Ancient Order Of Hibernians (AOH) Daniel O’Connel Division – Union #2

CRANFORD, NJ — St. Patrick’s Day in Union, New Jersey was packed with Irish from all over the state.

Leading the newly formed Union County Daniel O’Connell Division – #2 was President Tim O’Brien also a Cranford Police Sergeant.

Although this local division is only in its first year, O’Brien said it already has about 45 members who meet the first Tuesday of the month at 7:30 p.m. at Cranford’s Elks Lodge, located at 951 Lincoln Ave. E.

“You have to be Irish Catholic to join,” he said, “but you don’t have to have an Irish accent. We’re a nonprofit organization and we help people who need help. Our group that we reformed was started in 1868 and is the oldest charter in New Jersey.”
Tim said, “I was also vice president of my PBA some time ago, so I’ve always been active with philanthropic organizations, and I thought it would be good to give back to the community,” he said. “Where there seems to be so many divisions in the country, it’s nice to come together with men of a similar heritage and expand on it.”

“I’ve enjoyed being a Cranford police officer for the last 24 years,” O’Brien said. “It’s a great organization. For that dinner, I’m getting recognized as Police Officer of the Year.”

“We should have a lot of fun. There will probably be more police officers who are going and some of them are Hibernians as well. They will be there.”

“I would like to thank Chief Harry Wilde for hiring me,” O’Brien added. “It’s an honor to work with the men and women of the Cranford Police Department.”

“Establishing a Hibernian presence in Union County was a commitment to my membership when elected State President. I am proud to say mission accomplished. My grandfather was a member of the Elizabeth Division and it’s great to see a strong and vibrant new AOH group up and running. President Tim O’Brien leads the fastest growing Division in our state. I want to thank Tim for his efforts with recruiting new members. I have been saying for months, be sure to look for these Hibernians at the Union St. Patrick’s Day Parade, especially their new member, State Senator Joe Cryan, this year’s Grand Marshal” – stated NJAOH President Richard S. O’Brien.

The parade honorees were, Msg. Timothy J. Shugrue as the Irish Man of the Year and Mary O’Connor as the Irish Woman of the Year.

Background:
On September 28th, the Daniel O’Connell Division was formed, and its members installed from Union County at the Cranford Elks on Lincoln Avenue East. This effort was in the making for several months.