Brothers All:

At our January business meeting we introduced Fr. Jim Arsenault as our new Division Chaplain. Fr. Jim has been a Hibernian for several years and we are thankful for his leadership. He is the Pastor at St. Elizabeth’s and the Dooley Division will host a breakfast after the 10:00  Mass at St. Elizabeth’s on April 23^rd.  Our longtime, beloved Chaplain, Fr. George Zahn, passed away last year.

The Division celebrated the birthday of our namesake James Dooley on January 21^st. His actual birthday is January 17^th.  Dr. Mary Lynn Bayliss gave a great presentation highlighting what the Maymount Estate would have looked like at the time the Dooley’s moved in. I didn’t realize it was a dairy farm at the time.  After the presentation there was a get together at Rare old Times to raise a toast to Major Dooley.

The AOH Virginia State Board held its quarterly meeting on January 28^th in Fairfax. Our very own Brian Kiernan is currently the state president. Please save the weekend of July 15^th. The state convention is being held this year in Old Town Alexandria. More details to come.

The turnout for the raffles sales at St. Bridget’s and St, Michael’s was outstanding. Special thanks to our Gael of the Year John Condon. I believe John was at every Mass over the two weekends. Our last major ticket sale opportunity will be at St. Mary’s the weekend of February 25^th and 26^th.  Let’s keep the momentum going as we get ready for the best month of the year!

Our next business meeting will be Tuesday, February 14^th at 7:00 at St. Michael’s Lake House. I realize this date presents a conflict for many brothers, but we were not able to get a different day to use the Lake House. This is the busiest time of the year, so I didn’t want to skip a month. We’ll do our best to pass along any information needed to ensure we a great St. Patrick’s Day. 

In Friendship, Unity, and Christian Charity,

Mike