layd church

Layd served as the parish church for the Cushendall area from the medieval period until the later 18th century. The medieval church, traditionally dedicated to St. Kieran, and formerly roofed with thatch, is a simple, long rectangle in shape, to which a tower - still retaining the imprint of its original wicker shuttering on the ground-floor vault - was added sometime around the 16th century.

The church and adjoining cemetery was traditionally one of the burial places of the MacDonnells who may have become lords of the area after the Reformation, and their tombstones have interesting tales to tell. Presently erected near the entrance to the churchyard is a curious holed stone, probably of the 16th or 17th century, but with later inscriptions.

Beautifully located in a peaceful glen, 1.5 miles north of Cushendall.