The chuch occupies a scenic corner setting in the Parish of Craigs which includes the 3 parish churches of Craigs (Cullybackey), St. James, Dunaghy (Clough) and Killagan (Cloughmills). The three parishes were grouped together in 1960, under the leadership of the Rev. Jack George, then Rector of Craigs.
The Parish of Craigs, a mile or so out of the village of Cullybackey, came into gradual existence 1839 - 1841, taking over 22 townlands from the overlarge Parish of Ahoghill. The first recorded service attributed to Craigs was on the 14th. December 1837 in the old schoolhouse at Aughnakeely which was close to ancient christian burial-ground related to a medieval foundation (possibly dedicated to St. Cathub).
The new church and a Parochial School across the road, designed by Sir Charles Lanyon, were consecrated July 14th. 1841. Transepts were added to the church in 1870 and the chancel was rebuilt in 1888 by the McNeill family, in sad memory of 'six infant children'. This brought the seating capacity up to about 400.
There are some notable features associated with the church; a number of very fine stained-glass windows, a 19th Century organ (possibly built in Dublin) and two 'wagon-wheel' chandeliers. Much work has been done, and continues, to restore the fabric of this beautiful church.
Outside you will find two 150 year-old yew trees at the gate and an interesting graveyard; one feature of which is the Strangers' Plot which is dedicated in particular to the victims of the Great Famine 1845-49. The church is not usually open to the public but you may walk around the churchyard unless there are notices saying otherwise during the repair work
In 1961, Craigs was chosen as the venue for the first broadcast of a Holy Communion Service from a church in Northern Ireland and in 1999 it became the first church in the Diocese of Connor (and possibly elsewhere) to use an experimental liturgy which ended up in the 2004 BCP - combining Baptism, Confirmation and Holy Communion; there were 3 adult & 1 infant baptisms, and 5 adult & 17 youth confirmations. This liturgical history in the making was presided over by Bishop James Moore, then Bishop of Connor.
Information courtesy of: http://www.connordiocese.org.uk/Craigs%2C%20Dunaghy%20and%20Killagan/
The cache is a camo-taped 35mm micro with WITR log. – please only use one line. Bring your own pen. Please replace securely’. You do not need to enter the church grounds to retrieve the cache. Co-ords were taken under leaf cover but the clue will help.
This is a fast road and can be busy at times – take care & watch your mini-cachers. Please park on the footpath side past the house entrance and walk the very short distance back to the cache to keep yourself safe from cars coming around the bend and nearby t-junction.
The Church Micro IE series is open to everyone; if you have a church you would like to place a cache at then please contact THE_Chris through Geocaching.com. This is to keep track of the numbers of the churches and give you the general format for the cache page. In the UK there are #1500 caches in the series so we have some catching up to do! If you currently have a published cache at a church that you would like to include in the series get in contact and we can add it.
