* That sort of duplicity was not unknown as Hibernians tried to reconcile themselves with a disapproving church. A Catholic priest in Philadelphia reported the following deathbed confession of a former Ribbonman and Hibernian in the 1880s: “I joined them [the Ancient Order of Hibernians] about 40 years ago, in Ireland, under the name of Ribbonmen, and have belonged to them ever since. It is the same society, under a different name, with the name changed, at various times, in order to avoid the condemnation of the church. I have been going to the Sacraments, about every three months, and according to the rules of the Society, we took our oath for three months, which ran out on a Saturday, at 12 o’clock. This was done in order to enable us, if questioned by the priest, in the confessional, to say that we did not belong to any secret society. The oath, which was of the most solemn kind, was renewed within 24 hours.” See letter by Rev. Thomas Barry, Church of the Visitation, Archbishop Wood Collection, Philadelphia Archdiocesan Archives.