ian paisley

English - English

Definition of ian paisley in English English dictionary: born April 6, 1926, Armagh, County Armagh, N.Ire. Protestant leader in Northern Ireland. After being ordained in the Reformed Presbyterian church (1946), he cofounded a new sect, the Free Presbyterian Church of Ulster (1951), which soon grew to more than 30 churches. In the 1960s he became the voice of extreme Protestant opinion in the sectarian strife of Northern Ireland, opposed to any concessions to the Catholics. He led demonstrations throughout Northern Ireland and was repeatedly imprisoned for unlawful assembly. Elected to the House of Commons in 1970, he cofounded the Democratic Unionist Party in 1971 and also organized a paramilitary group of Protestant fighters called the Third Force. In 1998 he opposed the Good Friday Agreement, which called for power sharing between Roman Catholics and Protestants. He won a seat in the new Northern Ireland Assembly that the accord established, though he continued to refuse to participate in negotiations with Sinn Féin, the political wing of the Irish Republican Army

ian paisley