Page 5 - O Mahony Society Newsletter December 2024_Neat

EDITORIAL

FÁILTE CHUIG IRISLEABHAR MUINTIR MHATHÚNA 2024!

(Welcome to the 2024 O Mahony Society Journal!)
An old Irish proverb tells us “ar scáth a chéile a mhaireann na daoine”
(people live in each other’s shadows). The O Mahony Society lives in the
shadow of our founder, Eoin O’Mahony. He inspires us to lasair romhainn go
buadh (carry the flame before us in victory) as we look toward almost seven
decades of our Society in promoting Irish culture, history, and fellowship
through our organization’s efforts.
Yes - our worldwide membership will soon celebrate comóradh 70 bliain
(our 70 year anniversary). We look back with pride and forward with vision
as the O Mahony Society Council and Journal Advisory Board proudly carry
the flame of history forward through this 2024 O Mahony Journal.
This edition reacquaints us with our founder by taking a look at his life and work. We delve deeper
through a reexamination of our O Mahony DNA. We consider our society's history through the eyes of past
leadership and explore the joys and challenges of digging through our roots. With pride and sadness, we
say “see ya down the road” to John W. Mahoney. John was a devoted O Mahony Council member, co-
Administrator of the O Mahony Genetic Genealogy Project, and a member of the O Mahony Journal
Editorial Advisory Board. He made significant contributions to our organization everywhere!
I present this journal and every O Mahony Society publication with a sense of ownership, pride,
and purpose. It is my heritage! It is our SHARED heritage as we carry the flame forward into our
seventh decade.
The name is spelled hundreds of different ways: MHATHÚNA is its spelling in the Irish language. The
English version takes on hundreds of spellings. These include O Mahony, O Mahoney, O’Mahoney,
Mahony, Mahoney, Mahooney, Mahana, Mahanaey, Mahanan, Mahanas, Mahanahen, Mahanay,
and dozens if not hundreds of other spellings. In the end, we are all one family and one Irish Clan.

We all have our own O Mahony spelling and O Mahony story. My family inherited the spelling
“O’Mahoney.” This was passed down from my maternal grandmother, Bridget Theresa O’Mahoney
Gifford, about whom I have written in Society Newsletters, and through whose Irish birth my brother and I
have been able to obtain our Irish Citizenship by birth or descent. As I write this, two of our Gifford cousins
(Kenny and Kevin) are in the process of obtaining the same Irish Citizenship by birth or descent process!

Think about your own Irish journey as you read through this journal and march into the 70th Anniversary
of the O Mahony Society. No matter how you spell the name, we are all one family!

One of the proudest days of my life occurred when I was visiting Ireland as an Irish Citizen in 2017.
“Bill, yer one of us now,” declared one of my Irish cousins.

Yes, I am proudly Irish and proudly an O’Mahoney! “Yer one of Us” sounds like a great Irish book
title…more to come as we journey down our respective Irish roads!
Go raibh maith agat (thank you) to our volunteer authors and contributors for this and all previous
(and future) publications! The Journal is a completely volunteer publication, and we deeply appreciate
the commitment of the O Mahony Council, the Editorial Advisory Board, and the volunteer authors.
Special thanks to our volunteer graphic designer and layout specialist, Joel Kotchevar, and Larry Baker,
our webmaster.

Gach rath! (All the best!)
William F. Badzmierowski, M.ED.,CSW (Also known as “Bill O’Badz”)
Eagarthóir foilseachán (Publications Editor)

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