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The
Restoration and after – another phase of persecution.
As a consequence of the ejections of ministers in Scotland there was a steady flow of Covenanter ministers across to Ireland. No less than six of the ejected Galloway ministers settled in the Presbytery of Down. Rev Mr Archibald of Wigton followed Mr Ramsay at Bangor; Rev Mr Kennedy of Leswalt near Stranraer followed Mr Gray at Newtownards; Rev Mr Patrick Peacock of Kirkmabreck followed Mr Richardson at Killileagh. Others who came were – Rev George Waugh, of Kirkinner, Rev Alexander Ferguson of Sorbie, and Rev John M`Broom of Portpatrick, these also settled in Co. Down. But the Restoration of Charles reverted power to the Episcopalians and the vitriolic, even vicious, attention of the bishops.
In 1661
some 61 ministers in Ireland refused to accept Prelacy and were
ejected from their ministry. Bishop Jeremy Taylor accounted for thirty six of them in one day. Seven ministers were seized and
imprisoned in Carlingford Castle and expelled to Scotland;
ministers were excommunicated and Bishop Leslie of Raphoe
caused four ministers – John Hart of Taughboyne, Thomas
Drummond of Ramelton, William Semple of Letterkenny, and
Adam White of Fanet, to be incarcerated at Lifford for six
years simply because they were Presbyterians. The Rev
Thomas Kennedy of Carland was similarly imprisoned in
Dungannon for alleged `non conformity`.
Blood`s
Plot
The cause
of Presbyterianism was not helped by an attempt at
rebellion which began in December 1662 led by a Captain
Thomas Blood, the brother in law of William Lecky, a
Presbyterian minister in Dublin. The plot was
apparently founded on the grievances of some old Irish
Cromwellians concerning land grants and the subsequent seizure of their
lands by the Lord Lieutenant, the Duke of Ormond. This was certainly the
case in respect of Blood as he had seized the Duke in London and tried to
take him to Tyburn to be hanged. For this Blood had a bounty of £1000
placed upon him. As to the rebellion in Dublin, the conspirators sought the assistance of the
influential Presbyterians in the North, thus dragging them
into a rebellion in which they generally wanted no part.
The plot was, however, betrayed by an informer among Blood`s associates and on 22 May 1663 , the day set for an
attack on Dublin Castle and seizure of the Lord
Lieutenant, several of the ringleaders were seized.
Blood escaped and went to England where he was involved in a bizarre and
almost successful attempt, to steal the
Crown Jewels from out of the Tower of London. Two other alleged conspirators Rev
John Crookshanks and Rev Andrew McCormack, fled to
Scotland only to be killed at the battle of Rullion Green
in 1666.
Several
Presbyterian ministers were locked up in Carlingford
Castle for alleged complicity – these included John Greg of Newtownards, Andrew Stewart of Donaghadee, and James Gordon of Comber. But they were gradually
released and returned to their congregations. The Rev
William Lecky was tried and executed, but there remained the
 suspicion that other ministers had been involved and there followed another period where the Bishops pursued the Presbyterians for ` non compliance`. Not least among the plois adopted by the prelates was the `hint` that Presbyterians were basically disloyal – such was the tenor of the allegation (left) made by Bishop Jeremy Taylor in 1667 (shortly before his own death, seen by some as divine retribution !) and recorded in the Montgomery MSS p 248.
Despite these privations there was still the common man who assisted in making barns available for services or provided shelter and sustenance to the surviving ministers. Communion services were forbidden on pain of £100 fine but these also continued in quiet places from time to time. Fortunately the truth of the Blood rebellion was revealed and by 1668 the government was tolerant of small, albeit crude, meeting houses that were being constructed. Importantly, the government became less supportive of the more extreme measures of the Bishops
A curious
anomaly was the granting by King Charles II in 1672 , of
the “Regium Donum ” [ the King`s Gift ] of £1200 ( later
reduced to £600 as that was all which was available). This
came about through the intervention of Sir Arthur Forbes
who had suggested the matter to the King. It was a
recognition of the church and its work, yet at the same
time the Bishops continued to make life as difficult as
they could. The Regium Donum was raised to £1200 by
King William III. This endowment was enjoyed by the Irish
Presbyterian church, with some breaks, until 1869.
The Presbyterian Church of
Ireland today has about 300,000 members in some 560
congregations. Their web site is at
http://www.presbyterianireland.org/
During the latter half of the seventeenth century the Episcopalian ministers, including their bishops, were often the cause of their on misfortunes. Absenteeism was particularly noticeable and became the subject of criticism and adverse comment at the highest levels of government. It is true that many ministers were much inclined to a populous and pleasant ministry in England, rather than to a handful of prelacy hating Presbyterians. The consequence was that the door was open for the less able, the incapable and the discredited to be appointed, or to effect the appointment of curates. Thomas Hacket, Bishop of Down and Connor was severely reproved in 1686 by Lord Clarendon – even reprimanded on the order of the king, for a six year absence from his See. Clarendon said witheringly :
” I find an unspeakable want of the bishop`s presence there; many of the clergy being absent from their cures in those parts and leaving them to mean and ignorant curates, such as will serve the cheapest; which gives a grievous advantage to the adversaries of our religion. and I should think myself guilty of unpardonable failings, if I did not endeavour all that lies in me , to address those irregularities; which would not be very difficuly, if your lordship were upon the place.”
