The Irish Methodist Revival John Wesley the founder of the Methodists once said ‘Have patience and Ireland will repay you.’ This was more than a mere comment for during his long life he made 21 visits to these shores which maybe covered six years of his life in total. The first Methodist preacher to arrive in Ireland was John Cennick who arrived in 1746 at Dublin. The Revival in England had begun about eight years before and those who opposed this revival by word and by riots had nicknamed them ‘Methodists.’ In Dublin they initially called them ‘Swaddlers’ but soon returned to the name of reproach given by adversaries in England but worn by these preachers as a badge of honour, Methodists.