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The fella in this article isn't a great salesman but it appears that he doesn't want to be. Daniel O'Connell was a member apparently so these lads are ok by me if that's the case. 

I think the obvious question to them is; if it is just a group of rich men being silly, why are they so secretive?

I'm not at liberty to say

I'm not a mason myself (though I probably will apply to join one day) but I do have quite a lot of family who are active Freemasons in Scotland and England. They've always been happy to answer all my questions and tell me what it's all about. Also, the official text of all rituals everyone wonders about can be freely read online, there is nothing secret or sinister about it. 

My Uncle, who is a former master of his lodge in the English south coast, described Freemasonry to me as being "a mixture of the social club, amateur dramatic society, fancy dress night and charity fundraiser all in one." 

It's open to all men (for women see below) regardless of age, occupation, race, nationality, sexuality, colour or religion so it brings together a wide variety of chaps. Many lodges have open days where they are happy to answer questions and show you around the buildings and explain things. 

A fact which many people don't know is that there are two quite different kinds of Freemasonry. 

There is "Regular" which is the common one in the UK, Ireland, USA and almost all Commonwealth countries - this is men only, you must believe in God or a "supreme being" of your own definition, cannot be an atheist or agnostic, politics and religion are not allowed to be discussed in a lodge. And then there is "Continental" which is most common in Europe and South America - women may join, they accept atheists and agnostics, politics and religion are allowed to be discussed in a lodge. 

The long and the short of it is this - To Mr X, Freemasonry may seem very silly and pointless. To Mr Y, Freemasonry may seem very interesting and worth joining. Whilst Mr Z is completely indifferent and just wants another pint.

Interestingly, the Mason's have been persecuted under both communist and fascist governments during the 20th Century. Sadly, many different Protestant Churches prohibit membership and the Catholic Church bans Masons from receiving the Eucharist.

One thing I want to be deadly serious about is this. Freemasonry has nothing to do with the Orange Order. Let's be clear, the latter is a deeply odious, racist and sectarian organisation founded on anti-Catholicism, Protestant supremacy and backward social conservatism. The Masons have always accepted Roman Catholics with open arms (and Jews, and Muslims and Hindus and Sikhs, you get the picture). Many millions of Catholics around the world are Masons. The lads at the lodge my Grandparents are often kindly invited to dances at would be deeply insulted by the equation with the OO, seeing as most of the lodge membership are of Irish Catholic descent (and big Celtic supporters at that). 

The several lodges in my area raise and donate a four figure lump sum for a different charity every month. They also they fund regular day trips to the seaside for pensioners and the disabled. Recently they bought new jerseys for the local boys and girls football teams and paid for a wheelchair ramp to be built at a community centre. They do some great things and they hardly ever get a mention in the local paper or anything for it. When the council, local voluntary organisations and local churches who have been asked to help with something but are not interested, it's been the Masons who were only too happy to put time, effort and money into a good deed.

A list of famous Freemasons would take too long to compile. Famous Masons include presidents & prime ministers, jazz musicians & Hollywood actors, scientists & inventors, Antarctic explorers & Civil Rights activists. However as this is a football forum I thought I'd post this.

Every one of the following notable (some of them truly world class) football players and managers has been confirmed as having been a Freemason - Herbert Chapman, John Charles, Leslie Compton, Dixie Deans, Tom Finney, Ron Greenwood, Tommy Lawton, Billy Liddell, Nat Lofthouse, Stan Matthews, Joe Mercer, Gil Merrick, Jackie Milburn, Alf Ramsey, Don Revie, Len Shackleton, Ronnie Simpson, Jock Stein and Bert Trautmann.