The members of Rathfriland Masonic
Hall extend a warm welcome to everyone who visits this site,
hopefully you will find the masonic information contained in
this website both interesting and helpful. Please use the
navigation buttons above and right to look around our website.
Freemasonry is one of the world's oldest fraternal societies and
has flourished in Ireland for more than 300 years, while records
indicate 1778 as the year Freemasonry first appeared in
Rathfriland.
The hall is situated near the top of John Street, one of five
streets falling away steeply from the square in Rathfriland and
has been the permanent home of Freemasonry in Rathfriland since
1891. As well as home to two craft Lodges (80 &
155), the Hall
hosts a Royal Arch Chapter (Iveagh R.A.C.
No 80), a Council of
Knight Masons (Council
No 11), and a Preceptory (Iveagh
Preceptory).
Rathfriland (from Irish: Ráth Fraoileann meaning "ringfort of
Fraoile") is a village in County Down, Northern Ireland. It is a
hilltop Plantation of Ulster settlement between the Mourne
Mountains, Slieve Croob and Banbridge. In ancient times it was
the capital of the ruling Magennis family. The town square is
located on top of the hill, and a market house (erected 1764
approx), which dominates the main square, was built for the
linen market by Miss Theodosia Hawkins Magill.