DERRYKEIGHAN, a parish

DERRYKEIGHAN, a parish, partly in the barony of LOWER DUNLUCE, and partly in that of CAREY, county of ANTRIM, and province of ULSTER; containing, with the Grange of Drumtullagh, and post-town of Dervock, 5134 inhabitants. This parish is situated on the river Bush, and is intersected by the roads from Coleraine to Ballycastle, and from Ballymoney to the Giants' Causeway: according to the Ordnance surveys it comprises 11,396 ½ statute acres. Great improvement has been made in the system of agriculture since the commencement of the present century, by the exertions of gentlemen residing on their own estates, in which they have been greatly assisted by G. Macartney, Esq., of Lisanour Castle, and J. Montgomery, Esq., of Benvarden. The bogs have been drained and partly reclaimed; the crops are excellent, and the wheat, though only cultivated since 1827, is inferior in quality and produce to none in the county; there is still some bog remaining, which produces excellent fuel, and of which part is being brought into cultivation every year.

The scenery is pleasingly diversified, and enriched with the flourishing plantations with which, notwithstanding their elevated situation and proximity to the sea, the neighbouring gentlemen's seats are surrounded. Of these the principal are Ballydivity, the residence of J. Stewart Moore, Esq.; Lisconnan, of J. Allen, Esq.; Grace Hill, of H. Irwin Stuart, Esq.; and Knockmore, of Hugh Mackay, Esq. Bush Bank, the seat of Capt. Pottinger, was destroyed by an accidental fire in 1833, but is about to he rebuilt. At Mosside is a manufactory of ropes and cordage made from the bog fir, which is found in large quantities and prepared for that purpose; it affords employment to a great number of persons. The whole of the parish is within the Bushmills district, where courts and petty sessions are held every alternate Monday. It is a rectory, in the diocese of Connor, and is part of the union and corps of the prebend of Cairncastle in the cathedral of Connor: the tithes amount to £430. The glebe-house was built in 1826, by a loan of £ 1107. 13. 10. from the late Board of First Fruits: the glebe comprises 28 ½ acres valued at £25 per annum. The Ecclesiastical Commissioners have recommended that on the next avoidance of the union this parish be severed from the rest, and constituted a separate and distinct benefice.

The original church was a very small and incommodious building; but in 1831 G. Macartney, Esq., gave an Irish acre of land, which he enclosed with a stone wall, close to the town of Dervock, as a site for the erection of a new church, towards the building of which he contributed also £150; a sum was raised by subscription in the neighbourhood, and the late Board of First Fruits granted a loan of £600, and with these sums the present church was completed. It is a spacious and handsome structure, in the later English style of architecture, with a lofty square embattled tower crowned with pinnacles; being too small for the congregation it is about to be enlarged by the addition of transepts, which will give it a cruciform character. There are two places of worship for Presbyterians, one near the town of Dervock, in connection with the Synod of Ulster, of the second class; the other for Seceders, at Mosside, also of the second class. There are six public schools, one of which is aided by Mrs. Macartney; five private pay schools, and three Sunday schools. Attached to this parish are the 13 quarters called the Grange of Drumtullagh, which was probably an appendage to a monastery at some remote period. There are some large caves at Ballylusk and Idderoan, which were first discovered in 1788; and there are several large forts and tumuli at Cairncullough, Cairncarn, and other places in the parish.—See DERVOCK.