Assembly Hall Foyer

In October of 1641, an uprising began in Ulster which was organised by leading figures in the Gaelic Irish community. This insurrection quickly escalated and resulted in significant loss of life and destruction of property.  A Scottish army, under the command of Major General Robert Munro, was sent to Ireland, accompanied by ministers who acted as chaplains.

On 10th June 1642, in Carrickfergus, five of these ministers and four ruling elders, chosen from the four regiments that had formed kirk sessions, came together in what is regarded as the inaugural Irish Presbytery meeting from which, in a formal sense, today’s Presbyterian Church in Ireland descends.

This inaugural meeting of the Irish Presbytery is commemorated by a beautiful stained glass window, a gift from the Presbytery of Carrickfergus in 1992 to mark the 350th anniversary of the ‘birth’ of Presbyterianism. The window depicts a ship arriving from Scotland at Carrickfergus (represented by the castle).