SARATOGA SPRINGS — The Saratoga Springs chapter of the Friendly Sons of St. Patrick will celebrate their 67th anniversary with a dinner on March 17 at the Holiday Inn on Broadway in Saratoga Springs.
The group is a fraternal organization that meets once each year on St. Patrick’s Day to honor the patron saint of Ireland and to raise money for local Catholic charitable organizations. The 2019 officers for the dinner are President Michael Naughton, Vice President Brian Waghorn, Treasurer Chris Spratt, Secretary Steve Sherwin and Past President and Keeper of the Shillelagh, Mark Phillips.
Many cities throughout the country have chapters of the society, including Albany and Troy. One of the first chapters of the society was founded after the Revolutionary War in New York City by Irish-American Daniel McCormick. The purpose of the society was to help impoverished and displaced immigrants who had arrived in New York in the wake of the British evacuation. The first meeting of the New York City chapter was held in 1784 at Cape’s Tavern.
The Philadelphia Friendly Sons of St. Patrick is believed to be the first chapter of the society, and was founded in 1771.
