HMS Membership
2023-2024 Membership
You don't have to be Irish - just Irish at heart! Our HMS members are members by birth, marriage or desire. Join us by completing our membership application. Click on the 2023-2024 Membership Application below to download, complete it and mail it to us along with your membership dues.
Our 2023-2024 membership dues are $100 per person (Includes Luck of the Irish Party, Announcement Party, Comeallyee Ball, Lace Curtain and Blarney Luncheon). Our 2023-2024 membership year ends April 30, 2024 and our new membership year starts May 1, 2025.
Send us a check or pay using our Pay Link account below. Click on the button below to download and print our application. Send it with your payment to our PO Box or you can pay online. Mail your membership form along with your dues to: Hibernia Marching Society, P.O. Box 707, Biloxi, MS 39533
Our History
The Hibernia Marching Society was organized in Biloxi, Mississippi, in 1978 and incorporated as The Hibernia Marching Society of Mississippi, Inc., in 1989.
Although the Society was not formally organized until 1978, informal gatherings were held for about seventeen years by several spirited Irish Americans at Mary Mahoney’s Old French House Restaurant in Biloxi, Mississippi. Often the idea of organizing a St. Patrick’s Day Parade was discussed. However, a wee bit of Irish Blarney tells us that the idea lasted no longer than the last bottle of Bushmill.
In 1978, Dr. John O’Keefe, a Biloxi physician, decided to take some action. He placed an article in the Sun Herald newspaper, extending an invitation to all Irish, and those who would like to be Irish, to attend a meeting at Mary Mahoney’s to discuss the organization of the first St. Patrick’s Day Parade and the establishment of a society to sponsor such events. From the modest beginning, the Hibernia Marching Society of Mississippi, Inc. has become one of the largest and most viable organizations on the Gulf Coast, offering various events, most of which are described on this website.