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Welcome to the Richmond 1 Division Website! Augusta, GA |
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News and Events |
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AOH Richmond One Division Presents Defibrillator to Aquinas High School
Concerned by several incidents of cardiac-related deaths by young students and athletes, the members of Richmond One Division of the Ancient Order of Hibernians in America decided they needed to do something to help prevent a similar occurrence at Augusta’s Aquinas High School. During halftime of one of Aquinas’ home football games, Jeff Ryan, president of the Richmond 1 Division of the Ancient Order of Hibernians, presented athletic director Kevin Trammell with a Phillips HeartStart AED (automatic external defibrillator).
The device, including training equipment is valued at over $1,500.00. The defibrillator is used to correct a patient’s heart rhythm in the event of a traumatic injury or sudden cardiac arrest, which has become more common in young athletes. The defibrillator is on the sidelines at every Aquinas football game whether home or away. Another Hibernian member, City of Augusta fire captain and EMT Mel LaPan provides emergency medical services for the team. He is present at all games and carries the AED as well as other medical equipment which can be used in the event of an emergency.
The Ancient Order of Hibernians is an Irish Catholic fraternal organization which places high value on works of charity and volunteerism.
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Dennis Cahill Memorial & Gravesite
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The Dennis Cahill memorial is located at the southeastern corner of the Butt Memorial Bridge on 15th Street spanning the Augusta Canal. It honors Dennis Cahill, an Irish-born city worker who drowned while trying to save a young girl who had fallen into the canal. AOH Richmond 1 Division places a wreath on this memorial each year in the days prior to Saint Patrick’s Day.
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On July 29, 1902, he and other city workers were making repairs to the wooden flooring of the steel “High Bridge” where 15th Street crossed the Augusta Canal. Nine-year-old Dallas Corine Kitchens was crossing the bridge while taking lunch to her aunt working in a nearby textile mill. She fell from the bridge into the canal below and her screams reached the workmen. Dennis Cahill was known as an excellent swimmer who had previously rescued two other people from the canal. He leapt into the canal and began to pull the young girl to safety. Tragedy struck when for unknown causes Cahill himself went under and both were drowned.
Dennis Cahill was buried the next day in the AOH section of Magnolia Cemetery. The citizens of Augusta contributed toward the building of a memorial adjacent to the site of the tragedy honoring Dennis Cahill for his courageous sacrifice on behalf of another. A dozen years later, his memorial was joined by the nearby Butt Memorial Bridge, in memory of another Augustan, Major Archibald Butt, who also lost his life trying to save others on the Titanic.
Sadly, over the years, Dennis Cahill’s headstone at Magnolia Cemetery had badly deteriorated. While visiting family in Augusta in 1988, Mr. Bob Watkins of Mississippi came across the memorial to Dennis Cahill at the Augusta Canal, and subsequently went in search of the fallen hero’s grave to pay his respects. Distressed by the eroded condition of Cahill’s marker, Bob began a twenty-one year quest to restore it to its proper dignity. In the days prior to Google and the World Wide Web, Bob conducted his mission through a persistent letter-writing campaign, the forty-eighth of which finally made its way to AOH National President Seamus Boyle. President Boyle helped put Bob in contact with the present AOH division here in Augusta.
Once the local division became aware of the location of Dennis Cahill’s gravesite and the poor condition of his marker, they quickly took steps to restore it to its proper glory. On February 21, 2009, with Bob Watkins and AOH National President Seamus Boyle in attendance, and with National Deputy Chaplain Rev. Gerald Ragan providing the blessing, Richmond One Division of the Ancient Order of Hibernians proudly dedicated a new headstone at the grave of Dennis Cahill in the AOH section of Magnolia Cemetery in honor of this local Hibernian hero.
DENNIS CAHILL Born Died 18 June 1861 29 July 1902 Castlemagner Augusta, Georgia County Cork, Ireland HIBERNIAN HERO |
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Dennis Cahill was born on June 18, 1861 in the parish of Castlemagner, County Cork, Ireland. Like many other Irish of the time, he came to Augusta as an immigrant.
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Markers Near Butt Memorial Bridge |
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Catholics Come Home: AOH Richmond 1 Division
Georgia rolled out the Catholics Come Home: We’ve Been Waiting for You Program in December 2010. AOH saw this as an opportunity to serve when someone comes looking for peace as they share their story of leaving the church or just becoming inactive. Each 1st Thursday of the month, the businesses on Monte Sano Avenue in Augusta host an evening of open shops, food and beverages. St. Mary on the Hill is located on Monte Sano Avenue. The AOH decided to use this event as a recruitment opportunity. The AOH body saw this as a wonderful way not only to recruit but to promote the Catholics Come Home Program. Our first Thursday event was February, 2011.
The AOH has a set up wherein pamphlets of Catholic prayers and information are displayed. We also have a video of Catholic Come Home for continuous playing throughout the evening. We want this to serve as a positive first impression to let people know that we are ready to serve them when they approach us about coming back to the Catholic Church. We had one person who had been estranged from the church for over 30 years. It is exciting to know that people are watching and waiting for the opportunity to have us welcome this back home to their church and roots.
Even when the campaign for Catholics Come Home officially ends, the AOH will continue to do what we are doing at the First Thursday events on Monte Sano. “What man of you, having a hundred sheep, if he has lost one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness, and go after the one which is lost, until he finds it? And when he has found it, he lays it on his shoulder, rejoicing. Luke 15:4-5”. Gerald Vincent Division President AOH Richmond 1 |
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Evening in Ireland Pictures |
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(Click the Picture) |
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Links
National Site……….… www.aoh.com
State AOH Site.. www.aohstatega.com(Under Construction)
LAOH Augusta ……… www.laohaugusta.com |
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AOH |