Shamrock Lodge - Athlone

MargeS

While researching my family tree I found a Church Marriage record that has the wifes address as Shamrock Lodge dated 1870.
The only information I can find so far is either the Shamrock Lodge hotel or Shamrock Lodge No. 101, a free masons lodge.

Does anyone know if the Shamrock Lodge hotel was open in 1870 or if this has something to do with the Free Masons, Shamrock Lodge?

My understanding is that the Free Masons are Protestant and men only (this is probably a gross generalisation). As the marriage was Catholic, I'm thinking it is the hotel option.

Jellybaby1

Can't help you on the address, but regarding the Freemasons, I went to a tour in Freemasons Hall a couple of years ago and the tour guide said there were all religions in the Masons, Christians, Jews, you name it. The only thing is you have to believe in a higher being, a creator of some kind. I vaguely remember him saying they have a women's section by I might be wrong about that.

Edit: I just found this on their website:

"Membership of our Order is open to all men of integrity and goodwill, irrespective of colour or creed, on condition that they profess a belief in a Supreme Being. How they choose to worship Him is not of interest to us."

Peregrinus

Certainly not the masonic hall because (a) nobody lives at a masonic hall, (b) women can't be masons and (c) nobody marrying in a Catholic church in 1870 would offer the masonic hall as their address.

It could be the Shamrock Lodge Hotel, if that existed at the time. But it could equally be a private house. In the nineteenth century numbering of houses was pretty much confined to urban areas. In the suburbs, certainly the larger houses and suburban villas - four bedrooms, maybe, standing on half and acre or so- were named, not numbered. And something like "Shamrock Lodge" would be a typical house name.

DeepSleeper

Here's a link to the Ordnance Survey 6" map of Athlone from the mid-1800s which shows Shamrock Lodge:

http://maps.osi.ie/publicviewer/#V1,603326,741268,7,7

It was still there when the 25" map was compiled c. 1900:

http://maps.osi.ie/publicviewer/#V1,603326,741268,7,9

I think it was probably a small country house in the 1870s.

BowWow

From the Hotel website/

"History and Guests
Visitors to The Shamrock Lodge Hotel in Athlone Co Westmeath sometimes ask where it got its name. One theory is that an early owner of the lodge was a member of the Freemasons whose Athlone branch was known as Shamrock Lodge 101. While others say that the grounds around the house was famous for shamrock.
The house began its life as the home of Micheal Monks in 1814. It was established as an Athlone hotel in 1951 by the late Mr.Frank Coen and was later purchased in the early nineties by the current owner Mr. Paddy McCaul.
As one of the finest hotels in Athlone Co Westmeath it has welcomed many distinguished guests during the last century including Queen Salote of Tonga, Prince Rainier and Princess Grace of Monaco, former U.S. ambassador to Ireland William Taft III , former Presidents of Ireland Sean T. Kelly and Dr. Patrick Hillary, former Taoiseach Mr. Jack Lynch.
More recently former President of Ireland Mrs. Mary Robinson and current Taoiseach Mr. Bertie Ahern and other members of state making it one of the most popular hotels in Athlone Westmeath."

http://www.shamrocklodgehotel.ie/history-and-guests.html


"Current Taoiseach":eek: