The St. Patrick's Society of Montreal (French: Société Saint-Patrick de Montréal) is the oldest fraternal organization in Canada. In existence since March 17, 1834, it predates the Société Saint-Jean Baptiste by three months. The St. Patrick's Society continues to be a leader in Montreal's Irish community, organizing such annual events as the St. Patrick's Ball, the St. Patrick's Luncheon, and the St. Patrick's Society's annual Christmas concert. The Society's current President is Ken Quinn.
History
Origins
There is evidence of Irish immigrants in Quebec as far back as the 1760s. The first St. Patrick's Parade was organized by Michael O'Sullivan in 1824. By 1834, a group of notable businessmen gathered to form what is now known as the St. Patrick’s Society of Montreal, founded on March 17, 1834 at McCabe’s Hotel in Old Montreal. The first executive officers of the Society were President John Donnellan, Vice Presidents Hon. Michael O'Sullivan, Benjamin Holmes, and Thomas A. Begley, Treasurer John M. Tobin, Corresponding Secretary S. Sweeney, and Recording Secretary H. McGregor, who were supported by twelve committee members. Many involved were longstanding leaders of the community. In the March 20, 1824 edition of the Canadian Spectator mention is made of M. O'Sullivan Esq being in the chair at a Hibernian Society dinner. O'Sullivan is reported to have expressed how shameful it was that "St. Patrick's Day had never before been met with a public celebration". In the 1831 Montreal Almanack John Donnellan is listed as President of the Montreal Hibernian Benevolent Society.
The Society was not a political organization, but was largely charitable and national in purpose, and was principally social and educational. However, it was founded mainly by Irish Protestants in the spring of 1834 in order to oppose the 92 Resolutions sent by Lower-Canadian Louis-Joseph Papineau's Patriotes to the British Government. In that sense, loyalty to the Crown was central to the founding of St. Patrick's Society. The Society was at first non-sectarian. The first President was John Donnellan, a prominent Montreal citizen.
The founding of the Society was closely followed by the establishment of the St. Jean Baptiste Society in June 1834, the St. Andrew's Society in February 1835, the German Society of Montreal on April 21, 1835, the St. George’s Society on April 27, 1835 and later the St. David’s Society and the Caledonian Society. The beautiful spirit of friendliness and cooperation among the so-called Sister Anglophone Societies since their inception has been notable and has persisted throughout the years. The St. Patrick's Society, the St. Andrew's Society and the St. George's Society were opposed to the Patriotes bas-canadiens who founded the Société Saint-Jean-Baptiste, named "Aide-toi et le Ciel t'aidera" at its inception in 1834 by former 1st Mayor of Montréal, Jacques Viger. The national qualities and purposes of the various anglophone bodies were commented upon by the Honourable Peter McGill, the first English-speaking Mayor of Montreal, at a dinner given by St. Patrick’s Society on the evening of March 17, 1836.
End of non-sectarianism
The Society continued as non-sectarian until the year 1856, under the able presidency of such men as John Donnellan, Benjamin Holmes, Sir Francis Hincks, Bernard Devlin, W.F. Batley, Thomas Ryan and many others, at which time the non-Catholic members were encouraged to establish a society of their own. This separation was largely the work of Reverend Patrick Dowd. As a result, the Catholic members retained the old name of the Society, and the non-Catholic members assumed the name “Irish Protestant Benevolent Society”. Among those who vigorously opposed the separation was Sir William Hales Hingston, a prominent surgeon and later, the Mayor of Montreal, who tendered his resignation from the Society as a gesture against what he termed the uncalled for division. Hingston would likely have been happy to discover that the Society returned to its non-denominational origins in the latter part of the twentieth century.