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The Ancient Order of Hibernians (AOH) is an Irish Catholic fraternal organisation. Members must be Catholic and either Irish-born or of Irish descent. Its largest membership is now in the United States, where it was founded in New York City in 1836. Its name was adopted by groups of Irish immigrants in the United States,〔David W. Miller ''Church, State and Nation in Ireland 1898–1921'' pp. 209–15, Gill & Macmillan (1973) ISBN 0-7171-0645-4〕 its purpose to act as guards to protect Catholic churches from anti-Catholic forces in the mid-19th century, and to assist Irish Catholic immigrants, especially those who faced discrimination or harsh coal mining working conditions. Many members in the coal mining area of Pennsylvania had a background with the Molly Maguires. It became an important focus of Irish American political activity.〔 == Ireland == The organisation had its roots in the Defenders and the Ribbonmen, Catholic agrarian movements of the 18th and 19th centuries. It emerged in Ulster at the end of the 19th century in opposition to the Orange Order.〔MacDonald (1993), p. 156.〕 It was organised by Joseph Devlin of Belfast, who was Grand Master by 1905. The AOH was closely associated with the Irish Parliamentary Party, its members mainly members of the party.〔Garvin, Tom: ''The Evolution of Irish Nationalist Politics'', The Rise of the Hibernians, pp.107–110, Gill and Macmillan Ltd. Dublin (2005) ISBN 0-7171-3967-0.〕 It was strongly opposed to secular ideologies such as those of the Irish Republican Brotherhood (the IRB), who were most unhappy at the re-emergence of this old rival "right-wing" nationalist society.〔Garvin, Tom: p.106 lines 25–26, p.107 lines 2–4〕 Membership in the group was initially banned by the Catholic Church, although this was lifted in 1904.〔 From a membership of 5,000 in 1900, nearly all in Ulster, it climbed to 64,000 by 1909, complementing the United Irish League.〔Garvin, Tom: pp.107–108〕 By 1914 the order had spread throughout the country, mainly because of its utility as a patronage, brokerage and recreational association.〔Garvin, Tom: p.108, lines 12–14〕 As a vehicle for Irish nationalism, the AOH greatly influenced the sectarian aspect of Irish politics in the early twentieth century. In Ulster and elsewhere it acted as an unruly but vigorous militant support organisation for Devlin, Dillon and Redmond against radicals and against William O'Brien: O'Brien regarded himself as having been driven from the party by militant Hibernians at the "Baton Convention" of 1909.〔Garvin, Tom: p.108, lines 28–32〕 After the 1916 Easter Rising the organisation declined outside of Ulster, its members absorbed into Sinn Féin and the Irish Republican Army (the IRA).〔Garvin, Tom: p.109, lines 24–25〕 In many areas the organisation provided by the AOH was the nearest thing to a paramilitary force. Many republican leaders in the 1916–1923 period, among them Seán MacDiarmada, J.J. Walsh and Rory O'Connor, had been "Hibs" before the formation of the Irish Volunteers in 1913.〔Garvin, Tom: p.109, lines 33–35〕 The AOH is also significant as a link between the new nationalist organisations and the century-old tradition of popular militant societies. More directly, it lingered on as a pro-Treaty support organisation. Some Hibernians fought in the Irish Brigade in the Spanish Civil War. The quasi-Fascist Blueshirts movement of the 1930s may, in fact, have owed as much to the Ribbon tradition which it so much resembled, as it did to continental analogies.〔Garvin, Tom: p.110, lines 12–22〕 Within Ulster generally, but especially within Northern Ireland, the AOH remains a visible but somewhat marginal part of the Catholic community. It parades at Easter, Lady Day and a few other times a year. Being the closest Catholic equivalent to the Orange Order, the AOH has been described as ''The Green Orangemen''.〔Material Conflicts-Parades and Visual Displays in Northern Ireland, Neil Jarman page 107 ISBN 1-85973-129-5〕 A typical parade is similar to an Orange Order march although much smaller in size and usually the parade does not have a return leg. At the beginning of The Troubles, the AOH placed a voluntary ban on its members parading until 1975, though records of some parades taking place in defiance of the ban were reported. In 1978 an estimated 10,000 participants attended a parade in Kilrea. Since then there has been a rapid decrease of numbers and usually around 20 divisions parade at a single location in contrast to The Twelfth, where 18 locations are used by the Orange Order on the one day.〔 The locations of AOH parades in Northern Ireland generally tend to be areas with a high Catholic population coupled with the AOH's desire not to provoke trouble.〔 County Fermanagh has never hosted an AOH parade since the onset of The Troubles and County Armagh has held one. The majority of the 21 locations for parades have been in counties Antrim, Down and Derry.〔Material Conflicts-Parades and Visual Displays in Northern Ireland, Neil Jarman page 140〕 On occasion when the parade has been held in an area with a significant loyalist population it has been met with an aggressive protest, notably Garvagh in 1985 and Armoy in 1989 which held its first AOH parade in 35 years.〔Material Conflicts-Parades and Visual Displays in Northern Ireland, Neil Jarman page 141〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Ancient Order of Hibernians」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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