In 1991, a group of Irishmen with roots in Newark, Essex County and other North Jersey communities came together to establish the Friendly Sons of the Shillelagh at the Jersey Shore. They had no clubhouse, very little money and a shared desire to preserve the friendships and Irish traditions they had grown up with.

At the center of it all was George McCormack, whose ability to organize people, build relationships and get things done helped turn an idea into a club that would last for generations.

In the first of a three-part Politics, Pubs, Parades, + the Parish conversation recorded at the Belmar clubhouse, Stacy McCormack sits down with founding members, past presidents and current leadership to revisit those early days. From meetings in local taverns and firehouses to the generosity of the Old Bridge and West Orange clubs, the purchase of the first clubhouse and the volunteers who built it, they share the stories of how it all came together.

It's a conversation filled with Irish history, old friendships, plenty of laughs and a chance for Stacy to learn more about the uncle she lost when she was just fifteen.

Listen to the episode HERE.

Hosted by Stacy McCormack, Politics, Pubs, Parades, + the Parish is a series of interviews with people you most likely know - many of them in New Jersey politics - telling stories that seem to get better with age.

Please look for other podcasts featuring other New Jersey political difference-makers in the coming weeks.