Enniskillen Masonic Lodges

FREEMasonry is non-sectarian and nonpolitical and its membership is open to all classes.

The Grand Master of Ireland, Eric Waller, emphasises what he sees as this crucial aspect of an institution which was formed in 1725, has a worldwide membership running into millions and a roll call of 30,000 in Ireland, most of them in Northern Ireland.

"We are not in any way political and we have men in our lodges who come from all faiths and backgrounds in life," said the retired Co Dublin businessman.

The Masonic Order in Ireland is heavily involved in charitable work, with millions of pounds raised every year to aid medical work in hospitals, north and south, run schools and aid social development at community level.

Mr Waller said that masons should be a positive and constructive force in society.

"We have suffered from years of disinformation about what Freemasonry stands for and its objectives and we feel the public must become more enlightened on where we stand. "This is what we are now trying to do by opening up our halls and disclosing information about our activities," he said.

Belief In A Supreme Being Is Integral

MASONIC Order members must believe in "a Supreme Being", not necessarily Jesus Christ, which means that not only Christians can apply.

Jews, Moslems and Hindus, as well as Christians, Protestants and Roman Catholics, are free to join - and they do - in the Irish lodges and across the world, according to Eric Waller, in Belfast at the weekend for a quarterly meeting of the Grand Lodge of Ireland.

Atheists are barred from membership and so are women.

"It has always been a male organisation but we never have any problem with this," he said.

"That is the way it has been since our foundation and it will not change."

Mr Waller acknowledges that there are problems with some of the mainstream Churches, particularly the Presbyterian Church in Ireland, over the Biblical and scriptural aspects of the Masonic degrees and rituals.

In 1995, the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in Ireland adopted a document which questioned whether Freemasonry was compatible with the Christian faith.

The assembly suggested that Presbyterian worshippers should consider severing their lodge membership.

Mr Waller said: "We have clerical chaplains in our lodges belonging to all of the various denominations in Ireland.

"They include three Roman Catholic priests, who are Masonic chaplains in Dublin, and Presbyterian ministers and elders in Northern Ireland, too.

" Yes, we are aware that some of the Churches have strong misgivings about us but there is not a lot we can do about that.

"Regrettably, there has been a lot of disinformation spread about publicly concerning the Masonic Order and the perceptions are not what they are in reality."

Business Done Behind Closed Doors

MASONIC Lodge meetings are held in secret and the public has very little understanding of what goes on within the realms of the lodge rooms.

Mr Waller accepts that this may be a barrier to fully understanding the work carried out by the lodges but he said that many organisations, business and trade unions, conducted their business behind closed doors and there was no fuss about that.

He said that other organisations, like some of the loyal orders, may have rituals which resemble the Masonic crafts, some of which can be traced to Solomon's Temple in the Old Testament, but added Masonry was autonomous with no connection with any other order.

The Grand Master said that they took strong exception to proposals that members of the Police Service of Northern Ireland should disclose details about their Masonic membership to allay public fears, on the same basis that police officers with affiliations to the Orange, Black, and Apprentice Boys of Derry loyal orders and the Ancient Order of Hibernians should declare theirs.

"We are taking legal advice and have hired senior counsel to fight this very obvious breach of human rights and form of discrimination against our members.

"The proposals, which have gone far beyond the Patten Report recommendations on policing, have not been implemented, and I expect that, eventually, they will be watered down," he said.

Mr Waller said that there may be a strong Masonic culture in police circles, not just in Northern Ireland, but that this did not impinge on officers doing their jobs objectively and fairly.

Members From Across Society

MEN of all social backgrounds hold lodge membership, from the aristocracy, business and industrial worlds to the working-class.

Eric Waller cites his own situation, starting out in a small Dublin printing business.

Freemasonry is organised in most countries in the world but the Irish Grand Lodge has complete autonomy and is separate from the Grand Lodge in Great Britain where the Grand Master is the Duke of Kent.

Mr Waller strongly denies that Freemasonry is an institution which enables its membership to advance their station in life, in business and employment prospects and socially.

"A Freemason is not allowed to use his membership in the order to advance his business or professional career," he said.