Before the artefacts and the local stories, a simple question deserves a plain answer: what actually is Freemasonry?
One of the world’s oldest fraternities
Freemasonry is one of the world’s oldest secular fraternities, with something like 35,000 members in Ireland and around four million worldwide. It is a society concerned with moral and spiritual values, in which members are taught a system of ethics through a series of ancient ceremonial forms that use the customs and tools of the medieval stonemason — the square, the level, the compasses — as allegorical guides to conduct.
Freemasonry and religion
A persistent misunderstanding is worth addressing directly. Freemasonry is not a religion, nor a combination of religions, nor a substitute for religion. It expects its members to hold to their own faith and does not permit the discussion of religion at Masonic meetings. A Freemason is encouraged firstly to do his duty to his God through his own faith and practice, and secondly to his neighbour through charity, tolerance and service. These ideas are not exclusively Masonic — they are universally acceptable — but Freemasons undertake to follow them.
The three great principles
The craft rests on three principles that recur throughout its teaching:
- Brotherly Love. Every true Freemason is expected to show tolerance and respect for the opinions of others, and to behave with kindness and understanding towards his fellow creatures.
- Relief. Freemasons are taught to practise charity, and to care not only for their own members but for the community as a whole — through both charitable giving and voluntary effort. This is explored further on our page about the charitable tradition.
- Truth. Freemasonry strives for truth and requires high moral standards of its members.
An old society, plainly explained
From its earliest days the fraternity has concerned itself with the care of orphans, the sick and the aged, work that continues today. For all the mystique that has gathered around it — addressed on our page about the myth of secrecy — the reality is a sociable, charitable and self-improving society with a very long history, particularly rich here in the mid-west of Ireland. Modern overviews are offered by the United Grand Lodge of England and, for Ireland specifically, the Grand Lodge of Ireland.
This is an independent educational summary and does not represent any Masonic organisation.