Freemasons

mondeo

What is this bunch all about ? What do you gain from becoming a freemason ? Are they all a bunch of Wally's with secret handshakes doing eachother favours ?

Anyone here considered joining ? I'm not interested myself but supposedly there are people from high walks of life in Ireland participating. Wasn't there some Irish government officials members of them in the 1990s ?

Dr Strange

Nothing more than a charitable social club with some theatrical work thrown in.

ILoveYourVibes

Dr Strange wrote: »

Nothing more than a charitable social club with some theatrical work thrown in.

Just for tax purposes.

s7ryf3925pivug

Old boys' club. A secret network to gain influence and social advantage. A relative was a senior member a long time ago but left because it was too corrupt apparently.

BadTurtle

Oh wee oh
Wee ohhhh

A refuge from the wife/girlfriend, apparently. I prefer the local.

BDI

Decent chaps. They do charity without looking for Facebook likes.
Might help each other out when it comes to business opportunities but mainly social and charitable and classy.
If you hear of an anonymous donation or act of some kind there’s a good chance it was George Michael or a Freemason.

nullzero

Who keeps Atlantis off the maps?
Who keeps the Martians under wraps? We do. We do.

odyssey06

Bilderberg group is where the action is at now. But you have to be a lizard.

Or is it the Stonecutters. I get confused.

Leg End Reject

BDI wrote: »

Decent chaps. They do charity without looking for Facebook likes.
Might help each other out when it comes to business opportunities but mainly social and charitable and classy.
If you hear of an anonymous donation or act of some kind there’s a good chance it was George Michael or a Freemason.

George Michael?

Aceandstuff

BDI

Leg End Reject wrote: »

George Michael?

He also was charity mad on the sly.

gmisk

Leg End Reject wrote: »

George Michael?

He gave a tonne of money to charity anonymously apparently

odyssey06

mondeo wrote: »

Anyone here considered joining ? I'm not interested myself but supposedly there are people from high walks of life in Ireland participating. Wasn't there some Irish government officials members of them in the 1990s ?

Actually in 1990s Dublin I thought you needed to be a regular in Dohenys and Nesbitts.

banie01

Feel free to read the most recent thread on the freemasons.

The repetition is a bit too....

Repetitive for my liking

https://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?p=110506726

corner of hells

gmisk wrote: »

He gave a tonne of money to charity anonymously apparently

If he gave the money anonymously, how is it known that it was him ?

Back to the Freemasons, I believe they celebrate Christmas by killing two camels and eating a tub of butter.

Leg End Reject

BDI wrote: »

He also was charity mad on the sly.

It just read like he might still be doing it. That's be very impressive indeed.

BDI

Leg End Reject wrote: »

It just read like he might still be doing it. That's be very impressive indeed.

I wouldn’t be surprised if he set it up that he is. There’s probably a George Michael foundation or something.

Princess Consuela Bananahammock

A conservative/republican/fianna fail club but without the politics (or their own politics).

And orgies.

corner of hells

Princess Consuela Bananahammock wrote: »

A conservative/republican/fianna fail club but without the politics (or their own politics).

And orgies.

With or without the orgies?

gmisk

corner of hells wrote: »

If he gave the money anonymously, how is it known that it was him ?

Back to the Freemasons, I believe they celebrate Christmas by killing two camels and eating a tub of butter.

I think a lot of the info only came out from friends and family etc after he had died.
Some more details
https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.irishmirror.ie/showbiz/celebrity-news/george-michaels-secret-charity-work-13770168.amp

Leg End Reject

BDI wrote: »

I wouldn’t be surprised if he set it up that he is. There’s probably a George Michael foundation or something.

I remember details were made public after his death, so he might have included donations of royalties etc. in his will.

ILoveYourVibes

Lizard people!

take everything

Dunno much about them but Rain down love is a great tune.

mondeo

Wonder what the secret handshake is ? Surely someone spilled the beans on that one.

corner of hells

mondeo wrote: »

Wonder what the secret handshake is ? Surely someone spilled the beans on that one.

In a thread with George Michael being discussed and you bring up spilling beans.

kowloon

EmmetSpiceland

People have this ridiculously outdated “view” of the Masons. It’s just a social club, like any other.

They do a lot of charitable work and serve the community. Similar to the “Lions Club”, in a way.

BDI

corner of hells wrote: »

In a thread with George Michael being discussed and you bring up spilling beans.

Because he was a bachelor?

blindside88

mondeo wrote: »

Wonder what the secret handshake is ? Surely someone spilled the beans on that one.

There are various handshakes known as “grips”, you are shown different grips as you progress through the ranks. This came from when stone masons could not read or write so would not have papers to show their qualifications, they would instead be shown grips so that when they went to a new site they could prove they were an apprentice, master mason etc.

Princess Consuela Bananahammock

corner of hells wrote: »

With or without the orgies?

EmmetSpiceland wrote: »

People have this ridiculously outdated “view” of the Masons. It’s just a social club, like any other.

They do a lot of charitable work and serve the community. Similar to the “Lions Club”, in a way.

With orgies.

Dr. Bre

The stonecutters is where it’s at

paleoperson

It's all a bit of a cod if you ask me.

Drifter50

mondeo wrote: »

Wonder what the secret handshake is ? Surely someone spilled the beans on that one.

