About 1,500 members of the Ancient Order of Hibernians descended on Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, this week for their biennial convention. These are the American cousins of the Irish AOH which, the official history claims, has its origin in the Military Order of the Golden Collar instituted by Munemon, king of all Ireland, about 900 BC.
The AOH or "Hibs" in Ireland actually go back several hundred years, probably to the second half of the 18th century, but exactly when they were founded is not clear.
Pennsylvania has no happy memories for the AOH, as it was where about 20 of its members, also alleged to be part of the secretive Molly Maguires, were hanged in the 1870s for a series of murders in the coal-mining districts.
There seems little doubt that most of those hanged were framed by mine-owners in cahoots with the police, who were determined to crush the Mollies and the AOH for protesting against terrible working conditions.
It is a murky episode in the history of the American AOH, which put it at loggerheads with the Catholic Church and its abhorrence of secret societies.
Today the AOH and the Church are as close as can be. Archbishop Sean Brady of Armagh travelled to Pittsburgh to concelebrate the opening Mass. He lauded the AOH for its promotion of justice, strong faith, anti-abortion stance and charitable works.
Irish ambassador to the US, Mr Sean O hUiginn, also came to address the Hibernians and tell them how the Belfast Agreement is "above all a bold attempt to learn the lesson of Irish history and to turn a new page". The Agreement is now "the new and mandatory frame of reference for everyone, anywhere on the island, who claims to respect democratic legitimacy and the clearly expressed will of the people".
The AOH and the Government in Dublin are now united in support for the peace process. But Mr James McFarland of New Jersey told this correspondent that there were times when members of the organisation saw Dublin politicians as "traitors" and guilty of "cowardly co-operation" with Britain.
Following the H-Block hunger strikes, the AOH took a more militant stance on Northern Ireland, earning the gratitude of Gerry Adams and leading to open clashes with the Irish government. But just as the notorious smog over Pittsburgh has disappeared with the closing of the steel mills, so the inclusion of Sinn Fein in the peace process has cleared the air between the AOH and Dublin over Northern Ireland.
Membership of the AOH, estimated at around 130,000 or 200,000 depending on who you ask, seemed to increase with the troubles in Northern Ireland as Irish-Americans saw the organisation as a means of expressing solidarity with beleaguered Northern Ireland Catholic nationalists.
But Catholicism is just as important for many of the members as politics, and the AOH found itself in the embarrassing situation two years ago of supporting President Clinton for his granting of a visa to Mr Adams but condemning his veto of a Bill outlawing the gruesome partial birth abortion procedure. As a result the AOH leaders "disinvited" Mr Clinton from the convention.
Now that Northern Ireland is no longer a "hot" issue, some close observers of the Irish-American scene believe the AOH and other organisations must adapt or risk disappearing. Ms Trina Vargo, former foreign policy adviser to Senator Edward Kennedy, wrote about this in the Washing- ton Post as the AOH gathered in Pittsburgh.
How many of its members would recognise themselves in this passage? "Many of the Irish American organisations that demanded an `inclusive' Northern Ireland peace process, meaning the participation of Sinn Fein, the political wing of the IRA, have themselves long practised the politics of exclusion - the exclusion of Protestants, women (never mind that Ireland now has its second female President, Mrs Mary McAleese), racial minorities and gays and lesbians (never mind that gay and lesbian organisations march in St Patrick's Day parades in Ireland)."
The AOH has a women's auxiliary organisation which meets separately but it is men who run the show and the women were annoyed when the decision to "disinvite" President Clinton over abortion was taken without consulting them. The AOH organisers of the New York Parade have won a court battle to exclude gays and lesbians from marching.
However, the constitution of the AOH limits membership to "Roman Catholics and Irish or Irish descent and of good moral character". So by definition it is "exclusive".
Ms Vargo, who has founded the US-Ireland Alliance to build up the kind of clout that Jewish organisations have with American administrations, warns that the present cosy Dublin-Washington relationship, with partying in the White House on St Patrick's Day, will probably not survive President Clinton and the older generation of politicians like her old boss, Ted Kennedy.
So Irish-American organisations should be now looking for a new role. "Irish-America and Ireland must develop a dynamic new relationship which is broader than the narrow ground of Northern Ireland," Ms Vargo says.
Asked about her views, the new President of the AOH, Mr Tom Gilligan of Florida, replied: "where will she be in 200 years?"