THE MOST ANCIENT AND RIGHT WORSHIPFUL LODGE OF SAINT JOHN
"THE MOST WORSHIPFUL GRAND LODGE"
A SHORT HISTORY
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THE M. W. THE GRAND LODGE
A SHORT HISTORY
CONTENTS:-
[TO JUMP DIRECTLY TO A SECTION CLICK ON NUMBER or LETTER]
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1. A SHORT HISTORY OF THE M.W. THE GRAND LODGE OF IRELAND.
(A) Introduction.
(B) The Baal's Bridge Square 1507.
(C) The Trinity Tripos 1688.
(D) The Trinity MS. of 1711.
(E) The "Lady Freemason" ~ 1711 Elizabeth St. Leger.
(F) The Constitution of The M.W. The Grand Lodge ~ 1725.
(G) The Volunteer Movement in the 1780's.
(H) The Masonic Female Orphan School ~ 1792.
(I) The United Irishmen, Freemasonry and 1798.
(J) The papal Bull & Daniel O'Connell ~ 1826.
(K) Augustus Frederick FitzGerald, The 3rd Duke of Leinster, Grand Master 1824 - 1874.
(L) The Masonic Orphan Boys School ~ 1867 - 1980.
(M) The History of the Freemason's Hall ~ 1869.
(O) The 275th Anniversary of Grand Lodge ~ 8th June 2000.
2. WEB LINK ~ TOUR OF FREEMASONS' HALL.
3. WEB LINK & EMAIL ~ THE M.W. THE GRAND LODGE OF IRELAND.
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1. A SHORT HISTORY OF THE M.W. THE GRAND LODGE OF IRELAND.
(A) Introduction.
The Grand Lodge of Ireland is the second oldest Grand Lodge in the world and as you will see below 1725 is the celebrated as the foundation year.
Unfortunately the exact date of the foundation of the Grand Lodge is not known.
However, there is considerable evidence that there were Masonic Lodges meeting in Ireland prior to the eighteenth century.
This is shown by the following:-
(B) The Baal's Bridge Square 1507.
The Baal's Bridge Square was discovered in the excavating of the foundations of Baal’s Bridge, in the City of Limerick, in November, 1830, some 20 years before the new bridge was constructed in 1850.
The Baal's Bridge Square.
The Square dates to the early sixteenth century, namely 1507 and was probably placed in the foundations, I would suggest, by an Operative Mason. You will note that the Square is identical to the Jewel of a Worshipful Master.
Old Baal's Bridge, Limerick c. 1840.
A Paper on the Baal's Bridge Square and it's history can be accessed by the following Link :-
Link - The Baal's Bridge Square.
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(C) THE TRINITY TRIPOS 1688.
A manuscript known as "the Trinity Tripos", dated 11th July 1688, was brought to light in a book published by Rev. John barrett, (Vice-Provost, from 1806 to 1821, Trinity College, Dublin) in 1808. This MS. (Manuscript) clearly shows that Speculative Freemasonry was at labour in the 1680's some 37 years before the first recorded meeting of Grand lodge in 1725.
You will find following this paragraph links to two PDF documents, firstly, to a Paper by Irish Masonic Jewels on The Trinity Tripos, which includes the relevant extracts from the Tripos in regard to freemasonry and secondly a complete copy of The Trinity Tripos MS. of 1688 for reference.
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. THE TRINITY TRIPOS, JONATHAN SWIFT and SPECULATIVE FREEMASONRY PRIOR TO 1725.
2. THE TRINITY TRIPOS MS. 1688.
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(D) THE TRINITY MS. of 1711.
The first hint of a Third Degree appears in a MS found among the papers of a famous Irish doctor and scientist, Sir Thomas Molyneux.
The following is an extract from "Some Unsolved Problems of masonic Research" by V.W. Bro. R.E. Parkinson, The Lodge of Research Transactions 1958 - 1962 (Reproduced by kind permission of The Lodge of Research CC).
