THE MOST ANCIENT AND RIGHT WORSHIPFUL LODGE OF SAINT JOHN
"THE MOST WORSHIPFUL GRAND LODGE"
A SHORT HISTORY
CATEGORIES OF JEWELS
THE M. W. THE GRAND LODGE
A SHORT HISTORY
CONTENTS:-
[TO JUMP DIRECTLY TO A SECTION CLICK ON NUMBER ]
- ~ -
1. A SHORT HISTORY OF THE M.W. THE GRAND LODGE OF IRELAND.
2. WEB LINK ~ TOUR OF FREEMASONS' HALL.
3. WEB LINK & EMAIL ~ THE M.W. THE GRAND LODGE OF IRELAND.
- ~ -
1. A SHORT HISTORY OF THE M.W. THE GRAND LODGE OF IRELAND.
The Grand Lodge of Ireland is the second oldest Grand Lodge in the world.
Unfortunately the exact date of the foundation of the Grand Lodge is not known.
The first evidence for its existence comes from the Dublin Weekly Journal of the June 26th 1725.
The paper describes an event which took place two days previously on the day of the Feast of St. John the Baptist, June 24th 1725, namely, a meeting of the Grand Lodge of Ireland to install the new Grand Master, the 1st Earl of Rosse.
You will find following this paragraph links, to three PDF documents, firstly, to a complete copy of the Dublin Weekly Journal of the June 26th 1725 (the paragraph relating to the Grand Lodge meeting is on page 4), secondly an enlarged extract of the said paragraph for ease of reading) and thirdly, an extract from the London newspaper "The Post Boy" published and covering the period 10th July to Tuesday 13th July 1725, which has a report from Dublin dated June 28th referring to the Installation.
To access the Pdf documents click on the Numbers to the left of the headings.
The Papers are in a PDF format
To download Acrobat Reader click here
1. Dublin Weekly Journal, dated the 26th June 1725.
2. Extract Dublin Weekly Journal, dated the 26th June 1725.
3. Extract from the London newspaper "The Post Boy" published and covering the period Saturday 10th July to Tuesday 13th July 1725.
The installation of a new Grand Master would suggest it was already in existence a couple of years and I would also suggest that since the Installation warranted only five lines in the London newspaper "The Post Boy" they were already aware of the existence of an Irish Grand Lodge.
However 1725 is the year celebrated in Grand Lodge anniversaries.
Richard Parsons
1st Earl of Rosse
(January 1702 - 26th June 1741)
WEB LINK ~ "1st EARL OF ROSSE"
There is considerable evidence that there were Masonic Lodges meeting in Ireland prior to the eighteenth century, for example the manuscript known as "the Trinity Tripos" dating to the 1680's, and the Baal's Bridge Square, discovered in Limerick in November 1830 some 20 years before the new bridge was constructed in 1850.
The Baal's Bridge Square.
The Square purportedly dates to the early sixteenth century.
Old Baal's Bridge, Limerick c. 1840.
Link - The Baal's Bridge Square.
The story of the "Lady Freemason", Elizabeth St. Leger, also dates to a time prior to the existence of Grand Lodge.
Hon. Elizabeth St. Leger
(1693-1772)
WEB LINK ~ "THE 1st LADY FREEMASON"
During the eighteenth century hundreds of Lodges were founded in every part of Ireland, and most of these would have met at inns, taverns and coffee houses. In Dublin, Lodges were known to have met in "the Yellow Lion" on Werburgh Street, "the Centaur Tavern" on Fishamble Street, and "the Eagle Tavern" on Cork Hill, amongst others, and in Belfast meetings were held in "the Sailor" on Mill Street and "The Donegall Anna".
The meetings of Grand Lodge however, generally took place in civic and guild buildings such as the "Tailors' Hall "in Back Lane, "the Cutlers' Hall" in Capel Street, and "the Assembly Rooms" on South William Street.
