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Dublin-based minister to become next Moderator of Presbyterian Church in Ireland

Dublin-based minister to become next Moderator of Presbyterian Church in Ireland
Dublin-based minister to become next Moderator of Presbyterian Church in Ireland Dublin-based minister to become next Moderator of Presbyterian Church in Ireland

A CO Antrim cleric is to become the first minister of a congregation in the Republic to be elected Moderator of the Presbyterian Church in Ireland in over two decades.

Rev Dr Sam Mawhinney, the minister of Adelaide Road Presbyterian Church in Dublin, was elected Moderator-Designate of the all-island denomination on Tuesday evening.

Hailing from Ballycastle, the 60 year-old father of three received the most votes from the Church’s 19 regional presbyteries to become the denomination's 178th Moderator since 1840.

He received 10 presbytery votes at the annual election, while fellow candidate, Rev Richard Murray of Drumreagh Presbyterian Church in Co Antrim, received nine.

Dr Mawhinney will formally succeed current Moderator, the Rev Dr John Kirkpatrick, in June at the church's General Assembly,

The last time a minister leading a congregation in the Republic became Moderator was back in 2000, when Rev Trevor Morrow of Dublin's Lucan Presbyterian Church was elected.

Dr Mawhinney, a graduate of Queens' University who worked as a qualified GP before joining the ministry, said he was "genuinely surprised and humbled" by the result.

"It is a position I have not sought, but happily accept as God’s will for my life. While in some respects it is quite a daunting task, I know that God’s help is promised for every task we are called to and I therefore thank Him for the opportunity to serve the church in the year ahead," he said.