Sir, – Further to Simon Carswell's otherwise excellent article "Oldest Irish society in US opens door to female members" (December 16th), the Friendly Sons of St Patrick is not "the oldest Irish society in the US". Rather, that honour goes to the Charitable Irish Society of Boston, which was founded in 1737, almost four decades before the Friendly Sons began its important work.
The Charitable Irish Society of Boston was founded on March l7th, 1737, by 26 men of Ulster birth or ancestry to provide “relief of poor, aged and infirm persons, such as have been reduced by sickness, shipwreck and other accidental misfortunes”. The Charitable Irish Society’s inclusive membership of Protestants and Catholics reaches back to the mid-18th century. We believe the society was one of the first such groups to bridge this religious divide in America. Our notable members have included John Boyle O’Reilly, Patrick Collins and John F Kennedy. Honorary memberships have been conferred on Charles Parnell, Michael Davitt, and more recently on President Michael D Higgins and former president Mary McAleese. We were delighted to have Ambassador Anne Anderson as our guest on her first official trip to Boston in January 2014.
We are proud that women have been admitted as members of the society for more than four decades, a step we felt was long overdue even then. We understand that our approach has not been followed by some societies, and we recognise the right of others to choose a different path, but accepting all people who share our aspirations and goals has certainly worked for us. We have had three women presidents since 1990, and numerous female board members.
We are therefore pleased that the Friendly Sons of St Patrick has resolved to induct Ms Anderson into its membership next March. – Yours, etc,
Prof CATHERINE
A SHANNON,
Historian,
CHRISTOPHER
A DUGGAN,
President,
Charitable Irish Society,
Lincoln,
Massachusetts.