Name
Neil Connolly
Position
Provincial Grand Master
What is your mother Lodge
Welwyn Garden City 5748
Which year did you join Freemasonry
1991
What is/was your Career
Trained in the construction industry then Client side Project Management eventually involved in property development and urban regeneration. Now run a small practice working with foreign investors to unlock challenging sites.
What first attracted you to Freemasonry
My father and grandfather are/were both freemasons and the cigarette and whisky fumes of Lodges of Instruction held at my parents home in the 1970s had me hooked. It was a different world!
What do you enjoy doing outside of Freemasonry
Outside masonry and apart from family I enjoy hill walking, diving and the odd malt whisky.
Who and why should somebody join Freemasonry
Masonry should attract anyone with an enquiring mind, who has a clear moral compass and enjoys diverse and interesting company. Above all masonry is a life long experience that provides a welcome stability throughout an individual’s life.
Which other Freemason in the Province inspires you / and why
Inspirational mason in the Province, that’s a dangerous question for me to answer! However, there have been many who have provided small positive experiences throughout my masonic career and sadly many are no longer with us. However for me it has to be my father John Connolly who instilled in me, and my siblings, the attributes of an enquiring mind, a strong sense of right and wrong, and to appreciate the diversity of humanity, masonic or otherwise.
