In the graveyard of Saintfield First Presbyterian Church, sits the graves of men who fought on the side of the United Irishmen in the 1798 rebellion. Does anybody know how Presbyterians went from leading such a rebellion to nowadays largely being considered Unionists ?

Aware there is also a Second Presbyterian Church in Saintfield, as many Presbyterians at the time didn’t agree with the rebellion / cause, and opened a new Church. So there was never a monopoly in Presbyterian belief to begin with. Could there still be elements of UI support in the First Presbyterian Church in Saintfield ? Has this vanished, and if so, what happened ?

Noteworthy that the Catholic Priest in Saintfield at the time was a Unionist who told his practitioners not to join the rebellion. Complicated place.

by MossWoodDude