James Brown Armour (1841–1928), usually known as J. B. Armour, was an Irish

Presbyterian minister Presbyterian (or presbyteral) polity is a method of church governance ("ecclesiastical polity") typified by the rule of assemblies of presbyters, or elders. Each local church is governed by a body of elected elders usually called the session (o ...

who sought to rally

Protestant Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that emphasizes Justification (theology), justification of sinners Sola fide, through faith alone, the teaching that Salvation in Christianity, salvation comes by unmerited Grace in Christianity, divin ...

opinion in the north of Ireland in support of

tenant right Tenant-right is a term in the common law system expressing the right to compensation which a tenant has, either by custom or by law, against his landlord for increment at the termination of his tenancy. In England, it was governed for most part b ...

and against

landlordism Concentration of land ownership refers to the ownership of land in a particular area by a small number of people or organizations. It is sometimes defined as additional concentration beyond that which produces optimally efficient land use. Distr ...

, and, in his later years, in favour of Irish

Home Rule Home rule is the government of a colony, dependent country, or region by its own citizens. It is thus the power of a part (administrative division) of a state or an external dependent country to exercise such of the state's powers of governan ...

and against threatened unionist resistance to an Irish national parliament.

Biography

Armour was born at Lisboy, near

Ballymoney Ballymoney ( , meaning 'townland of the moor') is a town and Civil parishes in Ireland, civil parish in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. It is within the Causeway Coast and Glens Borough Council area. The civil parish of Ballymoney is situated ...

County Antrim County Antrim (named after the town of Antrim, County Antrim, Antrim, ) is one of the six counties of Northern Ireland, located within the historic Provinces of Ireland, province of Ulster. Adjoined to the north-east shore of Lough Neagh, the c ...

, and was educated at the

Royal Belfast Academical Institution The Royal Belfast Academical Institution is an independent grammar school in Belfast, Northern Ireland. With the support of Belfast's leading reformers and democrats, it opened its doors in 1814. Until 1849, when it was superseded by what today ...

and

Queen's College, Belfast The Queen's University of Belfast, commonly known as Queen's University Belfast (; abbreviated Queen's or QUB), is a public research university in Belfast, Northern Ireland, United Kingdom. The university received its charter in 1845 as part of ...

and

Queen's College, Cork University College Cork – National University of Ireland, Cork (UCC) () is a constituent university of the National University of Ireland, and located in Cork (city), Cork. The university was founded in 1845 as one of three Queen's Universit ...

, where he studied classics. In 1869 Armour was appointed minister at Second Ballymoney Presbyterian Church, also known as Trinity Presbyterian Church, where he served until he retired in 1925. Armour founded Ballymoney Intermediate School and lectured at

Magee College The Ulster University Derry~Londonderry campus, better known as Magee College, is one of the four campuses of Ulster University. It is located in Derry, Northern Ireland, and was opened in 1865 as a Presbyterian Christian arts and theological ...

Derry Derry, officially Londonderry, is the second-largest City status in the United Kingdom, city in Northern Ireland, and the fifth-largest on the island of Ireland. Located in County Londonderry, the city now covers both banks of the River Fo ...

. In 1886 Armour had opposed the first Home Rule Bill. By 1892, having become convinced that unionism was benefiting Anglicans and landowners at the expense of Presbyterians, Armour converted to a pro-home rule position, and endorsed liberal Presbyterian candidates in the election of that year. The following year, at a specially-convened General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church, Armour moved a pro-home rule amendment. His speech, in which he stated that ‘The principle of Home Rule is a Presbyterian principle’, caused a sensation, and saw him emerge as the best known Protestant home ruler in Ulster. He was politically outspoken in support of both the Tenant Right movement and Home Rule, and of the controversial proposal for a Catholic university. He felt that politics ought not to divide the Presbyterian Church, but he firmly believed that partition would be disastrous for

Ulster Ulster (; or ; or ''Ulster'') is one of the four traditional or historic provinces of Ireland, Irish provinces. It is made up of nine Counties of Ireland, counties: six of these constitute Northern Ireland (a part of the United Kingdom); t ...

. Armour was confident that a Dublin parliament would help boost the Irish economy and would promote reconciliation between Protestants and Roman Catholics.

Jack White John Anthony White (; born July 9, 1975) is an American musician who achieved international fame as the guitarist and lead singer of the rock duo the White Stripes. As the White Stripes disbanded, he sought success with his solo career, subse ...

Roger Casement Roger David Casement (; 1 September 1864 – 3 August 1916), known as Sir Roger Casement, CMG, between 1911 and 1916, was a diplomat and Irish nationalist executed by the United Kingdom for treason during World War I. He worked for the Britis ...

and Armour organised a public meeting in Ballymoney on 24 October 1913 to build support for Home Rule amongst the local Protestant population, but had little success. The speeches at the meeting were subsequently published as a pamphlet called ''A Protestant Protest''. Following in the footsteps of

James MacKnight James MacKnight (1721-1800) was a Scottish minister and theological author, serving at the Old Kirk of Edinburgh (St Giles Cathedral). He is remembered for his book Harmony of the Gospels and as Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of ...

, Armour was better known throughout Ulster for his local leadership in the Tenant Right campaign of the 1870s. He helped define the aims of the

Route Tenants' Defence Association The Route Tenants' Defence Association (R.T.D.A.), originally called the Route Tenant-Right Association, was founded in Ballymoney in 1869. It campaigned for the rights of tenant farmers in the area of County Antrim known as Route, County Antrim, Th ...

in the "Ballymoney programme". Armour served on the Senate of Queen's University, Belfast, where he favoured the teaching of the

Irish language Irish (Standard Irish: ), also known as Irish Gaelic or simply Gaelic ( ), is a Celtic language of the Indo-European language family. It is a member of the Goidelic languages of the Insular Celtic sub branch of the family and is indigenous ...

and

scholastic philosophy Scholasticism was a medieval European philosophical movement or methodology that was the predominant education in Europe from about 1100 to 1700. It is known for employing logically precise analyses and reconciling classical philosophy and C ...

. He was made honorary chaplain to the Lord Lieutenant during the First World War. Armour married Jennie Stavely Hamilton, a widow who already had two sons, and had three sons with her, one of whom was William Staveley Armour, who founded the Young Farmers' Clubs of Ulster in 1929. He died of

pneumonia Pneumonia is an Inflammation, inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as Pulmonary alveolus, alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of Cough#Classification, productive or dry cough, ches ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Armour, James 1841 births 1928 deaths Protestant Irish nationalists 19th-century Irish Presbyterian ministers 20th-century Presbyterian ministers from Northern Ireland Deaths from pneumonia in Ireland People from Ballymoney Christian clergy from County Antrim