About the Charitable Irish Society The bonds displayed here are from the records of Charitable Irish Society (CIS) on deposit at the Massachusetts Historical Society (MHS). The CIS was founded in Boston in 1737 with two purposes: to promote unity among Irish immigrants and to provide aid to the impoverished Irish. Today, the CIS, the oldest Irish organization in North America, remains committed to its original goals. The records on deposit at the MHS cover two centuries of CIS history—from 1737 to 1939. Among the records is the CIS's earliest record book, 1737–1804, containing the constitution and by-laws, rules and orders, list of members, and miscellaneous financial transactions. Later volumes, 1804–1937, include minutes of monthly and annual meetings, committee reports, membership lists, memoirs of deceased members, and treasurer's accounts. Other items of note include records of the Roman Catholic Youth's Society, 1831–1842; memorabilia (including these Irish republican bonds); a manuscript Gaelic dictionary; reports and correspondence concerning the CIS's interest in 19th and 20th century Irish immigration to Massachusetts and famine relief in 19th–century Ireland; the March 1912 visit of President Taft to Boston; and information on prominent members including Patrick A. Collins, James Michael Curley, Patrick Donohoe, John F. Fitzgerald, James McGee, Daniel Malcolm, Hugh O'Brien, John C. Park and Peter Pelham. More recent CIS records are deposited at the Boston College Library in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts. For more information on the Charitable Irish Society, please visit the CIS website at: www.charitableirishsociety.org. back