Ladies Ancient Order of Hibernians

← The Abbey Theatre: Where Modern Irish Theatre Began. The unprepossessing facade of the old theatre (burned in 1951) belies its significance in the history of theatre and in the political and cultural history of Ireland. Founded in 1899 by Lady Gregory, W. B. Yeats, and Edward Martyn, the "Irish Literary Theatre" first presented plays at The Gaiety Theatre; through several organizations, the national theatre finally moved to the Abbey in 1904. Names associated with The Abbey represent a virtual Who's Who of twentieth century Irish literary, arts, and political circles: AE, Maud Gonne, Jack Yeats, Padraic Collum, Thomas MacDonagh, Brendan Behan, Samuel Beckett, and Brian Friel, to name a few. Photo courtesy of Abbey Theatre/Amharclann na Mainistreach (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abbey_Theatre). More on the culture page.

The Ladies Ancient Order of Hibernians was organized in Omaha, Nebraska, in 1894 as the “Daughters of Erin,” which pledged itself to God and Country. At the National Convention of the Ancient Order of Hibernians (organized in 1836 in New York) held in Saratoga Springs in 1906, the name of the organization was changed to the Ladies Auxiliary to the Ancient Order of Hibernians and functioned as a separate organization. At the National Convention in 1984 held in Albany, New York, the name was changed to the “Ladies Ancient Order of Hibernians.” At its founding, the primary purpose of the LAOH was to protect young immigrant Irish girls, assist them in securing employment, and provide social interaction with Irish and Irish Americans to help them from becoming homesick and discouraged.

The motto of the Ladies Ancient Order of Hibernians is “Friendship, Unity and Christian Charity.” St. Brigid is the patron saint of our organization. Our purpose is to promote Friendship, Unity, and Christian Charity among our members, to foster and sustain loyalty to our country and community, to aid and advance by legitimate means the aspirations and endeavors of all Irish people for a Irish Republic which shall include all 32 counties of Ireland, to promote Irish history, traditions, and culture, and to support the Church through mission work and Catholic action activities.

Our organization is open to all Catholic women who are of Irish descent or married to someone of Irish descent and at least 16 years of age.

The Franklin County Division #1 (Countess de Markievicz) was chartered in 1981 and named after the Irish patriot Countess Constance (Gore-Booth) de Markievicz. We are a small but dynamic group of women who enjoy working together to raise funds for charity.

We celebrate our Faith and our heritage in a variety ways. As lady Hibernians, we are required to receive Holy Communion between Ash Wednesday and Trinity Sunday. We also hold  a Memorial Mass for departed members at least once a year. We also observe five national holidays: St. Bridgid's Day February 1, St. Patrick's Day March 17, Independence Day July 4, Feast of Our Lady of Knock August 21 and the Feast of the Holy Innocents December 28.  These holidays are usually celebrated by members attending Mass at a local church and then breaking bread together at a nearby restaurant. 

In recent years, our division has supported a number of local charities and worthy causes––the Columbus Cancer Clinic, JOIN (Joint Organization for Inner-City Needs), The Salesians. We are a Community Partner of the Dublin Irish Festival. We support additional charities sponsored by the national LAOH.