Scranton mayor, judge "disappointed" over not being invited to Friendly Sons dinner

Mar. 2—After giving welcoming remarks at the event for the past two years, Scranton Mayor Paige Gebhardt Cognetti suspects she and a county judge were not invited to the Friendly Sons of St. Patrick of Lackawanna County's dinner this year because the group's president does not want women there.

President Albert O'Donnell vehemently denies the allegation. He acknowledged Cognetti and Judge Mary Walsh Dempsey have not received invitations. That's because officials have not decided who will sit at the dais, which he expects will have fewer seats this year because the venue changed.

"No one has been invited except the speakers and organizers," O'Donnell said. "We are at a new place and we are finalizing what our dais is going to look like."

Cognetti broke tradition at the all-male organization in 2021, when she gave opening remarks at a virtual event. She spoke again last year at the dinner, held at the now-closed Genetti Manor in Dickson City. Dempsey joined her on the dais of dignitaries.

This year's annual dinner, the 117th, is scheduled for March 18 at the Mohegan Pennsylvania casino and convention center in Plains Twp.

On Thursday, Cognetti and Dempsey said they thought they would be asked back this year. With just two weeks to go and no invitation, they suspect they've been cut.

"I'm certainly disappointed in the leadership's decision, but it's my understanding that it's the president's choice on who gets invited," Cognetti said. "That person seems to have decided against inviting female elected officials."

Cognetti said she and Dempsey were warmly welcomed at last year's dinner. She believes the vast majority of the organization members would welcome them again.

"Regardless of who made the decision this year, I do not think that it's indicative of the sentiment of the majority of the Friendly Sons," she said.

Dempsey said no one directly told her she and Cognetti are off the invite list, but she "heard through the grapevine they do not want women there." She does not know if that decision was made by O'Donnell or a group within the organization.

"I'm disappointed and disheartened," she said. "I had no idea things would change. I put it in my calendar, expecting to go."

O'Donnell insists space, not gender, is the issue. This is the first time the dinner will be held at Mohegan. Genetti's could fit about 36 people at the dais — a raised platform upon which dignitaries are seated. He said it's not clear yet if Mohegan can offer the same setup.

"We are still working on the number," he said. "The more people that come to the dinner, the smaller the dais is. The less the number, the more room we have for the dais."

O'Donnell said the organization will meet Monday to finalize plans and decide which dignitaries to invite. Gender will not be a determining factor, he said.

With no invitation in hand, Cognetti said she plans to attend the St. Patrick's Day dinner hosted by the Society of Irish Women, being held the same night at the Radisson at Lackawanna Station hotel in Scranton.

Contact the writer: tbesecker@timesshamrock.com; 570-348-9137; @tmbeseckerTT on Twitter.