The following are notable Irish Presbyterians.

Clergy

John Abernethy John Abernethy may refer to: * John Abernethy (bishop), Scottish bishop, died 1639 * John Abernethy (judge) (born 1947), Australian judge *John Abernethy (minister) (1680–1740), Presbyterian minister in Ireland *John Abernethy (surgeon) (1764–18 ...

, 18th century Presbyterian minister and advocate for religious freedom. * John Alexander, linguist and patristic scholar. * J. B. Armour, Presbyterian minister who supported

Home Rule Home rule is government of a colony, dependent country, or region by its own citizens. It is thus the power of a part (administrative division) of a state or an external dependent country to exercise such of the state's powers of governance wit ...

. * John Baird, Old Testament scholar. * Stafford Carson, former Principal at

Union Theological College ''This page is about a college in Northern Ireland. For institutions with similar names, see Union Theological Seminary and Union School of Theology'' , mottoeng = ''“Buy the truth and sell it not”'' (taken from Proverbs 23:23) , establ ...

and former moderator. * Henry Cooke, 19th century Presbyterian minister. *

James E. Davey James Ernest Davey (1890–1960) was a Northern Irish Presbyterian minister, historian and theologian who was acquitted on charges of heresy in 1927 and elected Moderator of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in Ireland in 1953. Educ ...

, theologian and historian, acquitted of heresy charges in 1927, elected moderator in 1951. * Ray Davey, founder of the Corrymeela Community. * John Dunlop, CBE, former moderator (1992), a leading participant in Northern Ireland's civic life. * John Edgar, professor of theology, moderator and Honorary Secretary to the Presbyterian Home Mission during the

Famine A famine is a widespread scarcity of food, caused by several factors including war, natural disasters, crop failure, population imbalance, widespread poverty, an economic catastrophe or government policies. This phenomenon is usually accompani ...

in 1847. *

Hugh Hanna Hugh Hanna (21 February 1821 – 3 February 1892), nicknamed Roaring Hanna, was an Presbyterian minister in Belfast known for his anti-Catholicism. Biography Born in Dromara, County Down, Hanna studied at Bullick's Academy in Belfast before ...

, evangelist, Orangeman and Unionist. * James Alexander Hamilton Irwin, Presbyterian Home Ruler who converted to the republican cause post-1916. Appointed to the

Fianna Fáil Fianna Fáil (, ; meaning 'Soldiers of Destiny' or 'Warriors of Fál'), officially Fianna Fáil – The Republican Party ( ga, audio=ga-Fianna Fáil.ogg, Fianna Fáil – An Páirtí Poblachtánach), is a conservative and Christia ...

led government’s Commission on Vocational Organisation from 1939–43 and later joined the party and served on the Fianna Fáil national executive from 1945 until his death. Offered the opportunity to stand for the Presidency of the

Irish Free State The Irish Free State ( ga, Saorstát Éireann, , ; 6 December 192229 December 1937) was a state established in December 1922 under the Anglo-Irish Treaty of December 1921. The treaty ended the three-year Irish War of Independence between ...

but declined to do so. * Laurence Kirkpatrick (Professor of Church History and former Principal of

, controversially dismissed for participation in a radio interview). *

Francis Makemie Francis Makemie (1658–1708) was an Ulster Scots clergyman, considered to be the founder of Presbyterianism in the United States of America. Early and family life Makemie was born in Ramelton, County Donegal, Ireland (part of the Province o ...

, Irish Presbyterian immigrant to America; moderator of the first Presbytery in America. * John Morrow, co-founder of the Corrymeela Community. *

Ken Newell Kenneth Norman Ernest Newell, Order of the British Empire, OBE, is a retired Irish people, Irish Presbyterian Church in Ireland, Presbyterian minister. He served as List of Moderators of the Presbyterian Church in Ireland, Moderator of the Genera ...

, peacemaker and former moderator. * Isaac Nelson, Irish

Nationalist Nationalism is an idea and movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the state. As a movement, nationalism tends to promote the interests of a particular nation (as in a group of people), Smith, Anthony. ''Nationalism: Th ...

politician and advocate of

home rule Home rule is government of a colony, dependent country, or region by its own citizens. It is thus the power of a part (administrative division) of a state or an external dependent country to exercise such of the state's powers of governance wit ...

whose views were condemned by the moderator of the time. * W. P. Nicholson, evangelist. *

Ruth Patterson Ruth Patterson, OBE (born 1944), was the first woman to be ordained to the ministry of the Presbyterian Church in Ireland and is a director of the charity Restoration Ministries. She received her B.A. in social studies from Queen's University, ...

, first woman to be ordained to the ministry of the Irish Presbyterian Church. * David J. Templeton, murdered after press coverage regarding purchase of

gay pornography Gay pornography is the representation of sexual activity between males. Its primary goal is sexual arousal in its audience. Softcore gay pornography also exists; it at one time constituted the genre, and may be produced as beefcake pornogr ...

