Letters from James P. Sweeney & Co., Falcarragh, Letterkenny, County Donegal, solicitors, and Seán Ó hUadhaigh & Son, 20 Eden Quay, Dublin, solicitors, re negotiations for the sale of cottage and plots of lands at Ards, Creeslough, to Anne Green and Monica Cassidy. The correspondence refers to the need for consent forms from the Commissioner of Charitable Donations and Bequests, information re title from the Land Registry, and a memorandum and articles re the vesting of certain lands at Ards with named trustees of the FMC Trust (enclosed).
List of benedictions at Ard Mhuire Capuchin Friary approved by the Most Rev. William MacNeely, Bishop of Raphoe (1888-1963). An addendum reads ‘Novenas for Feasts of St. Francis and Immaculate Conception. Exposition of the Most Blessed Sacrament on First Fridays (monthly retreat)’. With typescript copies signed and dated 21 Dec. 1952.
Booklet for a Mass Celebration on Medal Hill (formerly Doe Chapel) near Creeslough in County Donegal to mark Fr. Theobald Mathew’s temperance gathering at the same location on 15 June 1841. The commemorative mass, which was celebrated by friars from Ard Mhuire, was held on 21 August 1988. The file also includes a photostat copy of a letter from Andrew MacIntyre (25 Feb. 1955) to Fr. David Kelleher OFM Cap. referring to Father Mathew’s temperance meeting at Cashelmore, County Donegal, in June 1841. For more on this local commemoration see CA FM/RES/4/1/3.
Photographic prints of the visit by Fr. Virgilio da Valstagna OFM Cap., Capuchin Minister General, to Ard Mhuire Friary. The file includes a group photograph of Irish friars with Fr. Virgilio. A manuscript annotation on the reverse of one of the prints reads: ‘Ard Mhuire, 1937, Front, left to right, Frs. Andrew, Cassian, Colman (Provincial Minister), Sylvester Mulligan, Fr. Minister General, Frs. Killian Flynn (Prefect Apostolic of Victoria Falls), unknown, Felix and Columban’.
Clippings (from the 'Derry Journal') re the installation of a Holy Year Cross atop Muckish Mountain (Derryveagh Mountain Range, County Donegal) on the Feast of the Assumption. Includes a photographic print showing Fr. David Kelleher OFM Cap. and Fr. Ephrem O’Sullivan OFM Cap. (1904-1958) who blessed the Cross. In 2000, a large metal cross was placed on the summit, replacing the wooden one (erected in 1951) which had been destroyed in a storm. See also CA DL/5/24.
Clipping from of an article titled ‘New Capuchin Home’ from 'The Father Mathew Record' (May 1930) referring to the opening of Ard Mhuire Capuchin Friary in County Donegal. The article reads: 'On the shores of Sheephaven Bay, there stands Ards House, the former home of the Stewart family. This house and adjoining estate have been in the hands of the Irish Land Commission, and the Capuchin Fathers purchased the residence and part of the surrounding land. … The house is large and commodious, and is in splendid condition, having been occupied until quite recently'. The file also includes a article titled 'The Brown Habit in Tirconaill again' published in the 'Franciscan Annals' (May 1930) and a copy of a poem by Máire Ní Shioradáin titled 'Failte', composed for the friars on assuming ownership of Ards House.
Complete copies of the 'Derry Journal' (15 Nov. 1966, 18 Nov. 1966 and 19 Nov. 1966), 'Donegal Press' (18 Nov. 1966), and 'Donegal Democrat' (18 Nov. 1966) which include extensive reportage on the opening of the new Ard Mhuire Friary and Capuchin House of Studies. Includes photographic prints of Bishop Anthony McFeely (1909-1986) blessing the new church and friary and various friars and attendees at the celebration. The file also includes some loose clippings of articles (from the 'Irish Press' and 'Irish Independent') covering the opening.
Advertisements from the 'Irish Times' (5 Mar. 1927), the 'Londonderry Sentinel' (15 Dec. 1928) and the 'Derry Journal' (24 Apr. 1929) for the sale of ‘the well-known and historical mansion of Ards and its demesne’. The 'Irish Times' advertisement includes a brief account of the Stewart-Bam ownership of the estate. The 'Sentinel' article advertises a ‘two-day dispersal sale of stock, crop, farming implements’ and other sundries at the Ards Estate farmyard on 19-20 Dec. 1928. The 'Derry Journal' advertisement itemizes the contents of the house (including furniture, oil portraits, silver, linen and ‘an extensive library of books’) which will be offered for sale at a series of auctions from 6 May 1929.
Notes compiled by Fr. Angelus Healy OFM Cap. and Fr. Stanislaus Kavanagh OFM Cap. on the history of Ards House and its acquisition by the Capuchin friars in 1930. Extensive reference is made to the previous occupiers of the estate: 'The Sampsons, the Wrays, the Stewarts, one of whom was married to Lady Isabella Toler, granddaughter of the notorious Lord Norbury are gone, and the Capuchin Fathers are in their ancient home. In the graveyard at Clondahorky, can be seen the grave of the second wife of the first Wray of Ards, and in the grounds of Ards, some trees recall the birthdays of members of the Stewart family. To the Capuchins however, a stronger appeal is made by a lonely tomb in the graveyard around Doe Castle, the last resting place of a Franciscan Friar, Rev. Father Dominick Curden “who departed this life August ye 17th. 1809, aged 85 yrs”'. The file includes a newspaper cutting of a poem titled ‘On the return of the Brown-Robed Friars to Donegal’ by Bernard A. Furey.
File containing photographic prints of the old Ard Mhuire Friary (formerly Ards House), Creeslough, County Donegal. A small number of these prints were reproduced in 'A history of Ards' (1991) by Fr. David Kelleher OFM Cap. The file includes: • A view of corn harvesting in August 1940. The photograph is captioned: Left to right: Paddy McGinley, Paddy Ward, Br. Ronan McCabe OFM Cap., Willie Barr and Anton McBride in the fields around Ard Mhuire Friary. • A large crowd assembled at the front of Ard Mhuire Friary for a religious ceremony. • The gates to the demesne of the Ards estate. • ‘Rear view of Ards House’. • ‘Ards House from the Flagpole’. • Exterior (front) views of the gardens and the old Ard Mhuire Friary building. • The statute of the Blessed Virgin Mary on the front lawn of the old Ard Mhuire Friary. • Br. Louis O’Meara OFM Cap. turning the pages of the psalter in the choir (formerly Ards House dining room) in the old Ard Mhuire Friary. • A Capuchin friar perusing the bookshelves in the library of the old Ard Mhuire Friary. • A Capuchin friar talking to a lay individual at the portico entrance to the old Ard Mhuire Friary. • Aerial view of the old Ard Mhuire Friary. • Fr. Columban McGarry OFM Cap. (1901-1987) picking apples in the orchard in the old Ard Mhuire Friary. • A view of the Friary from across Sheephaven Bay. The file also includes a photoengraving plate (mounted on a wooden block) for a photographic image of the old Ard Mhuire Friary. One of the prints has a Christmas greeting from Br. Benedict Cullen OFM Cap. and Br. De Sales Cullen OFM Cap.
