John M. Keane Jr.
President, Division 16
Monmouth County - St. Oliver Plunkett
732-740-6821
Email: Jmkeane63@hotmail.com

Our organization is dedicated to uniting Irish Catholic men in Friendship, Unity, and Catholic Charity. Division #16, Monmouth County- St. Oliver Plunkett, was chartered in September 2002. Division 16 consists of members from St. Thomas More, Our Lady of Mercy, St. Rose of Lima, St. Robert Bellermine, St. Gabriel, and several other parishes in the area.

In our short time as a division we have donated to several local charities including Freehold Area Open Door, St. Vincent dePaul society, Birthright, Monmouth County Child Advocacy, and many state and national charities. We also support Project Children and non-sectarian program that gives an opportunity to Children of Northern Ireland to spend 4 weeks with sponsor families in the United States.

The Ancient Order of Hibernians is a Catholic, Irish American Fraternal Organization. The Order can trace its roots back to a parent organization, of the same name, which has existed in Ireland for over 300 years. However, while the organizations share a common thread, the North American A.O.H. is a separate and much larger organization. The Order has also provided a continuing bridge with Ireland for those who are generations removed from our country.

The Order evolved from a need in the early sixteen hundreds to protect the lives of priests who risked immediate death to keep the Catholic Faith alive in occupied Ireland after the reign of England's King Henry VIII. When England implemented its dreaded Penal Laws in Ireland, various secret social societies were formed across the country.

Similarly, the Ancient Order of Hibernians in America was founded May 4th, 1836 at New York's St. James Church, to protect the clergy and church property from the "Know Nothings" and their followers. At the same time the vast influx of Irish Immigrants fleeing famine issues in Ireland in the late 1840's, prompted a growth of various social societies in the USA - the largest of which was, and continues to be, the Ancient Order of Hibernians.