TAILORS' HALL, BACK LANE, CHRISTCHURCH, DUBLIN 8
Towards the end of the eighteenth century the number of new Lodges being founded increased dramatically at the same time as the popularity of the Volunteer Movement expanded. Several Lodges were associated with Volunteer Regiments, and in Dublin, the First Volunteer Lodge of Ireland No. 620 was founded by the Officers of the Independent Dublin Volunteers in 1783. The Ballymascanlon Rangers were associated with Lodge No. 222, Dundalk, and in Fermanagh there was a regiment known as the Lowtherstown Masonick Volunteers.
Col. Henry Grattan
First Volunteer Masonic Lodge No. 620
In the uniform of the 1ST REGIMENT DUBLIN INDEPENDENT VOLUNTEERS
(3rd July 1746 – 6th June 1820)
LINK ~ "COLONEL HENRY GRATTAN"
The political influence of the Volunteers combined with the success of the American War of Independence and the French Revolution created new ideals of democracy in Ireland.
Following the founding of the Society of United Irishmen several Lodges, particularly in the north of Ireland, made public proclamations in the press about the need for reform of the Constitution. Whilst the vast majority of Lodges that did this disavowed violence as the means to an end, some were quite rebellious in their proclamations. Other Lodges, it must be said, publicly dissociated themselves from their more revolutionary Brethren.
BADGE OF THE UNITED IRISHMEN
WEB LINK ~ "THE UNITED IRISHMEN "
Government pressure was brought to bear on Grand Lodge and notices were sent out reminding Lodges of the Grand Lodge Law forbidding quarrels of a religious or political nature to be brought within the doors of the Lodge. However, several well-known United Irishmen including Henry Joy McCracken, Henry Monroe, and Archibald Hamilton Rowan were also Freemasons.
Henry Joy McCracken
(31st August 1767 – 17th July 1798)
WEB LINK ~ "HENRY JOY McCRACKEN"
In 1826 the papal Bull of Leo XII against secret societies was widely promulgated in Ireland unlike the previous bulls issued against Freemasonry in the eighteenth century. Catholic members of the Order were threatened with excommunication if they failed to resign from their Lodges. One of the most prominent figures in Irish history to have been a Freemason, Daniel O'Connell, resigned after pressure was put on him by Archbishop Troy of Dublin.
Daniel O’Connell
(6th August 1775 - 15th May 1847)
The nineteenth century saw the expansion of Irish Freemasonry to all four corners of the globe with Lodges established in Australia, New Zealand, the West Indies, India and the Far East. Prominent during the century was the 3rd Duke of Leinster who presided over the Order as Grand Master for an impressive sixty one years.
Augustus Frederick FitzGerald,
3rd Duke of Leinster
The nineteenth century also saw the expansion of the Masonic Female Orphan School, founded in 1792 to educate the daughters of deceased Freemasons. In 1881 a brand new school building was opened on the Merrion Road in Dublin while in 1867 the Masonic Orphan Boys School was founded.
FORMER MASONIC GIRLS SCHOOL, BALLBRIDGE, DUBLIN 4
By the 1820's the Grand Lodge of Ireland had arranged to lease No, 19 Dawson Street, Dublin, for use as the headquarters of Irish Freemasonry. From there, following a brief sojourn in the Freemasons Coffee House in D'Olier Street, the Order moved to another rented premises, Commercial Buildings on Dame Street, which became the Masonic Hall until 1869 when the present Freemasons' Hall opened for meetings. The new building was designed and purpose built as a Masonic Hall and it remains the headquarters of Irish Freemasonry, housing dramatically decorated Lodge rooms, a library. a museum, offices and dining areas.
FREEMASON'S HALL,
17 MOLESWORTH STREET,
DUBLIN 2.
2. WEB LINK ~ "TOUR OF FREEMASONS' HALL"
- ~ -
3. WEB LINK ~ THE M.W. THE GRAND LODGE
EMAIL ~ THE M.W. THE GRAND LODGE
GRAND LODGE SEAL
- ~ -
Grand Lodge Seal 1809
Craft Medal 1763.
EMAIL ~ IRISHMASONICJEWELS.IE