HMS Membership
2022-2023 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 2022-2023 Membership Application below to download, complete it and mail it to us along with your membership dues.
Our 2022-2023 membership dues are $35 per person (Includes Luck of the Irish Party or $100 per person(Includes Luck of the Irish Party, Comeallyee Ball, Lace Curtain and Blarney Luncheon). Our 2022-2023 membership year ends April 30, 2023 and our new membership year starts May 1, 2023.
Send us a check or pay using our Square account link below. 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.