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Publications | Down Survey | 2003 Issue Contents Freemasonry
and the United Irishmen in late eighteenth century Ireland The recent commemoration of the bicentenary of the insurrection of 1798 witnessed the publication of a wealth of important new research that enhanced considerably the levels of understanding of that remarkable event in Irish history. Revisionist historiography explored aspects of the period in a refreshing manner, with under-exploited sources being fully utilised and plausible inferences made. The essential details of the Rising though provided a secure constant against this preponderance of fresh analysis. Eighteenth century Ireland was dominated by an Ascendancy elite operating out of the pillars of the Irish Establishment - the Anglican Church and an unrepresentative Irish Parliament in College Green, Dublin. Encouraged by the momentous events in the American colonies and later in France, a process of political maturation took place and patriotic calls for legislative independence (from Westminster) for the Irish parliament produced more progressive organisations such as the Volunteers. Demands for electoral reform and the extension of political rights for Catholics and Dissenters created the intellectual climate for the formation in Belfast of the Society of United Irishmen, a grouping that became more radical after its suppression during England's war with Revolutionary France which began in 1793. By the middle of the decade, the United Irishmen was a society dedicated to the principles of revolution and republicanism, actively seeking the help of France to establish its vision of a fair and equitable society, espousing the principles of liberty, equality and brotherhood. Links between the United Irishmen and the Catholic Defenders were established and developed in the period before the Rebellion, while the growth of Orangeism - in parallel with the enrolment of loyalist yeomanry corps -produced an increase in sectarianism throughout Ireland and particularly in south Ulster, where ancient hatreds, exacerbated by alterations in land ownership, once again rose to the fore. A failed French invasion at the end of 1796 prompted efforts to suppress the United Irishmen in 1797. Crippled by arrests, informers and poor organisation, rebellion was finally unleashed in May 1798. It is estimated that as many as twenty thousand died in the resulting carnage, a rebellion that provided much in the way of Irish nationalist martyrology and - on the other side - Orange triumphalism. A major political outcome of the rebellion was the dissolution of the Irish parliament and the introduction of the Act of Union, a new dispensation that satisfied some of the summer soldiers of 1798 due to the removal of the hated Ascendancy Parliament, but created amongst others a renewed nationalist vision based on demands for both Catholic Emancipation and a repeal of the union. The purpose of this paper is to introduce freemasonry into this accepted historical formula and assess its role and impact in Irish politics during these turbulent times. It has long been acknowledged that the influence of freemasonry was present during the 1790s and indeed that freemasonry provided a model of secrecy and brotherhood which political reformers in Ireland were keen to emulate. The analysis offered here is that while the hierarchy of the craft in Ireland abhorred the seditious tactics of the United Irishmen, many freemasons' lodges - particularly in Ulster - rallied to the radical cause. Freemasonry developed in parallel with the Volunteers and later the United Irishmen and it is undeniable that many masons were implicated in the insurrection. It is, however, also a fact that many freemasons assisted in quelling the revolutionary fires in 1798. The brotherhood was split. The traditions of the institution of freemasonry are derived from the guilds of masons and builders who sought work designing and building some of Europe's finest edifices during the Middle Ages. Based on the practices of restrictive membership, craft secrecy, ritual and chanty, they looked to the Old Testament for inspiration and the construction of Solomon's Temple provides the metaphorical template for the building of the perfect society, based on toleration, reason and good works. Freemasonry was at the cutting edge of the European Enlightenment during the eighteenth century, and the masonic doctrines of fraternity, rationality and reason were entirely compatible with the political philosophy of Montesquieu and Voltaire (incidentally both freemasons). The creation of a fair and just society based on the greatest happiness of the greatest number was as central to masonic concerns as it was to the philosophes of the Enlightenment. The later fixation of French republicans like Robespierre with the Supreme Being carries masonic resonance - one of his close associates, Georges Couthon, was a freemason. The cultural life too of Europe was being shaped by freemasonry at this time. The literary giant Goethe was a freemason, while in music, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart enrolled in December 1784 as a member of the Zur Wohltatigkeit lodge in Vienna. He soon became a Master Mason and indeed persuaded his friend Joseph Haydn to join the order. Mozart's relationship with the main churches in Vienna was problematic and much of his choral repertoire was masonic music. These lyrics are sung by a tenor performing the song Zerfliesset heut, geliebte Bruder Thank the host which has ever watched over
