The archive of the Grand Lodge of Freemasons’ of Ireland is located at No. 17 Molesworth Street, home of the headquarters of Irish Freemasonry since 1869.

The Masonic Order is an organisation whose various bodies meet to enjoy each others company, while striving for moral improvement, which is taught through symbolism and various forms of ritual relating to the stone mason. They place strong emphasis on benevolence, helping their own and also contributing to society in general. There are a number of branches of Freemasonry: members of the Craft level meet in Lodges; the Royal Arch Masons are arranged in Chapters; the Knights Templar in Preceptories and the Higher Degrees come under the Ancient and Accepted Rite.

The origins of Grand Lodge, the governing body of the Order, can be traced back to 1725. Most of the archive material dates from the mid 1700s and despite the somewhat pessimistic view of Dr. W.J. Chetwode Crawley (1843-1916), a leading Irish Masonic historian, that the Grand Lodge of Ireland is comparatively poor in archives, the collection now contains a wealth of records of the governing bodies, some records of the subordinate bodies of the Order and material relating to their charitable concerns. Perhaps we have a greater appreciation of the value of these sources today for the likes of genealogical research considering the paucity of alternative data.

A large part of my day as archivist of the Order is devoted to ancestral searches. As the Order is a thirty-two county organisation, queries can come in from all over Ireland and of course from abroad. Those who are free to do research themselves can be accommodated by appointment in our library or museum, and I can assist them with their particular topics of interest, be it family history, or the Masonic records of a specific Lodge, a county or even another country. Irish Freemasonry is active in various parts of the world and has been since the 18^th Century when warrants were issued to Lodges attached to army regiments who met wherever they were stationed.

Grand Lodge Membership Registers date from c. 1760 to 1984, after which time the memberships are recorded on a computer database. There are six sets of handwritten registers arranged by Lodge number. The first three sets, which date up to c. 1899, give a list of members’ names and a date they joined the Order. The fourth set (1900-1922), the fifth set (1923-1952) and the sixth set (1953-1984) record the professions of the members. At times you get further data such as the person’s date of emigration or death. There are five alphabetical indexes to these registers from 1875-1984. Lists of members from counties Carlow, Dublin, Kildare, Mayo, Wexford and Wicklow and Cork city from c. 1760-1860 can be consulted on a computer database. Membership Registers of the Royal Arch Chapters date from 1834 and those of the Preceptories date from 1838.

Officers Registers, which give the names of the Worshipful Masters, Wardens and Secretaries of each Lodge date from 1814 to the present. Often the address of the Secretary is also recorded. Similar registers exist for Royal Arch Chapter and Preceptory Officers.

Minute Books of the Grand Lodge of Ireland date from 1780 up to the present and the Minute Books of the Grand Lodge Board of General Purposes date from 1843. They include among other things, the names of officers appointed each year, applications made by members for Warrants to set up new Lodges, deaths of prominent members and plans for functions to be held to celebrate anniversaries or to raise money. There are also record books of the Provincial Grand Lodges, the Grand Royal Arch Chapter from 1828 and the Great Priory of Ireland from 1836.

The archive also holds box files of correspondence sorted by Lodge number. The letters are those sent from the subordinate bodies, such as the Lodges, Chapters and Preceptories to Dublin. They cover the period from c. 1820-1880. Content ranges from membership returns to financial matters to applications for certificates and welfare support. Correspondence after this date remains unsorted and is stored in boxes by year. Grand Lodge letter books, which include copies of correspondence sent by Grand Lodge, date from 1854 onwards. They are filed by year.

The archives also hold Minute Books, Attendance Books, Officers Registers and Account Books of individual Lodges, Royal Arch Chapters, Preceptories and Prince Masons Chapters. Over the years these bodies have deposited (and continue to deposit) their records in the Molesworth Street archive when they have finished with them or when they are closing down. They detail the happenings of a meeting, often giving valuable information about new members such as their professions and addresses. Some date from the mid 18^th Century and there is an index available to these Lodge record books.

In addition, the archive holds the records of various charities run by the Order. There were two Masonic schools in Dublin for the children of members who had died or could not afford school fees. The girls’ school register dates from 1867-1972 and the boys’ school registers date from 1880-1979. The records of the Victoria Jubilee and Welfare Funds, which provided for distressed brethren and their dependants, are also held.

Though highly specialised the Freemason’s archive could prove useful to those wishing to investigate an alternative source of 18^th - 20^th Century Irish material.

To learn more about the Masonic Order visitors are welcome to our museum, open Monday-Friday, 9.30-5.00 and those interested in research can contact me at (01) 6761337 or archive@freemason.ie

Rebecca Hayes
Freemason Archives