The Society of the Friendly Sons of St. Patrick of Providence
Our group is one of the oldest Irish-American fraternal organizations in the United States. And we’re looking for new members: people who are interested in Irish heritage, like to enjoy themselves, and want to help others.
What do we do?
Many people know of our legendary Annual Dinner (always held on St. Patrick’s day, the High Holy Day itself!) which has now transformed into an informal celebratory gathering at various Providence Rhode Island locations every March 17th. Not as many know about our annual Robert E. Sweeney charity golf tournament, usually held in June @ Fenner Hill CC, which is the primary source of funding for our annual scholarship fund and $2,500 scholarships awarded to students who are in their Senior years at Providence High Schools. (Contact Tom Sweeney at 401-273-2270 or Jim Cooney @ 401-595-6260 for details.
The Friendly Sons also looks for other worthy causes to support. We have presented a check for the proceeds of a “Half-Way to St. Patrick’s Day” event to Friends Forever, an organization that promotes peace in Northern Ireland by bringing teenagers from that area together for a program here in America. We have hosted the first ever delegation of Catholic and Protestant Mayors from Ireland. And we have sponsored the Irish Famine Memorial, The Irish Cultural Center and other worthy schools and causes.
If you think you might like to join us, check out the Membership page under the “Join Us” menu above. Slainte!
Additional details and photographs illustrating our rich history and the chronology of major events we have hosted for well over 100 years are included in the pages of this website which we created for exactly that purpose.