us The impact of freemasonry on the infant American republic is just as obvious. Benjamin Franklin, one of the most influential of the Founding Fathers was a freemason, while the purity of Jeffersonian democracy has masonic overtones. While freemasonry did not invent the Enlightenment it was at the centre of this progressive political and cultural movement that shaped Europe and the New World in the late 18th century and beyond. The Grand Lodge of Ireland was established in 1725 and it is generally accepted that it is the second oldest in the world. From the outset it was associated with Whiggish principles, justifying the Glorious Revolution in England with its emphasis on constitutionalism rather than despotism.4The rules of Freemasonry were enunciated in the Constitutions of Freemasonry or Ahimon Rezon, published in several editions after 1723. The later associations between masonic lodges and the United Irishmen will perhaps cause some surprise - especially when it is remembered that Rule 115 stated that "Polemical or political discussions shall not, under any pretence whatever, be permitted in any Masonic assembly".5 Further, under the instruction of The Antient (sic) Charges of the Free and Accepted masons, "A mason must be a peaceable subject, never to be concerned in plots against the state, nor disrespectful to inferior magistrates."6 Freemasonry in Ulster, however, experienced a state of dormancy as the eighteenth century developed and indeed some lodges existed independently of Grand Lodge, adopting a local character that became more evident in the last twenty years of the century. The revival of freemasonry in Belfast during the last quarter of the period has been attributed to Amyas Griffith a native of county Tipperary who had achieved some success in the world of journalism and literature. After a brief military career, he was employed in the Board of Excise first in Wexford and later at Fethard in his native county. Griffith reached high levels in public administration, being appointed Inspector General of the Province of Munster in the mid-1770s on a salary of £1500 per annum. He was successful in the detection of frauds and illegal combinations but while his professional career took off, a scandal in his personal life forced him to depart hastily. He was offered a minor revenue commissioner post in Belfast - his income potential dropped considerably to £65 per year, but with the prospect of additional earnings. Thus Amyas Griffith arrived in Belfast in May 1780. He was considerably poorer than he had been before and carried the additional reputation of an adulterer whose activities had led to a collapse of the family income. The late Aiken McClelland's thorough research on Griffith reveals that he had been admitted as a freemason in a military lodge back in 1764 and that his membership had continued during his employment in Tralee, Fethard, Skibereen and Dublin. It is unsurprising therefore that Griffith looked for friendship and solace in masonic circles following his appointment to Belfast. He must surely have been disappointed, for the town boasted only three lodges, one of which, number 257, was dormant. Griffith revived the lodge in 1781 and by 1785, the reconstituted Lodge 257-now the 'Orange' Lodge - boasted a membership of 170. Moreover, Griffith had attracted the leading lights from the civic and commercial circle in the town into the movement. The lodge became a focal point of the cultural life of Belfast, staging plays and musical recitals as well as conducting processions to church during the St John's Day festivities. In 1784, the Orange Lodge marched to church behind the band of the 49th Regiment of Foot and was addressed by the lodge chaplain Reverend Matthew Garnett. After the service, members dined in the Donegall Arms and amongst the brethren were the Earl of Hillsborough and his son Lord Kilwarlin. When the Belfast Chamber of Commerce formed in 1783, 17 of its 66 members were members of Lodge 257. Griffith left Belfast in late 1785, dismissed from his post because of his open sponsorship of the leading merchant Waddell Cunningham (against the official candidate sponsored by the Marquis of Donegal) for the parliamentary seat of Carrickfergus. Lodge 257 contributed much to the civic life of Belfast, donating £100 to the erection of the town's new linen hall (the site of the current City Hall) in 1782. Mr John Brown, worshipful master of Orange Lodge 257, laid the foundation stone. Brown also was a major in the Belfast Volunteer Company. The Volunteers provided the thrust to patriot demands for legislative independence. While the involvement of the freemasons in the Volunteer movement became more noticeable as