Mc Donnell Memorials, Layd Graveyard, Moneyvart, Cushendun, Co.Antrim

These two memorial gravestones stand in the graveyard of Layd Church, in the townland of Moneyvart on the Layde Road between Cushendall and Cushendun on the north-east coast of Northern Ireland. Both take the form of Celtic crosses and mark the burial sites of members of the McDonnell family, prominent landowners who arrived in Ulster in the 17th century and who greatly influenced the development of the Antrim coast, constructing a number of castles, fortifications and gentlemen's seats between Glenariff and Ballycastle.

The graveyard itself contains many fine gravestones, including memorials that illustrate the area's maritime and Scottish connections, telling of death in battle and drowning at sea — a timeline of important events in Irish and Scottish history. The Victorian antiquarians Francis Joseph Bigger and William John Fennell wrote in 1898–99 that Layd was, next to Bunnamargie, the favourite burial place of the McDonnells, and was still used by descendants of that family at the time of their writing. They noted that the west end of the church was sacred to the family's memory, with many armorial stones recording their name and lineage. In addition to the two crosses, the graveyard contains a large number of other memorials to various members of the McDonnell family, some dating from as early as the 17th century, taking the form of vaults, headstones and armorial monuments installed into the church and cemetery walls.

The graveyard surrounds the ruins of Layd Church, a medieval structure traditionally believed to be Franciscan in origin and dating from at least the 13th century, making it one of the oldest and most historically significant sites in the Glens of Antrim. The thatched building served as the local parish church until around 1790, when the last service was held there. It subsequently fell into ruin, and Layde Parish Church was built at Cushendall in 1832. Centuries of burials have physically altered the ruin: the chancel incorporates a vault, and burials within the nave have raised its floor level to almost window height. The graveyard slopes down to stand beside a fast-flowing stream that cascades into the sea at Port Obe.

The first and earlier of the two crosses is a weather-worn red sandstone cross with a hole through its centre, situated in the south-west corner of the graveyard, close to the entrance. The memorial stands approximately four and a half feet in height and fifteen and a half inches in width. It predates all other grave markers at Layd Church, though its precise origins are uncertain and have been the subject of considerable debate. One account suggests it may be a hole-stone originally located on a hill overlooking Cushendall; another agrees it came from Cushendall but claims it was relocated to the parish of Dunaghy in the 1840s before being returned to Layd in 1861; a further account suggests the cross is not indigenous to the region at all but originated from the Scottish Highlands. What is known with certainty is that the cross was placed at Layd Church in 1861 to mark the grave of Frank McDonnell of Legg townland, the inscription — clearly a later addition to the monument — reading: FRANK MCDONNELL / FORMERLY OF / LEGG / DIED 8TH JUNE / 1861 / R.I.P.

The second memorial is a High Cross located to the north-west side of the graveyard, immediately adjacent to the church ruins. It was erected in the late 19th century — in place by at least 1898–99 when recorded by Bigger and Fennell — to commemorate Dr James McDonnell, who had died in 1841. Bigger and Fennell described it as a beautiful cross, but noted that it is made of metal with a covering of cement-like material in imitation of stone. They observed that it bears some excellent Celtic ornament, but also figures and symbols out of keeping with ancient Irish art, including a winged figure of Saint Michael carrying a shield depicting a Saint George's cross, and shamrocks growing from the ground in a representation of the Good Samaritan. They considered these incorrect details compensated for by the noble appearance of the cross when viewed from a distance, where it forms the distinctive feature of the graveyard. The 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 and greater benevolence made him venerated in the Glens where he was born and in Belfast where he died A.D. 1845 in his 82nd year. Dr James McDonnell was a prominent physician responsible for founding the first fever hospital in Ireland and for founding the Belfast School of Medicine. The memorial also commemorates his first wife Eliza, his second wife Penelope, and his father Michael McDonnell.

The listing, recorded in 1980, covers the memorials and their railings. The First Survey Record of 1971 described the graveyard as an irregular-shaped enclosure containing the remains of Layd Church, with five partly demolished rectangular buildings clustering around the entrance, a number of McDonnell memorials including the High Cross and memorial stones of the early 18th century, several of which had been built into modern walling.