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HISTORY
of The Society of the Friends of St. Patrick Organized on March 17, 1771 at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania A Charitable and Fraternal organization honoring the historic ties between Ireland and the United States Suite 506 Bailey Bldg. Philadelphia, PA. 19107 A History of concern since 1771 For more than two centuries, The Society of the Friends of St. Patrick has gathered those with a love of Ireland to encourage their fraternal association and to provide aid to worthwhile charitable, patriotic and educational causes. The Society is today, as it was at its inception, nondenominational and welcomes persons from all religious backgrounds. Citizens of the United States
of Irish lineage, over eighteen and of good moral character are
eligible for membership. The people of Ireland throughout
their turbulent history have not been strangers to want and privation.
Their descendants in many lands bear with them a long memory of
suffering and deep faith in the ideals of freedom and aid for
the oppressed. This is why in 1771 a group of Irishmen, Protestant
and Catholic, met in Philadelphia to form a society to assist
emigrants from Ireland. In early America, emigrants from other
lands frequently came ashore penniless, without friends to guide
them and without a knowledge of their new country. From its inception,
The Society of the Friends of St. Patrick provided funds,
guidance and companionship to such new arrivals. In 1792, members
of the Society were deputed to meet ships in Philadelphia harbor
to extend aid and friendship. As immigration grew to help build
a new nation so did the Society's service. Through the first century of its existence, the Society inspired its members to aid the victims of famine, eviction and exile from Ireland. This was especially true in the 1840's when calamity of the Great Hunger, the Famine due to failure of the potato crop and the evils of an oppressive government affected the Irish people. During this period when Ireland's
population was decreased by half, the Society's members worked
with members of the Society of Friends and numerous other groups
to relieve famine suffering. As late as 1879, the Society's minutes
show continuing concern for famine conditions in Ireland. Toward the end of the nineteenth century, the Society extended aid to victims of floods and natural disasters. The Johnstown flood of 1889, the San Francisco earthquake, the Russian Jewish Relief Fund and victims of the Spanish-American War all received assistance, And the old fidelity to Ireland remained. In 1893, for instance, 308 immigrants from 21 arriving ships received help. The birth of an independent
Irish state was attended with widespread warfare, and in 1920,
the Society provided $5000 for relief of those who suffered due
to hostilities. As conditions under a free and independent Irish
government decreased. The Society encouraged greater interest
in ties of friendship between America and Ireland. Such projects
as the erection of a statue of Commodore John Barry, father of
the American Navy, in front of Independence Hall, symbolized the
contributions of Irish people to the United States. In 1954, a biennial scholarship program to enable Irish graduate students to study in the United States was begun. In the first 27 years of this program, 13 graduates of Irish Universities have attained Masters Degrees at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. The full tuition for these studies being paid by the Society. This scholarship rates high on the list of our Society's many Goodwill accomplishments. It has succeeded to a first-rate educational experience, but also an in-depth look at our great country and its people. The mutual benefits are evident in both Ireland and the United States. The Society of the Friends of St. Patrick, in its third century, looks forward to continued service in Irish-American affairs and the encouragement of social, educational and charitable endeavor. "I feel strongly the ties
of common kinship. All of us of Irish descent are bound together
by ties that come from a common experience ..." (Senator)
John Fitzgerald Kennedy March 17, 1957 Presidents
of the United States who have been members of |