the 1790s dawned, it is worth noting that the chairman of the great Volunteer Convention at Dungannon in 1782 was Colonel William Irvine, who was also the Provincial Grand Master of Ulster8. The Volunteer leader Lord Charlemont was a freemason as were other names associated with patriot politics, for example the MPs Barry Yelverton and John Philpott Curran. The Irish Grand Master at this time was Richard Wellsley, the brother of the Duke of Wellington. The influence of freemasonry in the Volunteer movement is evident, but not remarkable given their shared outlook. ATQ Stewart correctly points out that companies with 'blue' in their title were largely masonic, blue being the colour of speculative masonry. Belfast Lodge 272 or the 'New Blues' met in Mill Street and contained around 30 members9. The 'union' Volunteer corps - Newry Union, Dromore Union, Lisbum Union -were largely masonic in make-up. The lodge room was one of the few places where Protestants and Catholics could meet as equals under a common law and ritual. It is no coincidence therefore that the resolutions passed by both Volunteer companies and masonic lodges contain reference to Catholic Relief. Lodge 620 - the first Volunteer Masonic Lodge of Ireland - was established in 1783. In 1789 Archibald Hamilton Rowan (of Killyleagh Castle stock) a leading radical and later founder member of the first Dublin Society of United Irishmen, was admitted into the lodge. In 1783, Henry Grattan had applied for membership.10 The existence of Catholics in freemasons' lodges during the 1780s throws up the possibility that masonic influences can be detected in the Defender movement. This was a secret society pledged to protect Catholics and their land, and many leading Defenders traced their roots to the native Irish chieftains who had been dispossessed during the Protestant plantation of the seventeenth century. Skirmishes between Defenders and Peep o' Day Boys contributed to the formation of the Orange Order in 1795. While evidence to prove beyond doubt that the Defenders had - at certain times and in certain cases - links with freemasonry is difficult to produce (largely because the Defenders left little behind in the way
Henry Munro, freemason and United Irishman. This etching, "Henry Munro, Chief of the Irish Rebels" is by Thomas Rolandson. (Courtesy of the National Gallery of Ireland)
The jug presented by Henry Munro to Masonic Lodge No. 193, Lisburn. (Courtesy of the Irish Linen Centre and Lisburn Museum). of documentary evidence) we can say that many Defender societies did adopt the term lodge and that these societies were numbered. The Defender leader in county Down was John Magennis, a m^x with extensive United Irish links during the 1790s. Magennis described himself as the 'grand master' of the Defenders in county Down and the rightful heir to the vast tracts of Magennis land that had been expropriated by the English settlers. Another leading Defender and United Irishman was Bartholomew Teeling of Poleglass (son of the linen bleacher Luke Teeling) who was a member of Lodge 193 based in Lisbum and the brother-in-law of John Magennis.12 The outbreak of the French Revolution in 1789 was observed with considerable interest by people in Ulster of all political dispositions. The principles of liberty, equality and fraternity must surely have attracted the curiosity of those Volunteers and freemasons whose political aspirations bore remarkable similarity to many of those espoused by the populace of Pans. The excitement created by the calling of the Estates General, the assertion of the political rights of the third estate and the drama of the storming of the Bastille was experienced outside of France and the ferment was felt in Belfast where the Volunteers enthusiastically celebrated successive anniversaries of the fall of the Bastille. The failure of Belfast's Whig Club to satisfy the ambitions of the more progressive elements of Belfast society had led to demands for a more radical caucus to be formed. In 1791, the Society of United Irishmen was founded in Belfast. Pledging itself to work for the adequate representation of the Irish nation in parliament, the United Irishmen dedicated itself to the creation of a "brotherhood of affection, an identity of interests, a communion of rights and a union of power among Irishmen of all religious persuasions". The reasons and personalities behind the establishment of the United Irishmen remains a matter of historical conjecture and debate. The analysis that sees Theobald Wolfe Tone as the sole instigator - popular in republican iconography - is somewhat simplistic. Tone did provide the organisation with its name and was the best enunciator of its objectives, but it is worth remembering that he was invited to Belfast in 1791 (along with Thomas Russell who was more familiar to the reforming interest in the town) for the inaugural meeting of a society that had been some time in the planning. Foremost among the planners was Dr William Drennan, the son of a Presbyterian minister who had practised in Newry but was by 1790 resident in Dublin. While Drennan was not present at the celebrated first meeting of the United Irishmen - on 18 October 1791, his fingerprints are clearly visible on the movement's early deliberations. Drennan wrote to his brother-in-law, Sam McTier on 21 May 1791 outlining his preferences for a new political association: I should much desire that a
