Brief account of the Irvine family, County Fermanagh

CHAPTER VIII.
Sir Gerard Irvine was succeeded at Castle
Irvine by his eldest brother, Dr. Christopher
Irvine of Edinburgh, who had always resided in
Scotland. He had devoted himself to literature,
and was appointed at an early age a Professor
in the College of Edinburgh, where he was
distinguished as a Historian and Antiquarian.
During the political commotions of the reign
of Charles I., he adhered to the side of the
King, and was strongly opposed to the
Revolutionary faction. By profession a Pro-
testant of the Episcopal Church, he never
swerved, either towards Presbyterianism, when
it was all powerful during the Great Rebellion,
or towards Romanism, when it became after-
wards the passport to royal favors.
When the Revolution in Scotland had
reached its climax, and the Solemn League
and Covenant was imposed by the Presby-
terians, in opposition to the Royal authority,
he refused it. On this account he was ex-
pelled from the College, prosecuted for malig-
nancy or loyalty to the Crown, and banished
the kingdom. He thus suffered for his
loyalty like the rest of the Irvine family — con-
fiscation, exile, imprisonment, and other in