Saturday, March 18, 2017

Friendly Sons of St. Patrick

I was the guest of R.F. at the 149th Annual Banquet of The Friendly Sons of St. Patrick at the Netherland Plaza Hotel on -  of course St. Patrick's Day. 



A black tie event of over 500 men, it was an evening of networking, dining, speeches (Dave Lapham former Bengals offensive lineman was the keynote), and music by the Glee Club of the Society.  What a wonderful tradition to be included in.  The Cincinnati chapter was founded in 1868 and the third oldest in the United States (behind Philadelphia and New York).  Dedicated to the principles of brotherhood, charity and community service, the society is open to Irish as well as non-Irish men of goodwill.  

I guess my 17% Irish www.ancestry.com DNA results was sufficient to allow me to feel connected to the long traditional Irish names in the program (see Mutt or Mutation - July 25, 2014).  Needless to say I didn't mention that it also estimated 44% Great Britain.


It was a table of fun with R.F, M.L., G.N., and two other guys I just met T.M. and M.S.  And of course there were other connections with Vistage B.E. and SVP Cincinnati A.S.  I ended up being the designated driver and good think because the Irish really do know how to drink and be merry!