society were instituted in this city (he was referring to A secret committee in Belfast is said to have been in existence since April 1791 and the driving force behind this manifestation of radical and republican politics in the city was another son of the manse, the cotton manufacturer Samuel Neilson. The names of those present at the first meeting of the Belfast Society of United Irishmen reads like a list of Belfast's civic and economic leadership, not just its radical undercurrent. Included were the merchants Henry Haslett, William Tennant and the clockmaker Thomas McCabe. These three men were all freemasons -Haslett and Tennant were members of 257 and McCabe a member of Lodge 684. 14 The meeting was chaired by Sam McTier, also a freemason. Other members of Lodge 257 who became United Irishmen included William McCracken (brother of the famous Henry Joy McCracken), and George and Thomas Sinclair, whose brother William was another founder member of the United Irishmen15. James McGuickan the Belfast solicitor and United Irish legal supremo (later an informer) was another member of 257 as was the shipbroker Robert Hunter, later a member of the Provincial Committee of the United Irishmen, who was arrested in 1798 and incarcerated at Fort George in In vernes shire. When the Dublin society assembled soon afterwards it included freemasons like James Napper Tandy and Archibald Hamilton Rowan, and the United Irishmen met at the Tailor's Guild Hall near Christchurch which was, incidentally, the headquarters of the Grand Lodge of Ireland. The Volunteers had acted as something of a midwife to the United Irishmen and as the 1790s developed, the revived movement was drilling and parading regularly, passing resolutions that called for political reform and also innovation. It is also at this time that the connections between Volunteering and thus the United Irishmen and freemasonry become more vivid. The Northern Star, edited by Samuel Neilson was the newspaper of radical politics in Ulster and the mouthpiece of the United Irishmen. On 28 July 1792, the Star carried a report informing its considerable readership that "the patriotic spirit of Volunteering daily increases" and that among others listed, a new company of 'citizen soldiers' had formed at Ballynahinch and the Spa. Its first Lieutenant was Joseph Clokey, one of the leading United Irish figures in Down during the 1790s. The resolutions of this company were carried by the paper in the 1-5 December issue. These included a desire to respect the rights of Catholics and a call to obtain "a more equal, judicious and reasonable representation of the People in parliament and a reform of the numerous political clauses at present so loudly and justly complained of, and that a reformation of the public manners and morals of the people is also essentially necessary to make us an united, happy and prosperous nation." The resolutions conclude with a daring, almost seditious (though England had not yet gone to war against the French) statement of support for the continuing revolution in France and a dramatic call for world reconstruction along idealistic lines that provide us with an echo of masonry: That we contemplate with pleasure the glorious success of France against her combined enemies and look forward to the happy period which is gradually approaching when truth and justice, religion and piety shall flourish and righteousness and peace spread from pole to pole and cover the whole earth, as the waters cover the sea.16 What is equally interesting is that the Northern Star also published resolutions from various freemasons' lodges and these were political in nature and thus at variance with the rules and regulations of the Institution as published in Ahimon Rewn. Masonic resolutions were very similar - and often identical - to those being published by the Volunteer companies, some of which were acting at times as the United Irishmen in uniform. Take for example the following call from freemasons in Killead who conveyed their sentiments through the Star in December 1792. They pledged to "use our utmost exertions for a reform of the Commons House of Parliament".17 On 27 December 1792 Lodge 594 (Tobermore) met and declared that "Corruption has debased the legislative part of the Constitution" and that they would "use whatever mode may seem to us most conducive to regain the privileges of the People and restore every rank, without religious distinction to its just rights." The lodge then resolved to form itself into a Volunteer company "and assist in rescuing our country from impending ruin." The resolution concluded with the lodge secretary John Campbell thanking ten brethren from Lodge 460 (Ballinascreen) for enrolling in the said company.18 In January 1793 (the month of
the execution of the French king Louis XVI) lodge 539, which sat
