1 56 [Proc. B. N. F. C, 



The building is a neat erection, dating from about 1820, pre- 

 vious to which date the parish church was the building which 

 now forms the conspicuous ruins of Skerry. The grounds 

 surrounding the church are neatly laid out, and it is gratifying 

 to note the pleasing custom practised, even by the poorer 

 people, of decorating the graves of departed friends with flowers; 

 the simple but beautiful wild varieties being selected by those 

 unable to procure the more fashionable species. Passing through 

 a well-cultivated and thickly-populated district, rich with spring 

 verdure, some miles further on another halt is made, the busi- 

 ness this time being to ascend Slemish Mountain (1,437 feet), 

 which runs abruptly to the left. Proceeding through bye-lanes 

 and fields, and crossing many ** stone ditches," a standing stone, 

 possibly monumental, is visited, also the wooded knoll or rath 

 of Rathcavan — an ancient structure — which gives name to an 

 extensive parish lying to the south of the Braid. Soon the 

 heathy moor round the base of the mountain is reached, and 

 the party divides, the members attacking the slopes by what- 

 ever point seemed best to suit their climbing powers, our worthy 

 guide leading by M'Cracken's well, a spot rendered historic by 

 its association with the troubles of '98. Henry Joy M'Cracken, 

 once a prominent citizen of Belfast, whose name the well bears, 

 was one of the leaders in the '' affair" at Antrim, after which 

 he remained in hiding in the neighbourhood of Slemish, but 

 being eventually captured, he was tried, sentenced, and executed 

 in Belfast on 7th June, 1798. It may be interesting to note 

 that M'Cracken's house in Belfast stood at the corner of John 

 Street and Donegall Street, and was one of those lately removed 

 in carrying out the town improvements. Geologists consider 

 that Slemish forms part of the final stage of the great outburst 

 of volcanic activity which during the Miocene or middle Tertiary 

 period covered the County of Antrim with the sheets of lava 

 that now form the basaltic capping of nearly all our hills and 

 the cliffs along the coast. In the case of Slemish, and also of 

 Carnmoney Hill, near Belfast, and possibly some others, it is 

 by some geologists considered probable that we have the 



