The Methodist Church in Ireland numbers 57,476 among its adherents, as of December last. The figure has changed little since December 1992, when it had 57,840 members. Most of its population is in the Belfast area with concentrations in Antrim, in Down around Portadown, and Dublin. The Church is divided into eight districts:
I2,290
Midlands and Southern 2,050
Enniskillen and Sligo 3,330
Londonderry 3,545
North East 11,415
Belfast 17,423
Down 10,124
Portadown 7,299
Methodism was founded by John Wesley, who arrived in Dublin 251 years ago. The church, which figures such luminaries as Hillary Clinton and Margaret Thatcher among its followers, has a reputation for social concern. Last year, the church acquired Grosvenor House in Belfast, where its headquarters is now based. The building is next door to the Ulster Unionist Party headquarters. Staff there tend to use the canteen at Grosvenor House regularly, which prompted the observation that if the Presbyterian Church in Ireland is the Unionist Party at prayer, the Methodist Church in Ireland is the Unionist Party at lunch.