Newtown Grade 6-12 Students Invited to Apply for Scholarship

NEWTOWN, CT — Newtown students in grades 6-12 are invited to enter the Danbury Ladies Ancient Order of Hibernians (LAOH) annual Irish history writing contest for a chance to win a scholarship of up to $500.
The topic for this year's contest is "Heroes and Heroines in Celtic Mythology and Celebrations." Four copies of each entry should be returned by November 15, 2018 to the Division Historian, Kathleen Harris, Historian, LAOH Division #58, 25 Hearthstone Drive, Brookfield, CT., 06804.

For Level 1, grades 6-8, entries should be 500 to 1,000 words. Level 2 entries for grades 9-12, should be 750 to 1,500 words. The Danbury LAOH Division is offering a $75 first place prize to the Level 1 winner and a $100 first place prize to the Level 2 winner. The local winners will be entered in the National LAOH contest where the first place prizes are $500 for Level 1 and $1,000 for Level 2 winners. The National contest also has second and third place, plus two Honorable Mention prizes.

The national contest also has second and third place, plus two Honorable Mention prizes. Questions? Contact Kathleen Harris, Historian, LAOH Division #58 at historianmcwhorter58@aol.com.

Essay Contest Rules:

Each Student through his/her participation gives permission to the Ladies Ancient Order of Hibernians, Inc. to share his/her submitted paper with the LAOH membership at meetings, events, and/ or shared on the LAOH website. References are to be acknowledged in the body of the text. You are to give credit for quotations. If the quotation is less than 4 lines, the quote is to be incorporated in the body of the paragraph and if the quotation is more than 4 lines, it is to be indented one (1) inch from the left margin. Sources used are to be listed on a separate page after the body of the paper. For more information and complete rules, visit the LAOH website: www.ladiesaoh.com.

About the Ladies Ancient Order of Hibernians (LAOH):

A Sisterhood of Irish and Irish-American, Catholic Women, The Ladies Ancient Order of Hibernians is a National organization officially recognized in Omaha, Nebraska in 1894 as the "Daughters of Erin." It is felt that the Ancient Order of Hibernians had always had women as a support group, but due to the "Secret" societal aspect of the Order, the men chose not to acknowledge the women. However, being of the "Matriarchal" heritage that is ours, the women sought their own identity and finally at the National Convention in Omaha, Nebraska in May 1894 the men relented and allowed the formation of the "Daughters of Erin."

In 1906, the name was changed to "Ladies Auxiliary to the Ancient Order of Hibernians in America". In 1984, the Ladies voted to change their name to "The Ladies Ancient Order of Hibernians." In 2004 we have been officially incorporated on our own as Ladies Ancient Order of Hibernians, Inc.
The Ladies AOH has changed in many ways over the decades but still we hold true to our MOTTO of "Friendship, Unity and Christian Charity. We are pledged to God and Country. The primary purpose of the Ladies AOH was to protect young immigrant Irish girls coming to the United States, to assist them in securing employment, to give them the opportunity to be with their own kind, and to keep them from becoming homesick and discouraged.

The Preamble of our Constitution states that the intent and purpose of the Ladies is to promote Friendship, Unity and Christian Charity among its members; assisting the people of Ireland to establish an Irish Republic which shall include the 32 counties of Ireland, aiding the aged, sick, blind and infirm members and for the legitimate expense of the Ladies, including Missions work and Catholic Action. The Ladies also foster the ideals and perpetuate the history and traditions of the Irish people and promote Irish culture. Our Patron Saint is Saint Brigid of Ireland.