The Broughanlea Stone (Bruachán Laith) which means “Small grey bank”, is situated on the outskirts of Ballycastle, about a mile along the Cushendall road opposite Collier’s Hall.
It is on the roadside between the ruins of the Friary of Bunamargy (Bun na Margie) which means the foot of the Margy river, and the church of Culfeightrin (Cuil Ectrann) which means either “The corner of strangers” or “The corner of Fiachrius”. Fiachrius was made a bishop by St Patrick who is reputed to be the founder of the first church in Culfeightrin.
It is thought this stone, which dates from at least the fifth century, was moved from the Culfeightrin church about the 1790’s. It was sketched by Lord Mark Kerr in 1818 and depicts a bishop’s crozier and a Tao cross which is a Coptic symbol.
There are suggestions that the Egyptians brought Christianity to Ireland before St Patrick. The Coptic Church in Egypt has Psalms that mention bringing Christianity to Ireland but as these are handed down orally, there is no written record of them being in north Antrim but perhaps they were the “Strangers”.
This post is part of the What’s That? Project. Funded by The Community Arts, Culture and Heritage Fund & The Community Foundation for NI. The aim of the project is to highlight local historical sites and give people a short history of what is there. Photos by John Healy.
