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Thanks, however, to the care taken by Pierre Avedo in preserving the documents relating to the Inquisition, which he found in the national archives of the Torre do Tombo, which are reproduced or summarized in Gra"inha's Histoire, there is certain evidence that Freemasonry was in existence in Portugal in 1733, that it was introduced into the country by a Scotsman named Gordon and that there were two Lodges, one composed of Catholics and the other of Protestants.
The evidence given before the Inquisition by Hugo O'Kelly, who is described as " Grand Master " of the Lodge that met in the rue de Remolares, the Catholic Lodge, declares that Freemasonry had been introduced into Portugal by Gordon, that he (O'Kelly) had, in 1738, been a member of it for two years ; that the Lodge was known as the Royal House of Lusitanian Freemasons and was quite separate from the Protestant Lodge, of which he declared he knew nothing and had never visited; that the Catholic Lodge held their meetings on the first Wednesday of every month, that the subjects discussed were educational, economical and recreative. It was said that the Protestant Lodge had the smaller membership, but beyond this fact O'Kelly disclaimed any knowledge of its transactions.
O'Kelly was an Irish colonel and, among the other members of the Lodge of which he was the Master were Denis Hogan, a lieutenant in the Alcantara cavalry; Thomas French, a merchant; Captain Patrick Brown; James(Jacques?) O'Kelly, dancing instructor to the Royal Family; Michael O'Kelly, his brother, owner of a glass‑works ; Charles Caroll, a merchant; Sergeant‑Major Charles Mardel, a German engineer; and three Dominican monks Fathers Patrick O'Kellen (or Kinide), Tilan and Leynan.
The principal witness against the Freemasons before the Inquisition was a Dominican named Charles O'Kelly, a professor of theology at the College of Corpo Santo, who said that the proprietor of the restaurant where the Lodge was held was an Irishman named Rice ; that the Lodge was well attended; and that all the members appeared to be excellent Catholics, if judged by their regular attendance at the church of Corpo Santo.
The result of the inquiry was that the Inquisition abandoned its proceedings against the Catholic Lodge and devoted its attention to the Protestant Lodge.
