Friendly Brother Order

The following letters linked Dublin and Queenstown  (Cobh) in 1923.

“16, Molesworth Street,
Dublin.

18^th January 1923
 

My dear William,
I hope that you and Mrs Corker are fit and well. It seems a great many years since I saw you that Sunday in Queenstown in 1921.

            I know that you are having a very bad time, even worse than we are up here but hope that personally you and your wife are fit and well. I wonder if you could think of any way of helping about the following.

            I am a member of the Friendly Brother Order, which is, as I dare say you know, a very old Order, much like Masonic, and its branches, of which there are a number in Ireland (as well as in England)  are called “Knots”. Most of these Knots through this country have become defunct, as you can easily understand owing to alterations in conditions, and it has come to our knowledge that the books of the Mallow Knot from 1812 to 1859 are in the possession of the Rev. S. H. Dorman of Knockmourne Rectory, Conna, Co Cork. He is I believe a peculiar old gentleman, and got hold of these somehow, we don’t know, and we think he makes money out of selling things. We got to know that he had the books through his writing to the Secretary of the Order here, asking—if you please---where he could get more records! Dorman is not a member of the Order at all, and has not responded to the Secretary’s request that he should give the books over to the Order. It, of course has been the practice, when each Knot has been given up, that the books and properties of the Knot should be sent to the headquarters here, (22, Stephen’s Green) but it has, of course, sometimes happened that a Secretary of a local Knot has died, and then everything has not been got up, and we suppose that in the case of the Mallow Knot these books remain with the representatives of the late Secretary, who took no interest, not being members of the Order. We are anxious to get them and feel sure if Mr Dorman were not anxious to keep them for money (that is to sell them at a price) that he would do what I think anyone else ought to do, under such circumstances viz; to hand them over to the people who ought to have them, but from what we have ascertained, we believe we can only get them by paying for them. I personally would be quite prepared to give him what he paid for them for the purpose of handing them over to the Order, but I would not be prepared (and none of us would) to pay a big price when we think in all decency he ought not to keep the books, now he knows to whom they should be sent, and when he is not a member of the Order and has nothing to do with it.

            This is the whole position and it occurs to me that if you cannot suggest anything which might be done to get the books from Dorman, that nothing can be done. I know that you won’t mind my troubling you and that you will give it your personal interest, when it is for an old friend like myself.

Yours sincerely,

E. White” 

(Edward White, Solicitor)

 

“22^nd January 1923

My dear Ned,

Glad to hear from you again. I know Mr Dorman slightly and if you like will write him a friendly letter about the records you want and suggest that he should be refunded any expenses he has been at. He is a hard nut.

            Queenstown is quiet but our transport and postal services are bad and business very troublesome to transact. Personally we are quite well and hope your circle is the same.

Yours sincerely,

William Corker”.

 

“26^th January 1923

Dear Mr Dorman,

An old friend of mine, Mr Edward White of the Friendly Knot in Dublin, writes me to know if I would ask you about some old records of the Mallow Knot, which seem to have drifted into your hands, and the Lodge in Dublin would like to have in their own possession.

            At your convenience you might kindly let me know is this so and if you are at any expenses in the matter, which you think should be refunded you.

Yours faithfully,

William Corker”.

 

The contents of the above letters tell their own strange story. And what was the outcome of it all? Well, we don’t know but we presume the Rev. Dorman did the correct thing and handed the documents back to where they rightfully belonged.

What is also interesting is the brief allusion to the difficult conditions experienced by people during the Civil War in this country.

The Order referred to was officially titled The Ancient and most Benevolent Order of the Friendly Brothers of St Patrick. Members had the word “Friendly” inserted between their Christian name and surname. Apparently the Order was founded in the west of Ireland, sometime in the mid 1600's and established its headquarters in Dublin in 1750/51. The 17^th March was a significant day for its members as they marched in procession, long before the modern St Patrick’s Day parades.

            The principal stated aims of the Order at its foundation were: “To promote among men the practice and encouragement of the social virtues. To put down the barbarous practice of duelling, an activity unknown in the politest nations”. The Order was divided into two classes, The Regular Friendly Brothers and The Approved and Perfect Brothers. The latter were automatically entitled to become members of all their branches in the universe. The Order, like many similar organisations of olden times, had loads of trappings, regulations, customs, emblems and rules.

The assemblies of the Brethren were called Knots. These were either the General Grand Knot or Select Grand Knot, shades of the Orange Order and Free Masons. Every Knot had a Secretary and a Treasurer who kept books relating to all their proceedings and activities. Obviously these were the type of books the Rev Dorman laid his hands on, much to the consternation of the Brothers, especially the aforementioned Ned White. Apparently Arthur Guinness was very involved with the Friendly Brothers of Saint Patrick, even at one point serving as Secretary!

Tom Finn