No great secret but you will only find out when you get through your initiation. An interesting men only social club who do a lot of good honest charitable work

skooterblue2

Drifter50 wrote: »

No great secret but you will only find out when you get through your initiation. An interesting men only social club who do a lot of good honest charitable work

I dont think that is going to happen. I just got me a pocket full of black beans.

Force Carrier

Twenty euro per square foot I think they're getting now.

Yer Da sells Avon

I 'know someone' who is a member...



...and it's all very harmless and disappointingly unsecretive.

blinding

I fell in to the Freemasons Arms and had a few pints . Is it better than getting stoned ?

Covid19

I'm a Mason, based in the West of Ireland. I'd be happy to answer any questions. Some of the posts here are hilarious! Especially the Black Bean post.

On a serious note, it's a tough time in The Craft at the moment as, due to Covid Restrictions, our charitable donations are suffering and, by extension, the charities.

Plus, many of our elderly members have lost their possibly only social outlet. Think of it as a Mens Shed with esoteric flavouring. We try to help as many as we can, from a distance. Please keep an eye on elderly neighbours living alone. It's a scary time for them.

Covid19

mondeo wrote: »

What is this bunch all about ? What do you gain from becoming a freemason ? Are they all a bunch of Wally's with secret handshakes doing eachother favours ?

Anyone here considered joining ? I'm not interested myself but supposedly there are people from high walks of life in Ireland participating. Wasn't there some Irish government officials members of them in the 1990s ?

Like any Club and society, there are rich members and poor members. More average members than rich, I can tell you. Catholic and C of I etc. In fact, all religions are represented in some way across the Country.
When thus Covid madness dies off, go on the Grand Lodge tour in Molesworth street. What a building!

For me, apart from the chance to help charities, the best part is visiting. I travel a lot for work around the country and I always check my Masonic Diary to see when lodges are meeting, then if I'm in Longford and staying the night, and I see that their local lodge is meeting, I can turn up to their lodge as long as I've attained the 3rd Degree. It's great fun and very interesting as all the lodges are amazing.

JasonStatham

mondeo wrote: »

What is this bunch all about ? What do you gain from becoming a freemason ? Are they all a bunch of Wally's with secret handshakes doing eachother favours ?

Anyone here considered joining ? I'm not interested myself but supposedly there are people from high walks of life in Ireland participating. Wasn't there some Irish government officials members of them in the 1990s ?

You get a new hammer, I heard.

topper75

Is there an insurance aspect to membership - i.e. are contributions collected so your wife/kids are looked after upon your death? And if so, is this viewed as part of the charity?

EmmetSpiceland

People seem to have a very negative, or suspicious, view of the Masons. It’s just an “organisation” like any other, with a heavy focus on charitable works, respect and integrity.

breezy1985

mondeo wrote: »

What is this bunch all about ? What do you gain from becoming a freemason ? Are they all a bunch of Wally's with secret handshakes doing eachother favours ?

Anyone here considered joining ? I'm not interested myself but supposedly there are people from high walks of life in Ireland participating. Wasn't there some Irish government officials members of them in the 1990s ?

They keep the metric system down and control the British crown

branie2

Now let's all get drunk and play ping pong!

r439z5ifwt8soq

You can go in and have a look around the headquarters in Dublin (at least pre-Covid).

Went in for a look to see if there was anything mad. Just seems like a bunch of lads who are very proud of their charity work. They have some weird ceremonies and robes and stuff, but they're not really that secretive, the guy at the door showed us around and told us all the craic. Was pretty interesting actually

the purple tin

Covid19 wrote: »

I'm a Mason, based in the West of Ireland. I'd be happy to answer any questions. Some of the posts here are hilarious! Especially the Black Bean post.

On a serious note, it's a tough time in The Craft at the moment as, due to Covid Restrictions, our charitable donations are suffering and, by extension, the charities.

Plus, many of our elderly members have lost their possibly only social outlet. Think of it as a Mens Shed with esoteric flavouring. We try to help as many as we can, from a distance. Please keep an eye on elderly neighbours living alone. It's a scary time for them.

Who is the highest ranked freemason in the country?

Up Donegal

Covid19 wrote: »

I'm a Mason, based in the West of Ireland. I'd be happy to answer any questions. Some of the posts here are hilarious! Especially the Black Bean post.

I think you should consider doing an AMA about the Freemasons. I'm sure you would get a lot of interesting questions and views. Contact the Admin team.

JohnnyFlash

Elizabeth Flaky Pajamas wrote: »

You can go in and have a look around the headquarters in Dublin (at least pre-Covid).

Went in for a look to see if there was anything mad. Just seems like a bunch of lads who are very proud of their charity work. They have some weird ceremonies and robes and stuff, but they're not really that secretive, the guy at the door showed us around and told us all the craic. Was pretty interesting actually

Worst secret organisation ever. They show you around the place, tell you what all the symbols etc mean, answer all your questions, and are dead keen for you to ask if you can become a member. It’s just a bunch of mostly old, mostly Protestant guys being charitable and extolling the virtues of self-improvement, charity, and integrity.

Hugely disappointing.

breezy1985

JohnnyFlash wrote: »

Worst secret organisation ever. They show you around the place, tell you what all the symbols etc mean, answer all your questions, and are dead keen for you to ask if you can become a member. It’s just a bunch of mostly old, mostly Protestant guys being charitable and extolling the virtues of self-improvement, charity, and integrity.

Hugely disappointing.

That's what they want you to think