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Presbyterian minister of Minulla in 1730

Mayo

I am seeking information about life in county Mayo during the early part of the 18th century when my ancestor Rev Samuel Dunlop was serving as a Presbyterian minister. He was engaged in mission in Minola and Branagh (co Mayo) between 1734 and 1738. He probably continued his ministry in Minulla until his death in 1738.  An 1837 letter from a Mr Jno Brown of Ralbin addressed to the Presbyterian Synod in Antrim described Mr Dunlop's good character.

I am interested to know if there may be any sources about life in this area of county Mayo during Samuel Dunlop's tenure and particularly the role of the Presbyterian Church in the region.

Samuel Dunlop/Dunlap was born at Dervock, county Antrim circa 1680. Samuel has a son George born in 1715 at Athlone, Westmeath. He had a daughter Abigail who is my four times great grandmother, but I don't know her date or place of birth. I don't know if she lived with her parents in Mayo. Abigail married a Flack and they had two daughters, Abigail and Anne. the younger Abigail married Neall Glass and is my ancestor. By the time Abby Flack married Neal Glass she was Roman Catholic and they lived at Ballinlea in the parish of Ballintoy in Antrim.

drmfbrown@gmail.com

1 reply

MaryB,

Can’t help you with descriptions of Mayo in the 1700s but the Presbyterian Historical Society  (PHS) in Belfast keeps records of all Presbyterian Ministers in Ireland so they may be able to add a little knowledge of Rev Dunlop’s life and career. He almost certainly will have studied for his degree in Scotland as it wasn’t possible for Presbyterians to get a theology degree in Ireland at that time.  He can only have studied at Glasgow, Edinburgh, St. Andrews or Aberdeen (then called Marischal College). They all keep some records of their former students.

https://presbyterianhistoryireland.com

PHS will also know if any records still exist for that congregation in Mayo.  Brief information on the parish in the 1800s:

https://irelandxo.com/ireland-xo/history-and-genealogy/timeline/manulla-aka-minola-parish-1830s

Looking at the 1901 census of Co. Mayo there were 519 Presbyterians in the county (in contrast to 192, 324 Roman Catholics). Most of the Presbyterians have Scottish surnames, as you might expect, and so will be descended from Scots who settled in that area over the years.  A few have Irish names and are presumably folk who switched denomination either through marriage or proselytization.

A glance at the 1901 census gives a hint of the commercial reasons Presbyterian families moved there. For example, as well as quite a few farmers, there’s a fish merchant, a salmon fishery manager and several others involved in fishing one way or another, a veterinary surgeon, Presbyterian Ministers (in Ballina, Castlebar & Ballinglen), an engineer, a Magistrate, a chemist, an Inspector of ships, a Master Mariner, a Prison Warder, a flour importer and a butler. It would probably have been similar in the 1700s. I don’t think there were ever many Presbyterians in Mayo, especially in the 1700s.

Elwyn, IrelandXO Volunteer ☘IrelandXO Volunteer

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