Three townspeople of Stradbally, a small village situated about sixty miles from Dublin, Ireland, petitioned the Grand Lodge of Ireland for a Warrant to hold Masonic meetings there. The Grand Lodge issued the Warrant, numbered 712, to the petitioners on 1 April, 1790. The Warrant was later cancelled on 7 October 1813.

Freemasonry may be described as a social organisation, the purpose of which is 'self-improvement' - not in the material sense, but in the intellectual, moral and philosophic sense of developing the whole person.

But what is it? It is not a religious, political or charitable organisation, although charity is an important part of its tenets.

• Masonry is first and foremost a society which encourages fellowship, one which develops a moral and ethical way of life.