Laypeople

* Robert Anderson, second Assistant Commissioner (Crime) of the London Metropolitan Police. *

Samuel Bill Samuel Alexander Bill MBE (10 December 1864 – 24 January 1942) was an Irish Christian missionary, explorer and the founder of the Qua Iboe Mission (later renamed Mission Africa). Bill was raised in Ballymacarrett Presbyterian Church, east ...

, founder of the Qua Iboe Mission (later renamed

Mission Africa Mission Africa (formerly known as the Qua Iboe Mission and subsequently the Qua Iboe Fellowship) is an interdenominational, evangelical, Christian mission organisation. When founded in 1887, by the Irish independent missionary Samuel Bill, the ...

). *

Thomas Blood Colonel Thomas Blood (1618 – 24 August 1680) was an Anglo-Irish officer and self-styled colonel best known for his attempt to steal the Crown Jewels of England from the Tower of London in 1671. Described in an American source as a "no ...

, self-styled colonel who attempted theft of the Crown jewels. *

James Dickey James Lafayette Dickey (February 2, 1923 January 19, 1997) was an American poet and novelist. He was appointed the eighteenth United States Poet Laureate in 1966. He also received the Order of the South award. Dickey is best known for his n ...

, active in the

Society of the United Irishmen The Society of United Irishmen was a sworn association in the Kingdom of Ireland formed in the wake of the French Revolution to secure "an equal representation of all the people" in a national government. Despairing of constitutional reform, ...

and hanged for role at the

Battle of Antrim The Battle of Antrim was fought on 7 June 1798, in County Antrim, Ireland during the Irish Rebellion of 1798 between British troops and Irish insurgents led by Henry Joy McCracken. The British won the battle, beating off a rebel attack on Antri ...

. *

Robert Emmet Robert Emmet (4 March 177820 September 1803) was an Irish Republican, orator and rebel leader. Following the suppression of the United Irish uprising in 1798, he sought to organise a renewed attempt to overthrow the British Crown and Prote ...

, United Irishman and revolutionary leader. * Watty Graham, executed for his role as a

United Irishman ''The United Irishman'' was an Irish nationalist newspaper co-founded by Arthur Griffith and William Rooney.Arthur Griffith ...

in the

Rebellion of 1798 The Irish Rebellion of 1798 ( ga, Éirí Amach 1798; Ulster-Scots: ''The Hurries'') was a major uprising against British rule in Ireland. The main organising force was the Society of United Irishmen, a republican revolutionary group influenced ...

. *

Heather Humphreys Heather Humphreys (born 14 May 1963) is an Irish Fine Gael politician who has served as Minister for Rural and Community Development and Minister for Social Protection since June 2020. She also briefly served as Minister for Justice in November ...

Fine Gael Fine Gael (, ; English: "Family (or Tribe) of the Irish") is a liberal-conservative and Christian-democratic political party in Ireland. Fine Gael is currently the third-largest party in the Republic of Ireland in terms of members of Dáil � ...

politician and government Minister. *

Naomi Long Naomi Rachel Long MLA (née Johnston; born 13 December 1971) is a Northern Irish politician who served as Minister of Justice in the Northern Ireland Executive from January 2020 to October 2022. She has served as leader of the Alliance Party ...

, Northern Irish politician and leader of the Alliance Party. *

Robert Wilson Lynd Robert Wilson Lynd (''Irish: Roibéard Ó Floinn''; 20 April 1879 – 6 October 1949) was an Irish writer, editor of poetry, urbane literary essayist, socialist and Irish nationalist. Early life He was born in Belfast to Robert John Lynd, a P ...

Irish nationalist Irish nationalism is a nationalist political movement which, in its broadest sense, asserts that the people of Ireland should govern Ireland as a sovereign state. Since the mid-19th century, Irish nationalism has largely taken the form of c ...

. editor of poetry and essayist. * Mary Ann McCracken, social activist and campaigner. *

Henry Joy McCracken Henry Joy McCracken (31 August 1767 – 17 July 1798) was an Irish republican, a leading member of the Society of the United Irishmen and a commander of their forces in the field in the Rebellion of 1798. In pursuit of an independent and democra ...

, leading member of the United Irishmen and rebel commander. *

Edwin Poots Edwin Poots (born 27 April 1965) is a British politician in Northern Ireland who served as leader of the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) from May to June 2021. He was first elected as a Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) in 1998, and was ...

, Northern Irish politician and former leader of the Democratic Unionist Party. * William R. Rodgers, radio broadcaster, script writer and former Presbyterian minister. * Jacob Stockdale, professional Irish rugby player. *

Theobald Wolfe Tone Theobald Wolfe Tone, posthumously known as Wolfe Tone ( ga, Bhulbh Teón; 20 June 176319 November 1798), was a leading Irish revolutionary figure and one of the founding members in Belfast and Dublin of the United Irishmen, a republican socie ...

, founder of the Society of

United Irishmen The Society of United Irishmen was a sworn association in the Kingdom of Ireland formed in the wake of the French Revolution to secure "an equal representation of all the people" in a national government. Despairing of constitutional refor ...

. * Billy Wright, loyalist paramilitary leader.

References

{{PCI Presbyterian Church in Ireland

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

Presbyterians