MC DONNELL MEMORIALS

The Department's description

Exterior description and setting

A pair of memorial gravestones located in the graveyard of Layd Church in the townland of Moneyvart. Both memorials take the form of Celtic Crosses and mark the burial sites of members of the landowning McDonnell family of Kilmore House and Legg townland. The McDonnell Memorials consist of a weathered sandstone cross and High Cross, both situated to the West side of the graveyard of Layd Church, a ruined medieval church believed to date from at least the 13th century. The ruins of this Church are one of the oldest and most important historical sites in the Glens, situated on the Layde Road between Cushendall and Cushendun.

Weather-worn red sandstone cross (possessing a hole to centre), situated to the South-west of the graveyard, close to the entrance predates all the grave-markers at Layd Church and was placed at the graveyard in the mid-19th century to mark the grave of Frank McDonnell of Legg townland. The memorial, which stands approximately four-and-a-half feet in height and fifteen-and-a-half inches in width, has the following engraved inscription: ‘FRANK MCDONNELL / FORMERLY OF / LEGG / DIED 8TH JUNE / 1861 / R.I.P.’

High Cross, located to the North-west side of the graveyard immediately adjacent to the Church ruins and is engraved with the following inscription: ‘Erected in Memory of James McDonnell of Belfast and of Murlough of this County, a Physician whose great abilities & greater benevolence made him venerated in the glens where he was born & in Belfast where he died A.D. 1845 in his 82nd year.'

Setting:
Located within the graveyard of Layd Church on the Layde Road between the Villages of Cushendun and Cushendall. The graveyard stands beside a fast flowing stream that cascades into the sea at Port Obe.

Historical information

The McDonnell Memorials are a number of memorial gravestones and markers located in the graveyard of Layd Church in the townland of Moneyvart, which mark the burial sites of the McDonnell family. Prominent local landowners, the McDonnell’s arrived in Ulster in the 17th century and greatly influenced the development of the Antrim Coast where they constructed a number of castles, fortifications and gentlemen’s seats between Glenariff and Ballycastle. The Victorian antiquarians, Francis Joseph Bigger and William John Fennell wrote that ‘Layde was, next to Bunnamargie, the favourite burial place of the McDonnell’s, and [was] still used by the descendants of that princely race [in 1898-99]. The west end of the church is sacred to their dust, and many quaint armorial stones record their name and lineage’ (Bigger & Fennell, p. 39).
The McDonnell Memorials are located within the graveyard of Layd Church, a ruined medieval church traditionally believed to be a Franciscan structure dating from at least the 13th century. Brett states that the thatched building was utilised as the local parish church up until c. 1790 when the last service was held at the site. The church subsequently fell into ruin and Layde Parish Church was constructed at Cushendall in 1832 (Brett, p. 14; Northern Ireland Sites & Monuments Records). Burials have taken place at the graveyard of Layd Old Church for centuries and, as a result, have physically altered the appearance of the church itself. The chancel of the ruin incorporates a vault whilst numerous burials held within the nave of the building have raised its floor level almost to window height. A contemporary document in the Northern Ireland Sites & Monuments Record for Layd Church records that ‘outside the west end [of the building] are several memorials to the McDonnell’s of Kilmore, Glenariff, a branch of the family which built so many castles round Antrim coast. The memorials at Layd tell of death in battle and drowning at seas, but this graveyard, sloping down to the sea, is a particularly beautiful and peaceful place’ (NI SMR).
The most significant memorials at Layde Church are the two memorial crosses in the graveyard which mark the burial sites of Dr. James McDonnell (d. 1841) and Frank McDonnell (d. 1861). The earliest of these monuments is a weathered sandstone cross, which was constructed at an unknown date and installed at the site in c. 1861, whilst the late-Victorian High Cross was erected in c. 1890 to commemorate and mark the grave of Dr. James McDonnell who had died in 1841. Field inspection of Layd Church, carried out as part of the Second Survey, finds that in addition to the two crosses, the graveyard also possesses a large number of other memorials to various members of the McDonnell family. These memorials, some of which date from as early as the 17th century, take the form of vaults, headstones and armorial monuments installed into the church and cemetery walls.
The weather-worn red sandstone cross (possessing a hole to centre) located to the south-west corner of the churchyard predates all other gravemarkers at Layd Church but was not placed at the graveyard until the mid-19th century. The memorial, which stands approximately four-and-a-half feet in height and fifteen-and-a-half inches in width, was erected at Layd Church to mark the grave of Frank McDonnell of Legg townland. The cross bears a simple inscription ‘FRANK MCDONNELL / FORMERLY OF / LEGG / DIED 8TH JUNE / 1861 / R.I.P.,’ which was evidentially a latter addition to the monument. In his unpublished thesis, Hamlin records that there is considerable doubt concerning the origin of the cross. One source suggests that it may be a ‘hole-stone’ which was originally located on a hill overlooking Cushendall; another agreed that the stone was originally from Cushendall but claimed that it had been relocated to the parish of Dunaghy in the 1840s (and subsequently returned to Layd in 1861); a further source suggests that the cross is not indigenous to the region at all but originated from the Scottish Highlands. Due to the confusion concerning its origins, the age of the cross is not known; indeed the only facts which are know with certainty are that the cross was relocated to Layd Church in 1861 where it became Franck McDonnell’s tombstone (Hamlin, p. 452).
The High Cross, located to the south side of the graveyard, was installed in the late-19th century. The exact date of construction is unknown, however it had been erected by at least 1898-99 when it was recorded by Francis Joseph Bigger and William J. Fennell. The pair described the High Cross in the Ulster Journal of Archaeology using the following terms: ‘To the west of the tower, and quite close to the fence, a beautiful cross has been erected to the memory of Dr. James McDonnell of Belfast. It rather mars the value of this cross when it is known to be made of metal, with a covering of some cement-like material in imitation of stone. Some excellent Celtic ornament is depicted upon it, but there are some figures and symbols quite out of keeping with ancient Irish art, such as the winged figure of Saint Michael, with a shield, upon which is depicted a Saint George’s cross. Shamrocks are also shown growing out of the ground in a representation of the Good Samaritan. These incorrect details, are, however, compensated for in the noble appearance of the cross when viewed from a distance, forming, as it does, the distinctive feature of the graveyard’ (Bigger & Fennell, pp 41-42). The High Cross is engraved with the following inscription: ‘Erected in Memory of James McDonnell of Belfast and of Murlough of this County, a Physician whose great abilities & greater benevolence made him venerated in the Glens where he was born & in Belfast where he died A.D. 1845 in his 82nd year.’ Dr. James McDonnell was a prominent local physician who was responsible for founding the first fever hospital in Ireland and who also founded the Belfast School of Medicine The memorial also commemorates Dr. McDonnell’s first wife, Eliza, his second wife, Penelope, and his father, Michael McDonnell (NI SMR; Cushendall Conservation Area Plan, p. 23).
The First Survey Record (1971) described Layd Graveyard in the following terms: ‘An irregular-shaped graveyard containing the remains of Layd Church. Five, partly demolished, rectangular buildings cluster around the entrance to the graveyard. There are a number of McDonnell memorials including a high cross (modern) and memorial stones of the early 18th century, a number of which have been built into modern walling’ (First Survey Record). The McDonnell Memorials were listed in 1980 (NIEA HB Records).

