At Aughrim, he heard “a warm sermon against enthusiasts”; and, to the same congregation, preached another as an antidote. Mr. Simpson, a magistrate, invited him to dinner; and he, and his wife and daughter, were the first at Aughrim to join the Methodists.[4] These and other places were soon formed into a circuit, extending on the Leinster side as far as Tyrrell’s Pass and Mountmellick, and on the Connaught side as far as Ballinrobe, Castlebar, and Sligo, the quarterly meetings being held at Coolylough, the residence of Mr. Handy, where hospitable entertainment was abundantly provided, and many a season of spiritual refreshing was religiously enjoyed.[5] In Dublin, the Methodists had two meeting-houses, one in Dolphin Barn Lane, and the other in Skinner’s Alley; but they were both rented, and therefore of uncertain tenure. Wesley was not satisfied with this, and used his utmost endeavours to obtain a freehold site, for the erection of a chapel of his own. On the 15th of March, he wrote to Ebenezer Blackwell as follows: “We have not found a place yet that will suit us for building. Several we have heard of, and seen some; but they are all leasehold land, and I am determined to have freehold, if it is to be had in Dublin; otherwise we must lie at the mercy of our landlord whenever the lease is to be renewed.”[6] Some time after, the freehold site was obtained, and, with Mr. Lunell’s munificent assistance, the first Methodist meeting-house in Dublin was erected in Whitefriar Street, and was opened for public worship in 1752. Wesley returned to England at the end of the month of May, and on the 2nd of June, and three or four, following days, held, in London, his annual conference. The number present was twenty-three, including about half-a-dozen clergymen, three stewards, some local preachers, and Howel Harris. At the opening of the conference, it was agreed that there would be no time to consider points of doctrine, and therefore that the attention of those present should be wholly confined to discipline.