The AOH in Louisiana traces its origins to the immigrants that made New Orleans one of the largest ports of entry for the Irish. It was second to NYC from 1847-1853. Since 1874, the Order has flourished in the Crescent City. Around historic churches in the city, the Irish and the Order helped build New Orleans into the metropolis that it is today.

According to local newspaper accounts, Division I held its first meeting on July 13, 1874. It met at St. Joseph's Hall (St Joseph's Parish) at Common and Derbigny Streets in the Third Ward. (Modern day Downtown New Orleans.) Division II formed in April 1875 at St John The Baptist school house, on Dryades and Clio Streets. Division III formed in May 1875 at Temperance Hall, on Josephine Street between Fulton and Rousseau Streets in the Irish Channel. Division IV formed in the Spring 1876 at Holy Name of Mary in Algiers, on the Westbank of New Orleans.

According to these early accounts, there was no Division at St. Patrick, the most prominent Irish Church in New Orleans. However, there were two "military" companies that were affiliated with the AOH. The Irish Rifles, established in October 1875 and the Mitchel Rifles, also founded in 1875.

By 1877 there were between 350-500 AOH members in these four divisions. The principal leaders of Division I were Peter Kiernan, later National Delegate, and John Fitzpatrick, later mayor of New Orleans and Captain of the Irish Rifles. Division II leaders included Robert C. Davey, later a US Congressman from Orleans Parish. A few AOH members, like John Hughes and Patrick Creagh, were members of the Fenian Brotherhood, and Mitchel Rifle 2nd lieutenant Patrick Mulqueeny, who later became a member of Sinn Fein.

The Order in New Orleans hosted the annual National Convention in I892, and promoted the Irish cause into the 20th centry. During the 1920's, Ireland was divided between the Free State and Ulster. No upstanding Irishman would have endorsed "Home Rule" for the Irish during the 1920's. AOH endorsed "Home Rule" off and on during the 1890s and early 1900's. They even sent money to John Redmond, leader of the Irish Parliamentary Party after the fall of Parnell. After 1910, the AOH no longer favored Home Rule but Irish Independence. In 1916 the Order defended Easter Rising rebels and joined with other Irish nationalists in supporting the Friends of Irish Freedom who demonstrated for the Irish Republicans. In 1920, the AOH and the FOIF brought Eamon deValera to New Orleans.

The high point of the Order came on St. Patrick's Day in 1941 when 5,000 men of the Order marched down Canal Street in one of the largest shows of patriotism and ethnic pride prior to the Second World War.

After the war, the dispersion of many Irish families throughout the growing suburbs of New Orleans marked the decline of the Order until the 1980's when a group of businessmen and politicians helped reorganize and expand the Order in 1988. The Order continued its growth as it established its first suburban division in Jefferson Parish (County) and later reached out to the Irish of Acadiana as it established a division in Lafayette. Currently, the Order is looking to establish a new division in the State Capital of Baton Rouge.

Since 1988, the Order has been one of the foremost promoters of Irish Culture and Heritage both in the state and the nation. The Order in Louisiana hosted its second National Convention in 1992-one hundred years after its first. There, Mr. Joseph Timothy McKay, rang the gavel inaugurating the convention. (Mr. McKay was actually alive when the National Convention came to New Orleans in 1892!)

Louisiana helped elect one of its own, Judge Jim McKay, to the National Board of the AOH in 1994, and several AOH members were instrumental in revising and rewriting the National Constitution in 2002. In addition, several local members traveled to England, Scotland, and Northern Ireland as part of an AOH Irish-American goodwill tour.

Here in Louisiana, the AOH continues to support many Irish causes such as the upkeep of the Celtic Cross Memorial, promotion of the Margaret Haughery exhibit at the Louisiana State Museum, the Presentation Sisters Retirement Fund, participation in the annual Irish Channel St. Patrick's Day Parade, support for the McTeggart Irish Dancers, and various Pro-Life causes throughout the State.

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