Days Out NI
Castle & ruin Killough

St John's Point Church

A free, pre-Norman stone church on a windswept Lecale headland by the black-and-yellow lighthouse.

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Check hoursDaylight hours, year round. Access occasi…
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KilloughCastle & ruin
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15-30 minutesHow long
FreeEntry
Go insideAccess
NearbyParking
On leadsDogs

St John's Point Church — A free, pre-Norman stone church on a windswept Lecale headland by the black-and-yellow lighthouse.

  • Getting in: Free, open-access ruin in State Care of the Department for Communities. No ticket or booking.
  • Opening: Daylight hours, year round. Access occasionally restricted during conservation works, so check before a special trip.
  • Inside: Yes. The church is roofless, so you can walk inside the four standing walls and see the west door and south window.
  • Dogs: Dogs on leads are fine on the headland; keep them under control near livestock and clifftops.
  • Parking: Rough parking for around seven cars at the end of the point road, near the lighthouse. Narrow rural approach.
  • Food: None on site. Killough village is roughly 1.5 miles away; Ardglass and Downpatrick have cafes and pubs.
Plan your visit

What survives at the church

The church is small and built of shale rubble, with larger boulders at the base and smaller stones rising up the walls. Look for the lintelled west doorway with its inward-sloping jambs and the antae, the projecting wall ends at east and west that mark it as an early Irish church. A single south window remains. A small excavation in the late 1970s found burials by the north wall, evidence of the early Christian cemetery that once surrounded the site, which is associated with Eoan, son of Cairland.

Free entry 10th-11th century Pre-Norman church Step inside the ruin Lighthouse walk Holy well and bullaun stone
Good to know before you go:

As a quiet open-access ruin there is no events programme here, but heritage sites across Northern Ireland run seasonal tours, living-history days and open weekends through the year.

Before you set off

What to bring

  • 👟Sturdy shoesRuins mean uneven ground, worn steps and the odd spiral stair.
  • 🧥A coatMost of it is open to the sky, so dress for the day and enjoy the fresh air.
  • 📷A cameraThe old stonework and the views are the whole point — you will want photos.
  • 💧Water and a snackFew ruins have a café right on site, so bring a little something.
Good to know

Everything before you go

Getting in
Free, open-access ruin in State Care of the Department for Communities. No ticket or booking.
Opening
Daylight hours, year round. Access occasionally restricted during conservation works, so check before a special trip.
Can you go inside
Yes. The church is roofless, so you can walk inside the four standing walls and see the west door and south window.
Food
None on site. Killough village is roughly 1.5 miles away; Ardglass and Downpatrick have cafes and pubs.
Dogs
Dogs on leads are fine on the headland; keep them under control near livestock and clifftops.
Parking
Rough parking for around seven cars at the end of the point road, near the lighthouse. Narrow rural approach.
Accessibility
Grass and uneven ground on an exposed headland. Not suitable for wheelchairs or buggies.
How long to allow
15-30 minutes at the church; allow 1-2 hours to add the lighthouse walk and a beach.
Address
79 Point Road, Killough, Co. Down, BT30 7QX
Questions

Before you go

Is it free to visit?
Free, open-access ruin in State Care of the Department for Communities. No ticket or booking.
Can you go inside?
Yes. The church is roofless, so you can walk inside the four standing walls and see the west door and south window.
When is it open?
Daylight hours, year round. Access occasionally restricted during conservation works, so check before a special trip.
Can I bring the dog?
Dogs on leads are fine on the headland; keep them under control near livestock and clifftops.
Where do I park?
Rough parking for around seven cars at the end of the point road, near the lighthouse. Narrow rural approach.
Getting there

St John's Point Church is at 79 Point Road, Killough, Co. Down, BT30 7QX. Rough parking for around seven cars at the end of the point road, near the lighthouse. Narrow rural approach. Tap below for directions.

Directions on Google MapsOfficial website See it on our map
Nearby

Make more of the day

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The story

The story of St John's Point Church

The church marks the site of an early Christian establishment associated with Eoan, or John, son of Cairland, who is thought to have founded a monastery on the headland. The dedication to Saint John has been recorded since at least 1170. The standing stone church almost certainly replaced an earlier wooden one on the same spot.

What you see today dates to the 10th or 11th century and belongs to a small group of pre-Romanesque churches in Ireland. Built of shale rubble, it has a lintelled west door with sloping jambs, antae at both ends and a south window. In medieval times it served as a chapel for the surrounding district.

A small-scale excavation in the late 1970s uncovered burials by the north wall, confirming the early Christian cemetery around the church, though it found no trace of the radial grave arrangement that some had claimed. At the roadside outside the enclosure sit a holy well and a bullaun stone, both long associated with the site.

The church is now a State Care monument looked after by the Department for Communities. It shares the headland with St John's Point Lighthouse, built in 1844 and named after the ancient church, whose tall yellow-and-black tower is the best-known landmark on this stretch of the Lecale coast.