Grand Lodge of Ireland
Formation | Before 1725 |
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Location |
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Region | Ireland |
Website | freemasons.ie |
Part of a series on |
Freemasonry |
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The Grand Lodge of Ireland is the second most senior
History
There is considerable evidence of Masonic Lodges meeting in Ireland prior to the 18th century. The story of the "Lady Freemason", Elizabeth St. Leger, dates to a time prior to the existence of the Grand Lodge; also, there are references to Lodge meetings across Dublin in a speech given in Trinity College Dublin, as far back as 1688. The oldest artefact of Fraternal Masonry in Ireland, and one of the oldest masonic artefacts in the world, is Baal's Bridge Square, on which the date 1507 is inscribed. The brass square was recovered from Baal's Bridge in Limerick during reconstruction in 1830, and appeared to have been deliberately placed under the foundation stone of the old bridge. It is inscribed with the phrase, "I will strive to live with love and care, upon the level and by the square."[1]
According to the Dublin Weekly Journal, The 1st Earl of Rosse was elected as the new Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of Ireland on 26 June 1725. The attendant procession included the Masters and Wardens of six lodges of "Gentleman Freemasons". The article has the strong implication that this was not the first such election, but since no earlier reference has yet been found, the Grand Lodge of Ireland dates its foundation to 1725, making it the second oldest, and the oldest extant Grand Lodge in the World.[2] At least as early as 1726, there was also a Grand Lodge to the South, in Munster, which was absorbed by the Dublin Grand Lodge in 1733.[3]
The Irish Grand Lodge was the first to issue warrants to lodges in their present form, and, unlike the other Grand Lodges in London and Edinburgh, had no problems in issuing warrants for travelling lodges. Thus it was that the majority of masonic lodges in the British Army, wherever they came from, were warranted under the Irish Constitution. The form of masonry that the British Army spread in the colonies was predominantly Irish.[4] It was an English regiment with an Irish warrant that started the lodge from which Prince Hall Freemasonry sprang.[5]
In England, it was Irish Freemasons who set up a rival to the Premier Grand Lodge of England, in the form of the Grand Lodge of England which we now call the Antients. The Grand Secretary of the Antients, Laurence Dermott, based his regulations on Spratt's Irish constitutions. It was the Antients' ritual form that prevailed when the two rival English Grand Lodges joined in 1813.[6]
The early nineteenth century brought a series of setbacks for the Grand Lodge of Ireland. A dispute over the higher degrees led to a breakaway Grand Lodge of
During the 18th century, individual Lodges had met at inns, taverns and coffee houses, while the meetings of the Grand Lodge generally took place in civic and guild buildings. During the early 19th century Grand Lodge began leasing buildings as semi-permanent Masonic facilities, for example, the Grand Lodge for a time held residence at No. 19,
In 2000 the Grand Lodge counted more than 700 centres and 33,000 Irish affiliated members, besides to other 150 lodges distributed abroad the island.[8]
On 31 December 2021 a fire was reported in the Masonic Lodge on Molesworth Street.[9] The incident happened at 17:20 and the fire was extinguished shortly after 18:00.[10] A man in his 30s was taken to St. James's Hospital with serious injuries.[9][10] Firefighters contained damage to one room and extinguished flames.[9] On 1 January 2022 Gardaí issued an appeal for information after criminal damage and burglary.[10]
British Army lodges
The Grand Lodge of Ireland played a central role in the spread of
Opposition
The Catholic Church excluded its members from participation in Freemasonry, rival movements such as the Knights of Saint Columbanus were created and particularly during the 20th century as the Irish Free State was founded, the two groups were competitors. Some of the most vocal anti-masons in Ireland have typically been supporters of the Catholic Church and have authored works against freemasonry. This includes Michael de Gargano's (a pseudonym) Irish and English Freemasons and Their Foreign Brothers (1876), Fr. George F. Dillon's War of Anti-Christ with the Church and Christian Civilization (1885), Fr. Edward Cahill's Freemasonry and the anti-Christian Movement (1929) and Fr. Denis Fahey who reprinted Fr. Dillon's work in 1950, as well as the encyclicals of Pope Leo XIII.
Provincial Grand Lodges in Ireland
- Antrim
- Armagh
- North Connaught Archived 20 November 2011 at the Wayback Machine
- South Connaught
- Down
- Londonderry & Donegal
- Meath
- Metropolitan Area
- Midland Counties
- Munster
- North Munster
- South Eastern
- Tyrone & Fermanagh
- Wicklow & Wexford
Provincial Grand Lodges Overseas
- Bermuda
- Far East
- India
- Jamaica, Cayman Islands and the Bahamas
- Natal
- New Zealand
- South Africa Northern, Southern Cape
- South East Asia (Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand)
- Southern Cape
- Sri Lanka
- Zambia
There are additionally several overseas lodges not attached to provinces, and two travelling lodges attached to British Army regiments.[13]
Grand Masters
See also
References
- ^ Henry F. Berry, The "Marencourt" Cup and Ancient Square, preserved in the Union Lodge No 13, Limerick, Ars Quatuor Coronatorum, Vol XVIII, pp 13-19, London, 1905
- ^ a b Benjamin Franklin Lodge #83, Madison, WI Archived 1 January 2011 at the Wayback Machine Robert Blackburn, A Brief History of the Grand Lodge of Ireland, retrieved 25 January 2013
- ^ a b Pietre Stones H. L. Haywood, Various Grand Lodges, The Builder, vol X no 5, May 1924
- ^ The Temple and the Lodge, M. Baigent and R. Leigh, Arrow 1998
- ^ Prince Hall History Education Class by Raymond T. Coleman(pdf) Archived 3 March 2016 at the Wayback Machine retrieved 17 July 2012
- ^ Witham Matthew Bywater, Notes on Laurence Dermott G.S. and his Work, London, 1884.
- ^ Pick and Knight, The Pocket History of Freemasonry (1955), pp 136-164, The History of Irish Freemasonry
- ^ "Movers and shakers". The Irish Times. 6 January 2000.
- ^ a b c Boland, Lauren (31 December 2021). "Man taken to hospital as firefighters extinguish flames at Masonic Lodge in Dublin". TheJournal.ie. Retrieved 31 December 2021.
- ^ a b c Moore, Jane (1 January 2022). "Gardaí appeal for information on burglary and criminal damage incident on Molesworth Street". TheJournal.ie. Retrieved 2 January 2022.
- ^ a b c d "A Short History of the Armed Forces and Masonry". Circuit of Service Lodges. 23 November 2015.
- ^ "List of Military Lodges". Circuit of Service Lodges. 23 November 2015.
- ^ Grand Lodge of Ireland Overseas Lodges, retrieved 26 January 2013
Bibliography
- de Gargano, Michael (1876). Irish and English Freemasons and Their Foreign Brothers (PDF). M. H. Gill and Sons.
- Waite, Arthur Edward (2007). A New Encyclopedia of Freemasonry. Vol. I. Cosimo, Inc. p. 400. ISBN 978-1-60206-641-0.