An Nuacht

The Newsletter of

The Order of the Friendly Sons of the Shillelagh - Essex Division

A 501c(3) Non Profit Organization

December 4, 2024

Inside this Edition

• Presidents Message
• FSOS Christmas Party
• FSOS Kids Christmas Party
• WO SPDPC Announces DGM Jim McGuire
• 2025 Member Dues
• Essex Shillelaghs GAA Report
• Essex Shillelaghs Pipe Band Report
• Ancient Ireland: The Fenian Brotherhood
• Welcome New Members
• Good & Welfare
• Shillelaghs Out and About
• Shillelagh Uniforms
• Member Dues
• Join a Committee
• 2024 FSOS Calendar

Wednesday December 11, 2024 7:30PM Start!

Our December monthly meeting will be held on our regular 2nd Wednesday of the month.

Looking forward to seeing you there!

Get ready to jingle and mingle at the Annual Shillelagh Christmas Party, happening at the fabulous Shillelagh Club on Friday, December 6 at 7 PM!

This is the ultimate night of cheer, featuring an open bar and a mouthwatering buffet that’ll make your taste buds dance! We want to see you in your best (or fabulously ugliest) holiday sweater, so bring your A-game and let’s deck the halls with laughter and joy!

The party is free to members in good standing (paid 2024) and your guest.

FSOS Member Jim McGuire Elected Deputy Grand Marshal for the 2025 West Orange St. Patrick’s Day Parade

The Friendly Sons of the Shillelagh (Essex Division) are proud to announce that our member, Jim McGuire, has been elected by the West Orange St. Patrick’s Day Parade Committee to serve as a Deputy Grand Marshal for the 2025 parade! As the FSOS nominee to the parade committee, this honor recognizes Jim’s remarkable contributions to our community and and promoting Irish culture.

Originally from New Haven, CT and a proud Providence College graduate, Jim joined the Friendly Sons in 2015 and quickly became an integral part of our organization. In January 2023, Jim was elected Corresponding Secretary, where he strengthened the bonds within our membership through his monthly publication of this newsletter.

Most notably, Jim spearheaded the founding of the Essex Shillelaghs Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) program. After presenting his idea to the Friendly Sons in January 2023, Jim and his committee worked tirelessly to make the vision a reality. By August 2023, the Essex Shillelaghs GAA program was officially launched, boasting a youth Gaelic football league with 85 children and a thriving women’s team—the “Shi-Ladies”—with nearly 20 members. The program operates in collaboration with the New York GAA Minor Board, the New York Ladies Gaelic Football Association, and the Town of West Orange Department of Recreation.

Outside the FSOS, Jim is a respected business leader, owning and operating Foritas, Inc., a telecommunications and technology company based in New York City. He resides in Maplewood, NJ, with his wife, Dr. Ann Marie Murph. He and Ann Marie have two children, James (New York, NY) and Caleigh (St. Petersburgh, FL).

As we look forward to the 2025 West Orange St. Patrick’s Day Parade, we know that Jim will represent both the FSOS and the broader Irish-American community with pride and distinction.

Please join us in congratulating Jim McGuire on this tremendous honor.

We can’t wait for the Parade Investiture Dinner on February 16 and the march through the streets of West Orange on March 16!

Go raibh míle maith agat, Jim!

The Friendly Sons demonstrated their big hearts and generosity this Thanksgiving. Here are some of our successes:

Editor's Note: Ancient Ireland is a new feature of AN NUACHT and hopes to bring to life the richness of Irish history with curated and authored articles by members. Submissions for publication here and at AncientIreland.com are encouraged, subject to Editorial staff approval.

The Fenian Brotherhood

By Mike Palazzoto

We are all familiar with the Great Hunger that contributed to the Irish Diaspora. Following the shocking scenes of starvation in Ireland, the Young Irelanders attempted an armed rebellion in 1848, but it failed. Those rebels who escaped arrest fled to Europe and America. In 1853, John O'Mahony traveled to America and ultimately founded the Fenian Brotherhood in 1858, initially as a semi-secret society. John O'Mahony was among many Fenians who saw the American Civil War as an opportunity to gain military experience that could be used in the liberation of Ireland. Many Irishmen joined both the Union and Confederate Armies for that purpose.

During the war years, it was common practice for the armies of the North and South to disperse during the winter months. This was an opportunity for the First National Congress of the Fenian Brotherhood to organize and meet in Chicago in November 1863 resulting in a constitution and removal of the semi-secret status. The British had lobbied President Lincoln not to release army officers who would be free to travel to Chicago, but the US administration was not opposed to the Fenian movement because of Britain's assisting the Confederacy with the CSS Alabama, built in Liverpool, and British port-blockade runners smuggling in weapons to the Confederacy.

At the end of the U.S. Civil War in 1865, an American ship, Erin’s Hope, was intercepted by the British navy enroute to Ireland. The vessel was loaded with men and ammunition bound for a planned Fenian revolt. When the mission failed, the American Fenians held an emergency convention in Philadelphia where it was pushed for an invasion of the British North American colonies of Canada. The purpose of the planned raid was to seize the transportation network of Canada to force the British to exchange Ireland's freedom for possession of their Province of Canada. The Fenian Brotherhood raised funds by selling bonds in the name of the “Irish Republic”. Large quantities of arms were purchased, and preparations were openly made by veteran Civil War officers for a coordinated series of raids into Canada, which the United States government took no major steps to prevent.

On June 1, 1866, an Irish-American force of 600 men, largely Civil War veterans, crossed the Niagara River into Canada and occupied Fort Erie, a British fortification. On the following day, the Fenians encountered a column of Canadian soldiers who were quickly routed by the veteran Fenian force. The skirmish became known as the Battle of Ridgeway and resulted in the death of 2 Fenians and 28 Canadian volunteers.



On June 5, President Andrew Johnson ultimately issued an executive order requiring enforcement of the neutrality laws that made attacking Canada illegal. Within a week, the U.S. Army had orders to seize Fenian weapons and ammunition, prevent further border crossings, and arrest anyone who appeared to be a Fenian. Many Fenians were later charged with violating neutrality laws, though those charges were eventually dropped.

Subsequent attacks on Canada were proposed at the Fenian Brotherhood’s convention in 1868, and the Fenian Raids ultimately resumed in April of 1870. The Battle of Trout River in May of 1870 resulted in a disorganized rout for the Fenians, and upon returning to the United States, the leaders were arrested, charged with violating neutrality laws, and imprisoned, though they were pardoned by President Ulysses S. Grant in October 1870. Subsequent Fenian raids in Manitoba and Dakota territory in 1871 attracted even fewer Fenian volunteers, and the raids petered out.

One major outcome of the Fenian raids was the joining of the British North American colonies of New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Canada East, and Canada West in Confederation to form the Dominion of Canada.  Another interesting outcome: In 1881, the submarine Fenian Ram, designed by John Philip Holland for use against the British, which was funded by the Fenians' Skirmishing Fund. Other than trial runs, it was never used and is now on display at the Paterson Museum in Paterson, NJ.

This retelling of the invasion of Canada was prompted by Bill Kohlman who said: “That's something I was never taught in High School.”

About the Writer

Mike Palazzotto has been a member of the FSOS since 2017, tracing his Irish roots to County Kerry. Mike has a background in Electrical Engineering & Computer Science with a passionate interest interests in prehistoric and ancient peoples, and their explorations & discoveries.