Ancient Order of Hibernians dedicate Mass rock

On Sept. 18, the Ancient Order of Hibernians joined the Ladies Ancient Order of Hibernians, local elected officials, and a Catholic priest to dedicate a Mass rock at the Thomas and Kathleen Daly Clarke Homesite in Manorville. A Mass followed the dedication, which honored the Clarkes’ efforts in the fight for Irish independence as well as their devotion to practicing and preserving Catholicism.

“My brothers and sisters,” Fr. Henry’s dedication began, “today we gather together as God’s holy people celebrating this 25th Sunday in ordinary time, and dedicating this holy altar, in honor of those who have given their lives for the faith, in honor of those who’ve gone before us, handing down their traditions.”

Before the dedication, Ancient Order of Hibernians Suffolk County historian Joe Kelly provided the crowd before him with historical context for the Clarkes’ journeys. He discussed the lasting impact of the Irish Penal Laws that began in 1695, which suppressed the Gaelic language, limited Catholics’ right to property, and forced members of the Catholic clergy into hiding. This later effect is now remembered through dedicated Mass rocks, natural stones found in glens and desolate hillsides in Ireland, where priests were forced to practice their faith with their flock.

“We’re here, as we look forward, to look back to a time when in native Ireland, the Irish were suppressed, the Roman Catholic [faith], the Gaelic language and the Irish culture,” Brookhaven Town supervisor Ed Romaine said. “We’re here to remember a group of people that would not go quietly into the night, that stood up and fought for their faith.

“We’re here to remember, with this rock, all the rocks in the glens and woods of Ireland, that those who were faithful met, and with their priest, prayed their religion, spoke their language and remembered,” he continued. “Today is a day of remembrance, where we remember what happened, and we celebrate our faith and our heritage.”

Among those who kept Irish faith and culture alive were Thomas and Kathleen Daly Clarke. In 1987, the Ancient Order of Hibernians uncovered the land deed verifying the Clarkes owned a 60-acre farm in Manorville from 1905 to 1907. The Ancient Order of Hibernians and the Ladies Ancient Order of Hibernians then erected an obelisk made of granite from County Wicklow, Ireland, on their farm in the Clarkes’ honor.

Thomas Clarke was the lead signer on the 1916 Proclamation, which called for Irish independence from Britain, and was a critical figure in the Irish Republican Brotherhood and the 1916 Easter Rising. He, along with several other leaders, was executed following the mired uprising. While his efforts may have failed to free Ireland from British rule, they influenced years of perseverance through strife that would engender Ireland as a nation.

Kathleen Daly Clarke was an influential figure in her own right, aiding in efforts for Irish independence. She also forged a political career for herself that culminated in her serving as the first female Lord Mayor of Dublin in 1939, a position she held until she retired in 1941. She died in 1972.

Past and current presidents of the Ancient Order of Hibernians and the Ladies Ancient Order of Hibernians filled the crowd. Many of them spoke during the dedication and performed readings during the Mass, including Vic Vogel, a former president for the Ancient Order of Hibernians Suffolk County and New York State chapters. He discussed how the Mass rock came to be, 35 years after the initial marking of the Clarke Homesite.

“A few years ago, after the New York State board meeting in East Durham, [Fr. Henry] said Mass at the Mass rock in Green County, and that was such a successful event, such a moving event, I decided to make it a goal to get a Mass rock in Suffolk County,” Vogel said. “Take a look around. I think in a few years, we could make this site into a national park. We’ve just begun.”

Bill Gorham, the current president of the Suffolk County chapter, was thankful Vogel implored him to get a Mass rock in Manorville

“Vic came to me the first day—the first hour—I was president, and said he wanted me to do this,” Gorham recalled. “We walked right over to Fr. Henry; he thought it was a great idea. And this is just fabulous for you to all come here and look at this now; it is such a site.”