Minister becomes first Presbyterian moderator from Irish congregation since 2000

The minister of a Dublin congregation will be the first Presbyterian Moderator from a church south of the Irish border since 2000.

Rev Dr Sam Mawhinney, minister of Adelaide Road Presbyterian Church in the Irish capital, was elected Moderator-Designate of the Presbyterian Church in Ireland on Tuesday evening.

The 60-year-old father of three was brought up in Ballycastle in Co Antrim.

He has been the minister at Adelaide Road since 2008.

The last Presbyterian Moderator from an Irish congregation was Co Dublin minister, Rev Trevor Morrow of Lucan Presbyterian Church, in 2000.

Rev Mawhinney said he was “genuinely surprised and humbled” by his election.

“It is a position I have not sought, but happily accept as God’s will for my life,” he said.

“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.”

Rev Mawhinney studied medicine at the Queen’s University Belfast and became a missionary doctor, and worked at several hospitals in Northern Ireland before he became a minister.

He will be officially nominated to this year’s Presbyterian General Assembly in June when he will succeed the current Moderator, the Rt Rev John Kirkpatrick.