(d. 1694), Presbyterian minister and historian. He was the son of the Revd William Adair of Ayr, who had administered the Solemn League and Covenant in Ulster, and nephew and son-in-law of Sir Robert Adair, a major Scottish landowner in mid-Antrim. He was ordained and installed in Cairncastle, Co. Antrim, in 1646 by the Army Presbytery. Deposed for nonconformity in 1661, he spent three months under house arrest in Lord Massereene's home in Dublin following Blood's plot. In 1674 he was called to the Rosemary Street congregation in Belfast. He frequently represented Irish Presbyterians in negotiations with governments. He travelled to London to greet William III in 1689 and welcomed him to Ireland in 1690. He was one of the original trustees of the regium donum. His invaluable True Narrative of the Rise and Progress of the Presbyterian Church in Ireland covers only the period 1640–70. The manuscript was lost but was discovered and published in 1866, edited by W. D. Killen. Adair presented the Scottish settlements and Munro's army as the means used by God to bring true religion and increased happiness to the poor, feckless, idolatrous Irish.
From The Oxford Companion to Irish History in Oxford Reference.
Subjects: European History.