McFarlands & Septs in Ireland
By Mary Helen Haines, ©2013
Part 3
The Restoration
When Oliver Cromwell died in 1659, Parliament was ready for a change and invited the Stewarts back to England. Charles II, son of the beheaded Charles I, left his exile in France and returned to London. With Charles II’s return, the fortunes of the Stewarts in general saw better days; however, Charles did not keep his promises to the Scottish Presbyterians living in Ireland and religious liberty was not attained. The Church of Ireland was the official church, in other words an Episcopal state church, which offended the sensibilities of the Irish Catholics and many of the Scottish Presbyterians living in Ireland.
The new Restoration government also needed funds, so in 1663-1665 a new tax directly on the inhabitants of Ireland was instituted. The tax was based on the number of hearths in each home, and the list recorded the Barony, the forename, surname, and the townland and/or parish they lived in. Below are all the McFarlands and sept names that have been discovered so far. Considering that there were about 16 families of mcffarlans recorded in 1630 in the Muster Rolls, we can conclude that many mcffarlans were among the Scots that returned home during the Civil War and the Irish Rebellion. In the absence of parish church records, this tax list is the best clue we have for where our ancestors in lived in Ireland in these early years.
1665 Hearth Money Rolls in Donegal (Mervine, pp. 269-272)
Barony of Eneshowen (Inishowen)
Brian O’Farlan of Carnamady in Templemore Parish*
Barony of Kilmacrenan
John M’Farland of Crieslough in Clandahurka Parish
John m’Farlan of Drumhallagh in Killigarvan Parish
McFarlands & Septs in Ireland: Part 4-The Glorious Revolution, Siege of Londonderry, Battle of Boyne
McFarlands and Septs in Ireland
By Mary Helen Haines, ©2013, revised 2015
Part 4
The “Glorious Revolution,” the Siege of Londonderry, and the Battle of Boyne
In 1685, King Charles II of England died and was followed by James II, his openly Catholic brother. Catholics of Ireland (both English and Irish) were delighted with the change, and enjoyed the new ascendancy in local politics. When a son was born to James in 1688, opponents in England plotted an overthrow. The Whigs in England invited William Prince of Orange, the Protestant son-in-law of James, to come to England and take the throne in what came to be called in England the Glorious Revolution.
James, however, did not go away quietly; he asked for help from King Louis XIV of France, who sent troops to Ireland where they joined with James and his Irish Catholic supporters. While the Irish Catholic troops were gathering arms and mustering, so too were the Ulster Protestants. One of the most important leaders of the Ulster Protestants was Sir William Stewart, grandson of the first Baron, and now Lord Mountjoy since 1683. This title came from Mountjoy Castle that his family had leased from the monarchy. Lord Mountjoy was also Governor of Derry. Always a loyal supporter of the Stuart kings, Sir William had no good options. Trying to forestall another war in Ireland, William went to Paris to see King James. Upon arrival, he was locked up and then spent the war years in the Bastille. He was finally repatriated in 1692; however, he died in battle a year later fighting for King William. (Gebbie, pp. 41-42)
McFarlands & Septs in Ireland
By Mary Helen Haines, ©2013, updated 2016
Part 5
Presbyterian Congregations in Ireland
The presence of Presbyterian ministers in Ireland meeting with congregations goes back to the earliest years of the Plantation in 1611; however the first Presbytery was not established until June 1642 at Carrickfergus with five ministers and four ruling elders from Scotland. They accompanied the troops sent from Scotland to defend the Ulster Scots during the uprising that was occurring. In the meantime back in England and Scotland, the Civil War resulted in King Charles I execution. The Ulster Presbytery met in 1649 in Belfast and condemned the King’s execution, which meant they could not be trusted by Parliament. Lord Protector Cromwell made it clear that all Presbyterian ministers would be arrested if they did not take an Engagement Oath (Loyalty Oath), which led many to flee to Scotland. More persecution followed with the Act of Uniformity in 1662 which stated that all ministers must be ordained in the Episcopal manner; therefore the Irish Presbyterian Synod, which last met in Balleymena in 1661, did not meet again until 1690. Everyone had to pay tithes to the Established Church (Church of Ireland), consequently Presbyterian ministers who were willing to financially scrape by with whatever support they could muster locally, conducted services in private homes and occasionally built “meeting houses” outside city walls. (Kirkpatrick, pp. 24, 29, 30, 31)
Nevertheless, the Presbyterians continued to meet and build places of worship. In the area west of the River Foyle, the Laggan Presbytery was established, consisting of today’s County Donegal in the Republic of Ireland. There are nine congregations here that trace back to the 17th Century.
The oldest congregation in the Laggan district is Monreagh, where Robert Cunningham was the first minister from 1644 to 1655.
