Derrykeighan Old Church Traditional Cache
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Difficulty:
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Terrain:
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Size: 
(small)
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Cache is a very small square tab lock box in black sacking. Cache location is not wheelchair friendly as the ground is very uneven.
This is a place of early Christian worship. Churches have been built on this site since the medieval period, possibly even earlier. However the present ruins are of the parish church, vacated in 1831.
At Derrykeighan Old Church about 1 ½ miles from the village of Dervock, a stone was recently discovered built into the corner of the Church. The stone, which is not part of the original fabric of the building, is thought to date from the 1st century A.D. Inscribed on the stone is an Irish form of the Early Iron Age Celtic Art. The stone, carved locally, is one of the most important Early Iron Age objects found in Ireland. A replica can be seen in the graveyard as the original is now in the care of the Ulster Museum.
The headstones that survive in the old churchyard include that of a United Irishman, William Dunlop, hanged in Coleraine in 1798.
It is also the burial place of John Meeke. During WW1, Meeke courageously rescued Major William Redmond, a famous Irish MP, from the battlefield. Meeke was injured twice and Redmond later died of his wounds.
Please be careful as you wander around this well kept and ancient place, full of history.
Park near the gate, there is room for one car. The co-ords for the entrance to the churchyard from the road are N55* 08.465 W006* 29.429
Additional Hints
(Decrypt)
Sebz bcra qbbe gb pbyhza, vzntvar vs vg jrer yvarq
Rkgraq gb gbhpu gur jnyy, gur pnpur gurer lbh’yy svaq.
Jung lbh’er ybbxvat sbe vf whfg n fznyy obk, n gbxra
Vg or sbhaq oruvaq n urnqfgbar gung’f orra oebxra.
Treasures
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