Radical nationalism among Presbyterians soon diminished greatly...

Only a minority of Presbyterians throughout Ulster supported the Rebellion which was largely confined to the Presbyterian heartlands of East Antrim and North Down. In other parts of the North, particularly where there was a substantial Roman Catholic population, most Presbyterians supported the Government. Nor did all who favoured political reform support rebellion.

Radical nationalism, however, among Presbyterians soon diminished greatly. The vast majority opposed attempts led by Daniel O’Connell in the 1830s and 1840s to repeal the Union between Great Britain and Ireland. There were many reasons for this change in political opinion : disillusionment with political radicalism; an increase in evangelical religion; the fact that many of the aims of the United Irishmen had been achieved; an increasing prosperity in the North East of Ireland.

Irish Presbyterians may have followed Cooke in theological controversy ...

There had been another controversy over Subscription to the Westminster Confession of Faith in the 1820s. Dr. Henry Cooke, for whom May Street Church in Belfast was built in 1829, became the champion of theological orthodoxy and a number of ministers left the main body of Presbyterians- the Synod of Ulster- in 1829 and later united with the Presbytery of Antrim to form the Non Subscribing Presbyterian Church of Ireland. In 1840, the Seceders united with the Synod of Ulster to establish the Presbyterian Church in Ireland.

Irish Presbyterians may have followed Cooke in theological controversy - they did not all follow him politically for Cooke was a Tory and a supporter of the Establishment. Many Presbyterians were Liberals- standing for Land Reform and the Disestablishment of the Church of Ireland. At least two Presbyterian ministers sat in the Westminster House of Commons. However, Gladstone’s espousal of the principle of Home Rule in 1886 meant an end of Presbyterian political Liberalism. Old and historic differences were forgotten as the huge majority of Irish Presbyterians joined with other Protestants in rejecting Home Rule. There were notable exceptions to this, but their impact was, in reality, minimal.

The first Prime Minister Lord Craigavon was a Presbyterian...

It is possible to see in Presbyterian opposition to Home Rule echoes of Earlier struggles against tyranny and suspicions of the intentions of governments yet paradoxically it is also possible to consider that with the foundations of the Northern Ireland state, Presbyterians becoming part of the political Establishment after 300 years. For the first time, they had a taste of full political power. The first Prime Minister Lord Craigavon was a Presbyterian, as were two of his successors John Millar Andrews (a member of the Non Subscribing Church) and Brian Faulkner. Two Presbyterian ministers served in Cabinet: Robert Corkey for a short time as minister of Education in 1943-4 and Robert Moore, as Minister of Agriculture from 1948 until 1960. The overwhelming majority of Northern Irish Presbyterians seemed happy and satisfied with the Stormont Parliament- such dissent as there was tended to come from a conservative, not a radical, direction.