After a centuries-old Irish society voted to induct female members, another ballot has been scheduled after claims of a procedural error.
The Society of the Friendly Sons of St. Patrick of New York was embroiled in debate over the matter at its November meeting, with a lengthy period of arguments for and against letting women join the all-male club. Ballots were given out at the start of the meeting and were also submitted by proxy from those who could not attend. The vote was 165-84 in favor of the change, an almost two-to-one margin.
Despite that, a former president of the society objected to how the proxy votes were handled. He noted the society’s bylaws stipulate that votes must be allowed up until the start of the meeting, while the proxy ballots submitted for the passing vote had a deadline of a week before the group’s November meeting.
After members voted on the change, a new motion was made to table the previous vote because of the procedural flaw. That motion passed after more discussion.
John Coleman, the current president of the society, told the Washington Examiner that the vote to table the motion was close. He said there was first an audible vote that was too close to call, “So, what we ended up doing was we asked members to stand on opposite sides of the room in order to ascertain that there was a visual majority.”
In an email to members after the meeting, Coleman announced that he was holding over the motion to admit women until the January meeting. He said that leaving aside the parliamentary effect of the conflicting votes, he wanted to resolve the dispute in a “manner that leaves the Society stronger rather than divided.”
He said that the upcoming vote on whether women will be allowed to join resolves the procedural issue by allowing members to vote up until the time of the group’s Jan. 6 meeting.
“We’re not looking for one side to ‘win’ and another side to ‘lose,’ we’re looking for the society to win and everybody to feel like they had a valid opportunity and that the vote was done in line with the bylaws,” he said.
Coleman said that there has been vigorous debate over the issue.
“The arguments in favor suggest that this is a natural evolutionary process that is part of the way in which society has already moved and is moving,” Coleman said. “We were founded in 1784 in a much different world.”
He said the arguments against admitting women come from “traditionalists who feel that the society should continue to exist in its current form.”
Coleman said there were also some who may have voted in favor of admitting women and also voted for the second motion to table the matter in hopes that there would be more discussion about the huge change.
Membership in the society is roughly at about 1,200. The Friendly Sons was founded in the wake of the Revolutionary War by a group of Irish immigrants who sought to provide clothing, money, food, and shelter to other impoverished and displaced Irishmen in New York.
Since then, it has grown and is known for its annual fundraising gala held just before the city’s St. Patrick’s Day parade.
Although operating under separate bylaws, there are a number of branches that share the Sons of St. Patrick name. The initial group was founded in Philadelphia on St. Patrick’s Day in 1771. Revolutionary war heroes were inducted as honorary members, such as President George Washington.
The dinner is a unifying tradition and has seen scores of acclaimed speakers over the years. Founding Fathers, such as Washington and President Thomas Jefferson started the tradition of speaking at the dinners.
A number of U.S. presidents have spoken at the New York chapter, while both in and out of office, including Presidents Theodore Roosevelt in 1905, William Howard Taft in 1908, Woodrow Wilson in 1909, and Harry Truman in 1948.
In 1964, just four months after the assassination of President John F. Kennedy, who had spoken at the dinner in the past, President Lyndon Johnson addressed the organization.
Other notable figures who have addressed the New York branch include, Vice President Hubert Humphrey in 1965, Nelson Rockefeller in 1966, Vice President Spiro Agnew in 1972, New York City Mayor Ed Koch in 1981, Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia in 1988, New York Gov. George Pataki in 1996, New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani in 2000, Bill O’Reilly in 2001, New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg in 2002 and 2016, Chris Mathews in 2002, Sen. John McCain in 2006, and Sen. George Mitchell in 2016,
The group invited female guests and speakers to its annual dinner for the first time this year. With speakers that included Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley and broadcaster Maria Bartiromo.
