Our Namesake: Remembering John "Yellow Jack" Donohue

 

AOH Division 4 is   proudly named in honor of John "Yellow Jack" Donohue, an Irish immigrant, a coal miner, and one of the men known to history as the "Molly Maguires."

 

On June 21, 1877—a day remembered in the coal regions as "Black Thursday"—Donohue was one of four men hanged in Mauch Chunk (now Jim Thorpe), PA. He was convicted in a trial dominated by the interests of the powerful coal and railroad barons, tried by coal and railroad lawyers specially appointed as prosecutors, based largely on the testimony of a paid informant.

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To understand why we honor a man condemned by the state in his time, you must understand what he stood against.

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A Fight for Survival in the Coal Patch

 

In the 1870s, Irish immigrants in the anthracite coal region were treated as expendable tools. They worked in incredibly dangerous conditions for starvation wages, often paid only in "scrip" redeemable at company-owned stores that kept them in perpetual debt. They faced systemic discrimination for being Irish and for being Catholic.

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Like their forefathers had done in the times of the Penal Laws in Ireland, these men banded together in secret societies for self-defense and mutual aid. They were desperate men fighting back against brutal oppression.

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"Yellow Jack" Donohue was part of that struggle. He maintained his innocence to the very end of his life

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Why His Legacy Matters Today

 

We do not name our division after Yellow Jack Donohue to glorify the violence of that desperate era. We name it after him to honor the profound courage, resilience, and unbreakable bond of brotherhood that defined the Irish coal miner.

 

His story reflects the ideals our Division lives by today:

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• Grounded in Faith. Donohue and his brothers walked to the gallows with their priests, reciting the Rosary and holding crucifixes. Despite being abandoned by many in society, they clung to their Catholic faith as their final and only comfort.

• United in Fellowship. The Molly Maguires were born of a desperate need for brotherhood in a hostile environment. They relied on each other for survival against overwhelming forces. That deep, unbreakable loyalty to one's brother is the bedrock of the AOH.

• A Commitment to Justice: Today, historians view the Molly Maguire trials as a gross miscarriage of justice - a labor war where the rich owners used the courts to crush the immigrant workers. By honoring Donohue, we state clearly that this Division will always be ready to aid the underdog and the marginalized.

 

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