I’m a good Irish Presbyterian, or am I?
We all have family histories that shape who we are. Here’s part of my story …
Rev. William Holmes served as the minister of what is now Second Ballyeaston Presbyterian Church from 1768-1813. This was a tumultuous time in Irish history that led to the 1798 Rebellion of the United Irishmen. Rev. Holmes was vehemently opposed to the uprising, so much so that he formed the Ballyeaston Yeomanry and led them in their drills. During the uprising Holmes gave away the location of a group of United Irishmen hiding out in Glenwherry to the authorities.
Meanwhile, in the city of Coleraine, another Presbyterian, Mr. Leslie was doing all he could to support the cause of the United Irishmen. Not much is known of his “crimes” but they were considered significant enough for him to be sentenced to be hanged for his involvement with the “rebels.” Shortly before the sentence was to be carried out it was commuted and Mr. Leslie walked free.
Mr. Leslie had several children after the commutation of his sentence including the birth of a son in 1809. Being a good Presbyterian he named his son John Knox. Young John took an interest in theology and was ordained a Presbyterian minister serving as the first minister of the Molesworth congregation in Cookstown from 1835 until his death in 1902.
Rev. Dr. John Knox Leslie McKean
Rev. John Knox Leslie would in turn have his own family and in 1851 his wife gave birth to a daughter, Margaret Barnett. When the time came for her to fall in love it was to another member of the clergy, Rev. Dr. William McKean. Rev. McKean was the minister of the Ballymacarrett Presbyterian congregation where W.F. Marshall, ‘the bard of Tyrone’, would serve as his assistant writing his poem, “The Minister,” in honor of the friendship he developed with McKean.
In 1906 McKean was elected moderator of the Presbyterian Church in Ireland. An office that his son, Rev. Dr. John Knox Leslie McKean would also hold in 1952. Yet in spite of Margaret and William naming their son after the Leslie clan Willam’s politics were a far cry from those of his wife’s family and especially those of Mr. Leslie of Coleraine. On Ulster Day, 28th September, 1912, Rev. Mckean stood on the platform in the Ulster Hall alongside Edward Carson and delivered the sermon. 1 Timothy 6:20 was his text he selected to preach on and as good of a preacher as he may have been took it completely out of context, “Keep that which is committed to thy trust.” Before giving his sermon in which he stated “The Irish question is at bottom a war against Protestantism; it is an attempt to establish a Roman Catholic ascendancy in Ireland to begin the disintegration of the empire by securing a second parliament in Dublin.” Over the course of three generations the family moved from being United Irishmen to forming a staunch opposition to Home Rule.
Besides having a son, William and Margaret gave birth to a daughter, Eileen (1880). Eileen’s marriage to William Holmes (1868-1913), the great grandson of Rev. Willam Holmes, would bring the Holmes and Leslie lineages together. Two families that just a few generations prior would have been at war with one another over their involvement in the 1798 rebellion.
Robert Craigan
North Irish Horse Regiment
Eileen and William Holmes’ daughter, Margaret was born in 1906. When her father died in 1913 she and her mum would spend much of their time at her Uncle John’s home, the manse in Comber. As a young woman she married Robert Craigan (1891-1980) of Magherascouse, fifteen years her senior. While Rev. William McKean was ardent in his opposition to Home Rule, Robert was in favour of the move. Another shift in the family allegiance. Following his service in World War One, of which he never spoke, except to share about the mud and rats in the trenches, Robert was asked to join the Ulster Volunteers. An offer he had no problem turning down. Over his lifetime Robert pointed blame at the Orange Order for many of the problems faced in what was now Northern Ireland. As a moderate voice he read the Northern Whig over the Newsletter or the Irish Times.
Robert and Margaret had their first child in 1929, naming him John Knox Leslie. Their second son, Robert Michael, would follow in 1933. Michael, like his father, is a supporter of one Ireland and was thrilled to compete under the Irish flag for a number of years as part of the national golf team. Michael served as the jury foreman in one of the final suspected IRA cases before the troubles forced Northern Ireland to move into a diplock court system. Much more could be said about Michael and ways he stood up to paramilitary intimidation during the troubles, but that’s to be saved for another day.
In August, 1967, Michael married an English girl, Vivien Kendrick. Fourteen months later, October, 1968 I arrived in the world. Following in the family history, I am the Rev. Dr. Neil Craigan.
My family is both unionist and nationalist
My family was both for and against home rule
My family fought both for and against the United Irishmen
My family has generations of Prebyterian clergy, and I am one of them.
Am I a good Irish Presbyterian? That’s for others to decide.
Who are you?