This was followed up by an equally condemnatory letter in May 1686 to the Archbishop of Canterbury in which the employment of cheap curates is detailed:
” very few of the clergy reside on their cures, but employ pitiful curates; which necessitates the people to look after a romish priest or non conformist preacher; and there are plenty of both. I find that it is an ordinary thing here for a minister to have five, or six cures or more cures of souls, and to get these supplied by those who will do it the cheapest.; and by this means some hold five, six, nay nine hundred pounds per annum in ecclesiastical preferments, get them all served for £150 per annum, and not preach once themselves.”
The
Separation of the Covenanters
There were
still ministers who preached the strict adherence to the
Covenant, one of whom was Rev David Houston, who became a
thorn in the side of several Presbyteries. Born in Glasgow
in 1633 he came to Ulster in 1660. He was several times
admonished for his Covenanting principles and was formally
suspended by the Route Presbytery in 1672. However, he
continued in his ways both in Ulster and in Scotland and
he was formally deposed in 1687 by which time he was
firmly committed to the Scottish Covenanting Societies. In
1689 Houston was living in Newtownards and latterly at
Armoy, Co Antrim where he died in 1696. His contribution
to the Reformed Presbyterianism was significant in the
early years of his ministry, although he suffered ill
health in later years. Nevertheless through his work he
helped to unite the many disparate Societies into a
cohesive fellowship.
Apart from
Houston there were others who wished to retain their
attachment to the Covenant and they began to hold separate
meetings for fellowship – apart from both the established
Church of Ireland and the Presbyterian Church. To these
separatists there came the likes of Alexander Peden who
preached to them at Kells and Glenwherry in Co Antrim in
1679 and 1681. These separatists formed themselves into
Societies and corresponded with the Covenanting Societies
of Scotland who followed Richard Cameron and James Renwick.
By doing so they perpetuated the testimony of the Covenant
in Ireland and were the seed from which the Reformed
Presbyterian Church in Ireland grew.
Before then
however, the Presbyterian Dissenters took their lead from
Scotland with correspondence and the exchange of delegates
to meetings. In 1712 a major event was the renewal of the
Covenants of 1638 and 1643 by the Rev John MacMillan at
which they were represented. Thus the Societies continued
to meet for fellowship and worship, and while they had no
pastor in the accepted sense elders and occasional
visitors helped to keep the ministry alive until they
could be brought fully into the fold consequent to the
First Reformed Presbytery that was set up in Scotland in
1743. From 1744 the Irish Covenanters at last had a link
with an organised body of church government to guide them.
Two missionaries from Scotland arrived in Ulster in
1752 but the first Reformed Presbyterian minister in
Ireland was the Rev Matthew Lynd, from Larne, who was
inducted into the pastorate of Vow, near Rasharkin, in
1761. The first Reformed Presbytery in Ireland was formed
in 1763 and the Synod in 1811. Today there are some 37
congregations with a membership of about 2,500. Their web
site is at www.rpc.org
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James II
and William III
Persecution
returned again in strength after Charles died in 1685 when
the Catholic James II came to the throne and with it
wholesale changes in government and all positions of power
both in England and Ireland.
The King`s loyalties were soon explicit in
the appointment of `Lying Dick` Talbot ` , the Earl of
Tyrconnel, as Lord Lieutenant. Protestant Judges were
ousted from office, and the Privy Council, municipal and
magistrates `Romanised`. The Army too was `cleansed`.
James II and his
overt attempt to revert his Kingdom to Papal submission
did not last long and soon revolution in England was under
way. King James left London on 18th December 1688
and, by invitation, the Protestant King William III ( his son in law) and
wife Queen Mary ( daughter of James II) took his place.
Encouraged
by promises of French support, King James chose to oppose
King William in Ireland, seeing it as springboard to the
recovery of his throne in England. This gave rise to more
turmoil in Ireland and the events that led to the slamming
of the Ferryquay Gate, Londonderry, by the Apprentice
Boys on 7 December 1688 .This action in the face of the Earl of Antrim`s
soldiers (who were literally on the causeway just 60 yards from the gate)
was in defiance of the demand of the Episcopalian Bishop, Ezekiel
Hopkins, that they submit to their sovereign. Thus began the
resistance to a King determined to expunge the Protestant religion.
The subsequent siege of Derry lasted 105 days.
Much has been written about the events and the later
siege but suffice it to say that the thirteen boys, who
are revered for their action, were:
Henry Campsie,
William Crookshanks. Robert Sherrard, Daniel
Sherrard, Alexander Irwin , James Steward Robert Morrison,
Alexander Cunningham, Samuel Hunt , James Spike John
Cunningham William Cairns, and Samuel Harvey.