References
Primary Sources
1. PRONI OS/6/1/15/1 – First Edition Ordnance Survey Map (1832)
2. PRONI OS/6/1/15/2 – Second Edition Ordnance Survey Map (1857)
3. PRONI OS/6/1/15/3 – Third Edition Ordnance Survey Map (1903-04)
4. PRONI OS/6/1/15/4 – Fourth Edition Ordnance Survey Map (1922)
5. Ordnance Survey Memoirs, Co. Antrim IV, Vol. 13 (1830-38)
6. A genealogical and heraldic history of the landed gentry of Great Britain & Ireland (1879)
7. O’Laverty: An historical account of the Diocese of Down and Connor (1887)
8. Bigger & Fennell; Ulster Journal of Archaeology (1898-99)
9. First Survey Record – HB05/03/003 (1971)
10. NIEA HB Record – HB05/03/003
11. Northern Ireland Sites and Monument Records – ANT 015:001 (contains numerous sources on Layd Church including Hamlin’s unpublished thesis of 1979).

Secondary Sources

1. Brett, C. E. B., ‘List of historic buildings, groups of buildings and areas of architectural importance in the Glens of Antrim’ Belfast: Ulster Architectural Heritage Society, 1972.

Criteria for listing: architectural interest

A. Style
B. Proportion
C. Ornamentation
J. Setting
K. Group value

Criteria for listing: historic interest

R. Age
S. Authenticity
T. Historic Importance
U. Historic Associations
X. Local Interest

Evaluation

A pair of memorial gravestones located in the graveyard of Layd Church in the townland of Moneyvart. The graveyard contains many fine gravestones, including memorials to members of the McDonnell family and others which illustrate the areas maritime and Scottish connections and tell of death in battle and drowning at seas, a timeline of important events in Irish and Scottish history. The subject of both aforementioned memorials take the form of Celtic Crosses and mark the burial sites of members of the landowning McDonnell family of Kilmore House and Legg townland. With particular regard to the smaller and unusual weathered sandstone cross with a hole in the centre, situated beside the entrance at the South-west of the Layd Graveyard, the cross itself appears to be much older than its inscription suggests. The MacDonnell Memorials are located within the graveyard is of Layd Church, a ruined medieval church believed to date from at least the 13th century. The ruins of this Church are one of the oldest and most important historical sites in the Glens, situated on the Layde Road between Cushendall and Cushendun. The graveyard stands beside a fast flowing stream that cascades into the sea at Port Obe on the North-east coast of Northern Ireland.