SCOTLAND'S pre-eminent historian and the founder of a charity working with children in some of the world's poorest communities have been named amongst the UK's most influential Catholics.
Sir Tom Devine and Magnus MacFarlane-Barrow, who set up Mary's Meals, feature prominently in the list drawn up by Britain's leading Catholic journal The Tablet to mark its 175th anniversary.
Sir Tom features at number seven, ahead of any of the current or former politicians in the list, including Tony Blair.
Mr Macfarlane-Barrow is immediately one place above.
The Governor of the Bank of England, Mark Carney, tops the poll which includes academics, politicians and famous faces from the worlds of showbusiness and sport.
At number two is England's chief inspector of schools Sir Michael Wilshaw, while 'spooks chief' Robert Hannigan, director of GCHQ, is in third place.
Other prominent Scots include former Lord Advocate and current principal of St Hugh's College Oxford Dame Elish Angiolini (at number 25), Baroness Helena Kennedy (41), and Scottish Labour Party leader Jim Murphy in 44th place.
Spectator editor Fraser Nelson is at 56, Kwik Fit founder and Hibernian FC owner Sir Tom Farmer is at 72 and singing sensation Susan Boyle is at 93.
Christopher Lamb, assistant editor of The Tablet, said: "The political earthquake in Scotland has led to many Catholics from the Labour party losing their seats. It is also clear, however, that Catholics north of the border have played a critical role in this change by shifting their support to the SNP.
"Our list reflects this with the high placing of Sir Tom Devine, Scotland's leading historian widely seen as the intellectual heavyweight behind Scottish nationalism."
The list was compiled on the grounds of influence and standing in British society, covers laity only and refers to Catholics currently living in this country, rather than those born here
The highest ranking politician is Iain Duncan Smith (18), but in a marked change since the 2010 list, Tony Blair has dropped from fifth to 17th place.
Adding glamour to the poll is actress Carey Mulligan (86), award-winning musician Sam Smith (77), and presenters Ant and Dec (78).
The Top 100 also includes such names as actor David Harewood (49), Frank Skinner (47), Dermot O'Leary (80) and Danny Boyle (63), along with footballer Wayne Rooney and his wife Coleen (46). It reflects a cross-section of British life, from Stonewall Chief Executive Ruth Hunt (54), chef Delia Smith (60) and writer Lady Antonia Fraser (76).
Along with Mr Carney, other foreign-born Catholics ranked on the list include Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho and footballer Didier Drogba (joint 48th).
Catherine Pepinster, editor of The Tablet, said: "A striking feature of the list created to mark our 175th anniversary is how many of those featured have risen to prominence from modest or even underprivileged backgrounds.
"While recent studies reveal that social mobility in Britain is at a standstill, Catholics have gone from being a minority group, largely a community of working class immigrants, to playing a key role in British professional and public life - a story that is testament to the transformative power of education in Catholic schools."
Sir Tom added: 'I am of course very honoured to be placed so highly on this distinguished list and close to another Scot,Magnus Macfarlane -Barrow, whose remarkable work for the poor of the world I have long admired.
"However,The Tablet describes me wrongly as a Scottish nationalist. I did vote Yes in September 2014 but I am not a member of the SNP or a 'nationalist' in the classical sense of the term. I am a proud Scotsman who is committed to what I think is the best future for my country."
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereComments are closed on this article