at Randalstown resolved that: Masons in Clough published the following resolution in the Star in January 1792: .. .we will indiscriminately
promote the interest of mankind in general, the dignity of This statement could just as easily have come from the pen of a United Irishman. It is highly likely that it did. A lot of these resolutions actually included the specific desire of freemasons not to meddle in politics and this would suggest that these lodges were in fact affiliated to Grand Lodge. In the Newry Chronicle September 1792, a resolution by the Newry Union Society - the newly established United Irish club - called for unanimity and brotherly love, announcing in the language and style of freemasonry that "it was never the intention of our Creator that we should persecute each other on account of any difference in our modes of worship, that it is an offence against the God of Nature."20 It is possible therefore to propose the existence of a nexus between the Volunteers, freemasons and United Irishmen. The similarities of aims and methods are obvious and can be explained and confirmed by the cross membership in these organisations. It is also worth noting that many of these resolutions professed loyalty to King George III. Radical thinking was not for the most part considering alternatives to monarchy at this time. After 1795, the United Irishmen - now suppressed because of its pro-French sympathies at a time when England was at war on the continent - embarked on a more subversive and revolutionary course. Some of its leading emissaries - people like William Putnam McCabe, Henry Joy McCracken and Bartholomew Teeling - were freemasons, and it is highly likely that lodge meetings were used as a cover for clandestine activities and that these gatherings provided fertile ground in terms of United Irish recruitment. The first United Irish martyr was William Orr from Farranshane close to Carrickfergus, who was sentenced to hang after being found guilty - on dubious evidence - of having administered the United Irish oath. His solicitor was James McGuickan and his defending counsel John Philpott Curran - both fellow masons. After Orr's hanging in October 1797, he was given a masonic funeral. 21 Government repression during 1797 had its desired effect on the structure and morale of the United Irishmen. Key arrests punctured the movement, as General Lake's dragooning of Ulster rendered the cradle of the United Irish movement much less capable of forming the vanguard of any future revolutionary project. In Armagh, 37 masonic lodges admitted that some of their members had been United Irishmen and they published a resolution denouncing this practice in the hope of "wiping away the stigma".22 1798 The Grand Master of Ireland at this time was Lord Donoughmore. A member of the Irish Parliament for Sligo, he had long championed the cause of Catholic Emancipation and he would continue to do so after his elevation to the Lords. As a member of the Ascendancy, he was never likely to support the insurrection, even if some individual masons did. In fact, he commanded the Cork Legion in 1798. The previous year, the Chief Secretary for Ireland Henry Pelham had written to Donoughmore requesting him to act against those members of his organisation that were trying to politicise the freemasons. 24 That same year, the Secret Committee of the Irish House of Commons had uncovered a paper circulated in 1791 that called for the establishment of a radical political society along masonic lines, similar to that proposed by Drennan. By the eve of the rebellion, the government had identified a dangerous level of masonic involvement in radical politics. Grand Lodge had to act. There are few minute details for 1798 and Grand Lodge itself suspended its own meetings, assembling only in November, by which time the rebellion had been crushed. Grand Lodge did, however, pass the following significant resolution: ...that several lodges in this
city (Dublin) be directed to enquire into the conduct of their
members during the late rebellion and report thereon at next meeting
of this Right Lodge 620, the first Volunteer lodge, framed the following response and its vagueness speaks volumes: That as Masonry was suspended after the commencement of the late rebellion we have not had an opportunity of becoming acquainted with the Masonic conduct of the members of our lodge and as masons we are not authorised to make any other enquiry.26 In December 1798, the Grand Lodge reiterated its position vis-a-vis polemical and political matters being introduced into the lodge room: The discussion of political, religious or controversial subjects is utterly subservice and abhorrent from the fundamental principles of masonry by whatever authority to be introduced.27 Further, Grand Lodge circularised the following reminder in February 1799: Resolved - that no religious or political discussion is by any means or under any colour or pretence whatsoever to find its way into any Masonic lodge.28 The freemasons were putting
their house in order because, despite the existence of regulations,
individual members and lodges were clearly implicated in the insurrection.
