King’s Irish Regiment

1801, Brother Henry Fowle, Grand Master, learning that a brother was conferring Royal Arch and Knights Templar degrees under the charter of a lodge. He asked a fellow companion from St. Andrew’s RA Chapter, Bro. Benjamin Russell, to go to the lodge and ’arrest’ him under the authority of the Grand Master. He duly went and allegedly said “I arrest you, Sir, in the name of the GL of Massachusetts.” The brother immediately replied that they were in the Royal Arch and as such he had no such authority. However, as Bro. Russell was Grand King in the Chapter (head), he proceeded to arrest him again in the name of that body! Can you imagine today?

King’s Royal Regiment of Guards

The King’s Royal Regiment of Guards, one of the first regiments constituted by Charles II in 1661, as a lynch pin in his new standing army. Colonel John Russell (shown), was its first commander, and the regiment was known as” The King’s Regiment of Foot Guards for Ireland”.

For the first 30 years of its existence, this regiment was permanently quartered in the City of Dublin, which at the time was considered to be the Second City in The British Empire. When James II became King he made a number of changes to the Officer corps in the regiment, bringing Lieutenant Colonel William Dorrington, an English Jacobite, in as their new Commander. It was the Officers of this Regiment that have been recorded on the 25th March 1688 as Constituting a Lodge of Freemasons in the City of Dublin.

A mere 11 weeks later, on the 11th July 1688, in the famous Trinity College Tripos, one of the students called John Jones, presented his humorous and ribald satire, upon Trinity College and events of the day in Dublin. Sadly Jones’s Tripos was not well received by the College authorities, and as a result he was deprived of his Degree.

On the other hand, the regiment grew from strength to strength, eventually having some 28 companies by the time of the Williamite invasion in 1690. The Regiment fought bravely, throughout the Glorious Revolution, participating in all the major battles, such as The Boyne, Aughrim, and the Retreat to Limerick. Under the eventual terms of Surrender, the Regiment with its surviving Officers and Men left from Limerick, and went with their King to France. The regiment, under a number of Colonels In chief, were officers such as Michael Roth. Interestingly whilst in the Court of James II, Roth would have met relations of The Earl of Rosse (first recorded Grand Master of Ireland), Nicholas, 5th Viscount Netterville (third Grand Master of Ireland) and 4th Viscount Barnewall of Kingsland (fourth Grand Master of Ireland).

Following their departure, there would be no Irish Guards regiment until the formation of theIrish Guardsin 1900.