 The churches now comprising the FPCNA were previously part of the Free Presbyterian Church of Ulster, which itself was formed in 1951 in Northern Ireland by the cleric and politician Ian Paisley, who remained the FPCU's moderator until 2008.The North American churches organized as the FPCNA and first elected their own moderator in 2005.In 2009 the denomination consisted of 24 churches in the United States and Canada.