including Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice,
Minister Ahern expressed his desire to pursue a reciprocal allotment of
visas for the people of Ireland and the US. Ahern pointed out that many
of the undocumented Irish are here as a direct result of the past
conflict and political situation in the North and with the development
of an all-island economy, Ireland would benefit from a reciprocal deal
with the US. We agree with Ahern in his statement that any new agreement
must take account of the heightened awareness of security in the US
following the attacks of 9/11/2001 while making it easier for Irish
people to move to the US and for Americans to live in Ireland.
The robust nature of the Irish economy has strengthened US business ties
and many Americans desire to work there. Currently, it is virtually
impossible for Irish immigrants to secure legal working status in the
US. Last year an appalling low number of Irish were able to secure
Diversity Lottery visas. The Irish received approximately 250 out of the
50,000 available visas. The NYS AOH believes that a reciprocal
immigration deal would repair these disparities.
The US has played an integral role in the establishment of the Northern
Ireland Peace Process. The NYS AOH is proud to have promoted our US
government in the development of a lasting peace and justice for the
people of the North. A fair and rational allotment of visas to the US
would help the people from both cultures in the North and surrounding
border counties to secure their newfound peace and prosperity. By
legally working in the US, they could return home with job skills and a
working knowledge of living in a just, democratic society.
The NYS AOH has consistently supported all Visa Programs specific to
Irish Immigrants and all bilateral agreements between the Republic of
Ireland and the US. We strive to secure a fair quota of work visas for
Irish people to fix the inequities of the past. We believe very strongly
that the cause of undocumented Irish Immigrants and the Security
interests of the United States are best served by this approach. As
Irish-Americans we cannot ignore the plight of our Irish brothers and
sisters from both sides of the border, and at the same time we should
never support any plan that may undermine the security of our country.
Failure of comprehensive Immigration reform, due in part to the concerns
of many Americans about its ability to address security issues, points
to the fact that Minister Ahern is on the right track. Now it is time
for all interested parties to join us in convincing our government
officials to adopt a workable and fair approach to this issue.
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RULES FOR NEW
YORK STATE AOH RECRUITMENT AND RETENTION PROMOTIONAL GRANTS
The New York State Board will allocate
$3000.00 to this program to assist local divisions and counties in the
promotion of our order and the recruitment and retention of New Members.
Local jurisdictions will be eligible for the purposes listed below and
other related activities. Keep in mind that the committee will be the
final judge of what does and does not fall into our criteria. In
addition the committee reserves the right to award grants at lower
amounts than those requested. |
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Grant Information - (WORD)
Grant Infrormation - (PDF) |
Grant Application - (WORD)
Grant Application - (PDF) |
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PRESS RELEASE -
JULY19, 2007
Albany Diocese Newspaper
"The Evangelist" |
IRISH-CATHOLIC ORGANIZATION
Youngest AOH president plans to expand group's work
BY PAT PASTERNAK
STAFF WRITER
When Matthew Nelligan, 34, was installed last week as president of the
New York State Ancient Order of Hibernians, he became the youngest
person to hold that position.
A parishioner of Holy Cross Church in Albany, he has been a member of
the AOH since 1992. He joined so he could express his Irish heritage in
a positive way.
"In our family, we were raised to have pride in our Irish heritage and
to be devout Catholics," he said. "Our parents taught us that being
Irish and Catholic went hand-in-hand, that you really couldn't separate
the two."
Involvement
Mr. Nelligan, who has held several AOH offices, is also president of the
annual Irish 2000 Music and Arts festival at the Altamont Fairgrounds,
which raises money for charitable organizations, including the
Irish-American Cultural Center in Albany. He is also on the board of
directors of the Irish American Museum in East Durham.
"I'm involved in these organizations because I believe that it is
important to develop and strengthen our ideals as citizens and our
religious directives as Catholics," he said.