One of the central figures in the rebellion locally was the Lisburn linen draper Henry Monro. He was a member of the Lisburn Volunteer company and is listed in the Members Register for Masonic Lodge 193. After the arrest of William Steel Dickson (the adjutant general for Down) on 5 June 1798, Monro was appointed commander at the end of a desperate scramble for a replacement, and commanded the United Irish forces during the decisive Battle of Ballynahinch on 12-13 June 1798. Monro was said to have been master of Lodge 193 at the time of the rebellion, although this cannot be proven. What is clear, however, is that George Tandy29 - brother of the Dublin radical James Napper Tandy - was a fellow member of this lodge, as was Bartholomew Teeling, who was executed in 1798 for his participation in the Humbert invasion in the west of Ireland. It has been written that Monro left Lisburn in June 1798 because of the public flogging of Thomas Hood, a member of Monro's own lodge30, and that he accidentally stumbled upon the United Irishmen in Saintfield, whereupon he was proclaimed leader of the forces in Down. Hood's name appears in the Member's Register consulted in Molesworth Street, but the accepted view of Monro's appointment is unsatisfactory31. At Ballynahinch, the United Irishmen encamped on Lord Moira's lawn at Montalto. Moira had, incidentally, served as Grand Master of the English Grand Lodge during the 1770s, and he was a long-standing advocate of Whig/Patriot politics. Masonic hospitality was not being exercised here, but it is noteworthy that the damage inflicted to Moira's house was caused by the loyalist forces. Before we see freemasonry and the United Irishmen being linked too closely, it must be remembered that a great number, probably a majority, of the order were opposed to the rebellion. Lord Donoughmore, for example, was horrified at the excesses of the insurrection and Lord Downshire was the reactionary Governor of county Down and a member of Lodge 257, the Orange Lodge of Belfast. Major Henry Sirr, the chief of Dublin police who would in 1803 arrest Thomas Russell at 28 Parliament Street was a freemason32. The Monaghan Militia, which fought ferociously against the insurgents in Bridge Street Ballynahinch on the 13 June, had its own masonic lodge (number 552), the warrant being issued only in 1796.33 Daniel O'Connell, an outspoken opponent of the Rising, was a member of Lodge 413 in Limerick, and Grand Lodge, remember, did reassert its control over errant lodges after the rebellion. So it would be wholly erroneous to pronounce that freemasonry was solidly behind the United Irish project or that lodges had official sanction to be so. Persuasive individual masons in certain lodges were able to dictate the direction of those lodges and adapt the tenets of freemasonry to their own political ends. Despite the protestations of Grand Lodge, it is easy to see how the principles of the masons were entirely compatible with many of those of the United Irishmen. The enlisting of Orangemen into the loyalist yeomanry companies (Inch Lodge 430 became the Inch yeomanry corps, for example)34 created subsequent difficulties between that institution and the freemasons. While it is often assumed that there were clear similarities between the two institutions - mainly in terms of ritual and ceremony - the relations between the two remained fraught. One organisation was by its very nature exclusive, while freemasonry offered brotherhood to Protestants, Catholics and Dissenters. There were fistfights between Ballycarry freemasons (the village was a hotbed of United Irish activity) and Magheramourne orangemen in 1800 35 and this phenomenon was also present in counties Down and Armagh. In Kilrea, the head of a freemason's lodge led an attack on eleven armed orangemen and two casualties were sustained after the loyalists fired shots from a house wherein they had taken shelter.36 After the rebellion, many masonic lodges published denunciations of the uprising and made (predictable under the circumstances) declarations of loyalty. When the prospect of rebellion loomed in 1803 local masons were loath to repeat their earlier enthusiasm for radical politics - or at least this is what they claimed. On September 9 1803, Halls Mills Lodge 526 issued the following resolution in the Belfast Newsletter. We shall ... be found amongst the most zealous of His Majesty's most faithful subjects, in firmly opposing that daring spirit of insurrection and disorder which, if not subdued, would once more involve our country in all the horrors and confusion and distress.37 There followed a long period of quietude in freemasonry, when lodges returned to their traditional activities. Curiously though, Newtownards Lodge 447 expelled three members in 1865 after it was discovered that they had been trying to induce their brethren into the Fenian Movement.38 It is difficult to conclude on the role played by freemasonry in the momentous events of the 1790s. Despite the unambiguous position of Grand Lodge, individual lodges were involved in the intellectual, political and military climate that produced the United Irishmen. The re-emergence of the Volunteers in the early part of the decade revealed strong masonic influences because all these organisations promoted the removal of sectarian divisions, the equality of the different denominational groups and the creation of ties of brotherhood. Many leading United Irishmen were freemasons and lodges were used as cover for the clandestine activities of the former. A number of leading masons can be implicated in the Rising itself, but it is important to remember that many dominant figures on the conservative side were also masons and that brethren confronted each other during the battles and skirmishes of 1798. ATQ Stewart's assessment of the situation is appropriate: If the idea of brotherhood was in fact largely a masonic inspiration, then much of the history of Ireland in this period needs to be re-written.39 Kenneth L Dawson is Head of History and Politics at Down High School. He was joint editor of 1798 Rebellion in Down and has written a number of articles on the United Irishmen, contributing recently to A Man Stepped Out For Death - Thomas Russell and County Down (edited by Dr Brian Turner). He is currently Chairman of the Friends of Down County Museum. Ken is not a member of the Freemasons, but would like to acknowledge the help given by the library staff at the headquarters of the Freemasons in Ireland in Molesworth Street, Dublin.