"There is in the Library of Trinity College, Dublin, among the Molyneaux Paper, a MS. entitled "Freemasonry" and endorsed with the date February, 1711, which clearly indicates a system of three degrees similar to our own today. Because the date does not fit in with acccepted theories, this document has been almost entirely ignored.
The Librarian of T.C.D. informs me that the endorsement is in the hand of Samuel Molyneaux, who was resident in ireland till 1712, when he left to continue his studies in Cambridge."
The significance of this MS. is, of course, that it is dated 1711 and it is about masonic Ritual. To access an extract from a Paper by V.W. BRO. GARY KERKIN which discusses the Third Degree with reference to the Trinity MS. of 1711 please "click" on the following link
Link ~ Trinity Manuscript of 1711 .
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(E) The "Lady Freemason" ~ 1711 Elizabeth St. Leger.
The story of the "Lady Freemason", Elizabeth St. Leger, also dates to a time prior to the existence of the M.W. the Grand Lodge.
Elizabeth St. Leger
(1693-1772)
Elizabeth St. Ledger, afterwards the Hon. Mrs. Aldworth, the lady freemason was initiated in a private lodge in her father's house at Doneraile about the year 1711.
To access a comprehesive paper on "The lady Freemason please see the following link :-
LINK ~ "THE 1st LADY FREEMASON"
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(F) The Constitution of The M.W. The Grand Lodge ~ 1725.
As stated above 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"
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
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(G) The Volunteer Movement in the 1780's.
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
"Claimed" by the 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.
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(H) The Masonic Female Orphan School ~ 1792
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.
FORMER MASONIC GIRLS SCHOOL, BALLBRIDGE, DUBLIN 4.
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(I) The United Irishmen, Freemasonry and 1798.
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"
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(J) The papal Bull & Daniel O'Connell ~ 1826.
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)
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(K) Augustus Frederick FitzGerald,The 3rd Duke of Leinster, Grand Master 1824 - 1874.
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
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(L) The Masonic Orphan Boys School ~ 1867 - 1980.
In 1867 the Masonic Orphan Boys School was founded. Richview Lodge, Clonskeagh, was purchased in 1885 to house the Boys School . The school was sold to UCD in 1980. A short history on the school can be accessed by the following link :-
Link ~ "The Masonic Boys School"
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(M) The History of the Freemason's Hall ~ 1869.
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.
For a fascinating and comprehensive history of Freemason's Hall, by W.Bro. Tony Browne Past Acting Master of the R.W. the Grand Master's Lodge,which runs to more than 100 pages and contains unique information, photographs and plans relating to the construction of the Hall please follow the following PDF link (the file is quite large and may take some time to download) :-
Link ~ "Freemason's Hall ~ A History"
In April during the Civil war of 1922 Freemasons Hall was seized by Irregulars, along with the Kildare Street Club and held for a period of six weeks. No damage occurred at all and Colonel Claude Cane, the Deputy Grand Secretary at the time, paid tribute to the courtesy and consideration that he received from the Provisional Government during negotiations for the return of the building.
IRA carrying bread during the evacuation of Freemasons Hall, 1922.
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(O) The 275th Anniversary of Grand Lodge ~ 8th June 2000.
[Click on above 275th Anniversary Ticket to link to 275th Anniversary Grand Lodge of Ireland Service of Thanksgiving and Praise Booklet ]
The Grand Lodge of Ireland celebrated the 275th of its Foundation on the 8th June 2000. To celebrate the occasion a Grand Lodge Communication was held in the Concert hall of the Royal Dublin Society which was attended by some 1500 Brethren, the largest gathering of the Order in living memory. To access the Service of Thanksgiving and Praise Booklet given to Brethren who attended on the day click on the 275th Anniversary ticket above.
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2. WEB LINK~"TOUR OF FREEMASONS'HALL"
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3. WEB LINK ~ "THE M.W. THE GRAND LODGE"
EMAIL ~ "THE M.W. THE GRAND LODGE"
GRAND LODGE SEAL
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Grand Lodge Seal 1809
Craft Medal 1763.
EMAIL ~ IRISHMASONICJEWELS.IE