Freemasons must open hall to other groups if they want to extend it into Cork city park

The historic hall must be available to community, social, musical, historical, ethnic, minority religious, refugee and other groups for 20 hours a month

Freemasons’ Hall was built during the 1760s and is shown as ‘The New Assembly Rooms’ on a Cork map of 1771. Picture: Denis Minihane

The Freemasons will have to make their historic hall in Cork city centre available to groups for 20 hours a month under the terms of a proposed €1 disposal deal for part of a public park.

The condition is contained in the official statutory disposal notice for a 53.6 square metre parcel of publicly-owned land in Bishop Lucey Park to the legal entity for the Provincial Grand Lodge of Munster Freemasons.