Notes and References 2. RR Palmer, Twelve who ruled - the year of terror in the French Revolution (New Jersey, 1969) p. 13 3. There are also clear masonic symbols in Mozart's renowned opera The Magic Flute 4. For a useful general history of the Freemasons see F Pick and GN Knight, The pocket history of Freemasonry (London, 1953) 5. The Constitutions of Freemasonry, orAhiman Rewn Rule 115, published by the Grand Lodge of Ireland (Dublin, 185 8 edition) 6. Ibid. The Antient charges of the free and accepted Masons. 2. Of the civil magistrate, supreme and subordinate 7. A McClelland, 'Amy as Griffith' in Irish Booklore II (ii) Spring 1972 8. ATQ Stewart, A Deeper Silence - the hidden origins of the United Irishmen (London, 1993) 9. S Leighton, History of Freemasonry in the Province of Antrim (Belfast, 1938) p.39 10. W Geoghegan, Masonic Lodge 620; first Volunteer masonic lodge of Ireland 1783-1920 (Dublin, 1921) pp.5-15 11. J Smyth, 'Freemasonry and the United Irishmen' in D Dickson, D Keogh, K Whelan (eds.) The United Irishmen: republicanism, radicalism and rebellion (Dublin, 1993) p. 169 12. Members Register - consulted in Molesworth Street, Dublin July 1997. 13. William Drennan (Dublin) to Samuel McTier (Belfast) 21 May 1791, I, J Agnew (ed.) The Drennan - McTier Letters (Dublin, 1998). The masonic influence is obvious.It would later be Drennan who was in favour of providing the United Irishmen with an oath, something that both Tone and Russell were opposed to. 14. Members Register 15. George Sinclair would briefly be Adjutant General of the United forces of County Down in June 1798, shortly after the arrest of Reverend William Steel Dickson on the eve of the Battle of Ballynahinch. KL Dawson, The military leadership of the United Irishmen in County Down 1796-98' in M Hill, B Turner, K Dawson (eds.) 1798 Rebellion in County Down (Newtownards, 1998) p.30 16. Northern Star, 1-5 December 1792. Thanks to Horace Reid for passing this reference to me. 17. Ibid. 21 December 1792 18. Ibid. 12 January 1793 19. Ibid. 19 January 1792 20. Quoted in AG Russell (ed.). The Story of South Down and South Armagh in 1798 (Newry, 1998) p.6 21. P Robinson, 'Hanging ropes and buried secrets' in Ulster Folklife Vol. 32 (1986) pp.6-7 22. T de Vere White, 'Freemasons' in T Desmond Williams (ed.) Secret Societies in Ireland (Bristol, 1973) p.51 23. A Blackstock, An Ascendancy Army: the Irish yeomanry 1796-1834 (Dublin, 1998) 24. J Smyth, p. 173 25. W Geoghegan, MasonicLodge 620 p.23 26. Ibid. 29. George Tandy's obituary can be found in the Northern Star 17-20 April 1793 30. See for example WT Latimer, Ulster Biographies Relating to the Rebellion of 1798 (Reprinted Belfast, 1998) pp. 18-26 31. Members Register, Dublin. For information on Henry Monro, see KL Dawson, 'Henry Monro: commander of the United Irish army of Down 1798' in Brian Turner (ed.) Down Survey 1998 (Downpatrick, 1998) 32. T De Vere White, in T Desmond-Williams [ed.] p.49 33. P Crossle, Irish masonic records (Dublin, 1973) p.l 12 34. See H Reid, 'The Battle of Ballynahinch - anthology of the documents' in M Hill B Turner, K Dawson (eds.) 1798 Rebellion in County Down pp. 123-146 35. P Robinson, 'Hanging ropes and buried secrets' in Ulster Folklife Vol. 32 (1986) 36. T De Vere White p.49 37. Belfast Newsletter, 9 September 1803. The summer of 1803 had witnessed the attempted insurrection of Robert Emmet in Dublin and the simultaneous effort by Thomas Russell to ignite rebellion in county Down. 38.Leighton,p.l96 39. Stewart, p. 178
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