The Templecorran ruins we see today dates to circa 1622, the site itself is much older and traces back to a monastic settlement. The first Presbyterian minister in Ireland Rev. Edward Brice preached here from 1613 to 1636 in the first recorded Presbyterian Church in Ireland.  In the Taxation of  Pope Nicholas of 1306, the church of Lislaynan is recorded as being in repair, this is believed to have been Templecorran, Rev. Brice is interred inside the church where his pulpit would have stood.  Along with Ballynure, Templecorran was one of the churches that Jonathan Swift preached at in 1695 when he was prebend of Kilroot.

 It was not a happy posting for a young man used to a more varied social life and with a burning desire to write. During the two winters he spent at Kilroot he gained inspiration for future writings and tried his best to encourage worship. One story tells of him skimming stones on a lake on a Sunday to attract attention, when a  few people turned up he preached to them in the open air.  The graveyard is not only picturesque, it contains the burial site of some interesting people who left an indelible mark on our history.