The first in-depth history of Presbyterians in Ireland for many years, this book tells the story of a people once described as ‘a difficult lot to deal with’. Beginning in the early seventeenth century, author Bert Tosh explores the experiences of Presbyterians, of all shades and outlooks, across this island over the last four centuries. 

Ever conscious of the range of Presbyterian churches and acknowledging the Presbyterian tendency to divide over often important issues, the author describes the emergence and development of each of the different branches of Presbyterianism, giving due attention to the smaller Presbyterian bodies and their adherents – among others, the Covenanters, Non-Subscribers and Seceders. 

In addition, the book examines the controversies that often seemed to dominate Presbyterian life, like disagreements over the Westminster Confession of Faith and the Ecumenical Movement. Other topics, such as the form of and settings for Presbyterian worship, mission work at home and overseas, the effects of emigration and the impact of the Partition of Ireland, are also considered.

Presbyterians often felt ignored, harassed and even persecuted by their being dissenters from the Established Church in Ireland, and the toleration granted to them was, for a long period, only meagre. That dissent made governments often suspicious of them and their loyalty, and in return Presbyterians were often suspicious of governments. A number of Presbyterians took up arms as United Irishmen in open rebellion in 1798 while just over 100 years later they were again ready to rebel against government plans to introduce Home Rule for Ireland. In more recent times, Presbyterians lived through the period known as the Troubles, and attention is focused on the ways in which they were affected by it and responded to the challenges it presented.