Graveyard off Munie Road

The Department's description

Exterior description and setting

Ggraveyard wall enclosing the ruins of a small medieval church and headstones dating back to at least 1748. The graveyard is sited on a slight slope to the east of Munie Road, roughly 1½ miles SW of Glenarm.

The graveyard is roughly square in plan and surrounded by the badly dilapidated remains of a rubble wall. Enclosed within are various headstones, from the 18th, 19th and 20th centuries, the earliest the writers could see dating from 1748. Narrow, limestone chip covered paths wind between the graves and interspersed here and there are the remains of rubble walls. Some of these walls apparently belonged to the small church which is believed to have stood at the NE corner of the enclosure, but the arrangement of the walls at present suggests that stone has been removed from the original ruin and reassembled throughout the graveyard to form various small ‘enclosures’.

Historical information

This graveyard is marked on the 1832 OS map as ‘Burial ground’ with ‘Church in ruins’ marked on the revised map of 1858. Local legend states that the church (originally named the church of ‘Gluaire’) was founded by St Patrick, who left it in the charge of a man named MacLaisre. James O’Laverty, in his ‘An historic account of the diocese of Down and Connor’ (Secondary source no.1) believes that ‘MacLaisre’ may be the same person as ‘MacCrevin’, whose name was later adopted by the church, ‘Tickmacrevan’ or ‘House of MacCrevin’. Whatever the case, it is clear that the church was abandoned some time prior to 1622, for it is recorded in the Ulster Visitation book for that year as ‘decayed’. SMR No ANT 29/9

References- Primary sources
1 PRONI OS/6/1/29/1 OS map, Co Antrim sh 29, 1832-33
2 PRONI OS/6/1/29/2 OS map, Co Antrim sh 29, 1857-58
3 PRONI OS/6/1/29/3 OS map, Co Antrim sh 29, 1903

Secondary sources
1 Rev. James O’Laverty, ‘An historic account of the diocese of Down and Connor ancient and modern’ (5 vols, Dublin, 1878-95)
2 Felix McKillop, ‘Glenarm- A local history’, p.5

Criteria for listing: architectural interest

Not listed

Criteria for listing: historic interest

Not listed

Evaluation

Small graveyard wall enclosing and containing the badly dilapidated ruins of a small medieval church and headstones dating back to at least 1748. Listed status would not be appropriate but it is a scheduled monument.