Goals
As AOH president, Mr. Nelligan said, "I want to encourage our members to
become as involved as they can in their parish life. With the shortage
of priests we are currently experiencing, lay involvement in parish life
is not just important; it's necessary."
He also hopes to expand AOH membership throughout New York State.
"Our membership is aging," he noted. "Right now, only 31 of New York's
62 counties have an AOH division. We are developing a state-wide program
of recruitment. In order to do this, we are [placing billboards]
throughout New York that will say, 'Irish Need Apply'" for membership in
AOH.
Taking action
Mr. Nelligan will continue the group's long-standing tradition of
fundraising for charity and sponsoring involvement in public policy
issues.
"Traditionally, AOH members have been staunch supporters of
right-to-life issues," he explained. "Each year, with the Knights of
Columbus, we take part in a prayer rally against the death penalty at
the Capitol in Albany. I see our job as continuing that support through
increased publicity."
The group also provides grants for seminarians through Project St.
Patrick, a statewide effort, and offers college scholarships to high
school students.
A graduate of Siena College in Loudonville, Matthew Nelligan teaches at
Guilderland High School. The AOH was first organized in Ireland for the
purpose of defending Gaelic values, and for the protection the Catholic
Church and its clergy. Formed in New York in 1836, it is the oldest
Catholic lay organization in America. For more information on the AOH,
go to www.nyaoh.com or www.laohnys.org.)
(7/19/07)
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PRESS RELEASE -
JULY18, 2007 |
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NEW YORK HIBERNIANS SELECT LEADERS |
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Albany NY July 13th 2007
Nearly 800 delegates and friends of
the Hibernians gathered in Albany for the 94th Biennial New York State
Convention and elected a new slate of officers for 2007-2009.
Matt Nelligan, a native of Albany will take the helm as President.
He is a teacher in the Guilderland School
District and resides in Guilderland with his wife Jennifer and four year
old daughter Molly. Matt is an Irish music enthusiast and for nearly a
decade has organized the largest outdoor Irish music festival in New
York, which has raised more than $300,000 for a variety of charities
including the Capital District
Irish Center. His family traces their roots to County Sligo in Ireland.
At the age of 34, Nelligan will be the
youngest State President ever elected in New York State.
Charles “Chip” McLean of Staten Island NY
got the nod for Vice-President, James J. Burke of Massapequa Park NY was
tapped for Treasurer and Michael J. McNabb of Auburn NY was selected for
Secretary.
“The AOH must greatly increase its membership in New York State and its
name recognition and
identification. Currently only half of New York State counties have a
Hibernian division, this is not good
enough for New York State and it is not good enough for me.” stated the
newly elected President as he
announced several key appointments. Liam McNabb of Albany NY was chosen
as State Organizer, Leo
Kane of Binghamton NY for Right to Life Chair and Dan Dennehy of The
Bronx was chosen to head the
State Committee on Immigration.
The President met with the newly appointed and elected Officers to shape
a plan for acting on a number of
policy resolutions adopted at the convention including those addressing
immigration, abortion, and the
pursuit of justice for the Finucane family, the victims and families of
the Dublin Monaghan bombings and
the search for truth about police and loyalist death squad collusion.
For further details please contact Brian Nelligan at 518-488-8996 or
nysaohpublicity@gmail.com
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| NY AOH Deputy Chaplin Ordained
On June 10th, 2006, NY AOH Deputy Chaplin, Father Henry Reid, was
ordained for the Diocese of Rockville Center at a Mass held in St. Agnes
Cathedral.
A long time member of Father Murphy Of Boulavogue, Division 9, Suffolk
County, Father Henry is a personal friend to many in our Order as well
as a first hand example of the importance of Project St. Patrick. He has
been assigned to the Holy Family Parish in Hicksville, NY.
Bishop William Murphy and Father Henry Reid are shown at left outside
St. Agnes Cathedral after the Mass of Ordination.
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