To these must be added
the the name of the Rev James Gordon, minister at
Glendermot, who was in Londonderry at the time and gave
the advice ” Shut the gates and keep them out “.
On 14 April 1689 James
appeared at Johnstown near Derry with 20,0000 troops expecting the City to
surrender to him but the defenders were not taken in. After demands had
been made and rejected he advanced on the 18th but was met by a
volley of musket fire and cannon as he approached the Bishop`s Gate. With
it came the cry of “NO SURRENDER” that has echoed down the years. So began
the 105 day siege in which the defenders were reduced to eating tallow
mixed with a little meal, cats, dogs, rats, grass , animal hides –
anything they could lay their hands on. Of a total population of about
30,000 men women, and children there were 7,361 men at arms. About 7,000
died of disease during the siege and a further 1,000 left the town
and put themselves under the protection of the enemy. On 27 April James
left his troops and returned to Dublin where his spleen was vented in an
Act of Attainder against the
Protestants of Derry.
Elsewhere there was
the valiant stand of
the Enniskillen men – where the Presbyterian minister, the
Rev Robert Kelso, was a key leader, ended in the defeat of
the Jacobite Viscount Mountcashel at Newtownbutler.
In August 1689 General Schomberg and his soldiers landed
at Bangor, and a Danish army under the Duke of Wurtenburg
, joined him at Belfast in March 1690. These combined
forces cleared the way for William to land on 14
June 1690 at Carrickfergus to start his campaign that
would settle matters once and for all. William
wasted no time and rapidly moved southwards to destiny at
the river Boyne where the decisive battle took place on 1
July 1690. A defeated James fled to Dublin and soon after
to France. The war continued for a while but the Treaty of
Limerick on 3 October 1691 finally ended the matter and
recognised William III as King of Ireland.
The Test
Act
The
supremacy of King William following the battle of the
Boyne in 1690 was not as advantageous to the Presbyterians
as it might have been because, as a constitutional
monarch, he could not do all that he wished for them. Thus
until his death in 1702 William was able only to influence
existing law while the Irish Bishops, who represented
about half of the membership of the Irish House of Lords ,
continued their vindictive actions against Presbyterians. Such was their petty vindictiveness of the episcopal bishops that the Presbyterians of Ulster were driven to to make “A Petition of the Presbyterian Ministers and People in the North of Ireland” to William and Mary, praying that the Lord Lieutenant put a stop to the activities of the bishops and their officers who, despite the orders of the Civil Courts, continued to curtail the liberties of the `Dissenters`.
In October
1692 the Bishops used their position to secure a
vote in the Irish House of Lords providing that there
should be no toleration conceded to Presbyterians and
others unless the English Test Act was brought into play.
King William refused the request. The Bishops continued
their vindictive ways including the summons of the Rev
John McBride of Belfast in 1698, by Walkington, the Bishop
of Down and Connor. McBride was charged that he had
preached the right of the Church Courts to meet without
the permission of the magistrates, and had the temerity to
call himself `minister of Belfast`. These incredibly
petty complaints were rightly thrown out by the Lord
Justices. In another instance in 1701 at Cookstown the
Presbyterian Church was pulled down on the order of an
intolerant rector.
Despite this ongoing backbiting and persecution, by 1702
there were nine Presbyteries – Belfast, Down, Antrim,
Coleraine, Armagh, Tyrone (also called Cookstown),
Monaghan ( aka Stonebridge), Derry and Convoy. These
were superintended by three sub synods of Belfast,
Monaghan and Lagan.
Yet again
there was trouble in store as in 1704 the Test Act was
introduced, not this time an oath, but a requirement for
all appointees to public office to take the Communion in
an Episcopal church within three months or lose their
position. It is possible that the government thought that
they could obtain converts to Episcopacy by this act but
it was not to be. In Londonderry 10 of the 12 Aldermen
were Presbyterians and lost their office; while 14 of the
24 burgesses were expelled. In Belfast 9 of 13 burgesses
lost their seats. Over the country generally public office
holders such as magistrates postmaster and town councillors
were ejected for their faith. There was too a positive
discrimination with landlords encouraged to charge
Presbyterians higher rents; they were banned from being
school teachers, the leases for church lands prohibited
letting to a Presbyterian tenant or building of a
Presbyterian church; and even in some parts the doors of
the churches were nailed shut to prevent services being
held.
There were
a number of grievances which culminated in the exodus to
America. In the period 1717 and 1718 tenant farmers
suffered large increases in rents. In later years,
the linen industry was in decline, especially from 1770;
while famines in 1727 and 1740 made life even more
difficult. It was thus a combination of economic,
political, social and religious factors that
pushed these people into becoming “God`s Frontiersmen”.
Toleration
Act
This
persecution continued throughout the reign of Queen Anne
who died in 1714. Under King George I things began to
improve and a Toleration Act was passed that exempted the
ministers from penalties to which they had been liable for
celebration of their worship. But the Test Act remained in
force until 1780.
Next:
And so to America
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