Letter to the Board

It is with the deepest humility, tinged with pride, that I thank President Manning and the Members of the AOH New York State Board for the tremendous honor bestowed on me in a special ceremony at the November 6 State Board meeting in Monroe, NY.  After being awarded the state’s first-ever position of Historian Emeritus, saying thank you seems inadequate for so remarkable an honor.  No words can express the gratitude I truly feel for the recognition of what I have enjoyed doing for the more than 50 years of my Hibernian life at all levels of the Order and the pride I feel in the little I have contributed to the reclamation of Irish history for those who may have been less informed through no fault of their own. That may seem to imply vanity on my part, but I assure it is only a reflection of the many great experiences that I have been fortunate to enjoy with all of my brothers sharing the history of our race and our Order.  

Ours is a history that needs reclamation for it had been diminished into insignificance by a colonial power who could not eradicate it so they ridiculed it, belittled attempts to preserve it and erased it from recorded annals. Deeds that could not be erased were twisted and revised.  As G.B. Shaw said: false knowledge it is more dangerous than ignorance.  To have served my brothers as one who tried to keep our true history alive was my greatest pleasure and this honor you have bestowed on me validates my years of effort. The exceptionally beautiful memorial presented as a reminder of this honor has already found a special place next to the Burns-Hayes award I received in 2004.

As long as we have men like the those presently in command, the preservation of our past and its glories are in safe hands.  I wish you all the blessings that come with being Irish and the respect that comes with being a member of the AOH.  I remain at your service in the bonds of friendship, unity and Christian charity,

Mike McCormack, AOH NY State Historian Emeritus