February 17, 2011
By Staff Reporter
Boyle, who was born in County Armagh, had mounted a challenge against incumbent president Jack Meehan of Massachusetts starting some months ago.
And with strong backing from Hibernians from states including Pennsylvania, New Jersey and New York, Boyle’s election had seemed all but assured as Hibernians gathered in New Orleans in the middle of last week for four days of meetings and greetings.
And this is what transpired at Saturday evening’s vote.
Brendan Moore of New York was elected national vice president while Judge James McKay of Louisiana, who had been pivotal in organizing the New Orleans event, was elected national treasurer.
Elected as national directors of the order were Joseph Brady of Rhode Island, Frank Kearny of Connecticut, Keith Carney of Washington, D.C., Danny O’Connell of Ohio, Martin Kelly of New York and Chris Norris from Pennsylvania. Father Patrick Sullivan was appointed national chaplain.
The election defeat was a clear disappointment for incumbent national president Jack Meehan and his supporters. In a statement posted on the Hibernian Internet news site, Meehan said that the convention was now in the archives of “our noble order.”
“Although I wish that the outcome had been different, Maire and I would like to take this
opportunity to extend our congratulations and best wishes to the newly elected national officers of both the AOH and LAOH
“We would be very remiss if we did not offer our most sincere thanks to our new AOH national treasurer, Brother Jim McKay, Past LAOH national president Terry Kelleher, and their outstanding convention committee for a
superb job. Although it will be in a somewhat different capacity than the one in which I have had the honor to serve for the last several years, Maire and I look forward to sharing the treasured company of our brother and sister Hibernians for many years to come,” Meehan said.
Meanwhile, the Seamus Boyle presidency began with an early Sunday morning meeting in the Hilton Hotel, the venue for the convention with a meeting that followed Mass and gala installation the previous evening that featured floats and a motorcycle escort.
The meeting was attended by a number of new and former national officers including past national presidents Joe Roche, Nick Murphy, and Ned McGinley who had formally proposed Seamus Boyle to the convention.
“Our early Sunday meeting meant that we will hit the ground running on immigration, charitable works, Irish culture, and a United Ireland through peaceful means. We will be appointing our new board and the first appointment will be our national chaplain, Father Patrick Sullivan CSC of King’s College in Wilkes-Barre PA, a previous national chaplain.
The face-to-face meeting opportunity was not to be missed if we wish to have a hardworking board in tune with our busy ambitious agenda,” said Boyle in his first statement as national president.