Clipping of articles from 'The Tirconaill Tribune' titled ‘From Ballyvourney to Creeslough / Fr. David of Ards’ and ‘The Death of Fr. David, Ards Friary’ referring to the life of Fr. David Kelleher OFM Cap. The articles refer to Fr. David’s experiences as student in Rome during the Second World War, to his life as a friar in the old Ard Mhuire Friary, and to the history of Ards House and its occupants.
Clippings of articles from the 'Irish Catholic' and 'Ireland’s' Own titled ‘Only Capuchin Friary in the West / Ard Mhuire sees many changes’ and ‘In Praise of Ard Mhuire, Donegal’. The articles refer to the history of Ard Mhuire Friary and in particular to its transformation into a retreat and conference centre in the diocese of Raphoe.
Copy clippings of articles from the 'Derry Journal' and the 'Irish Times' referring to the anniversaries of the Owencarrow Viaduct Disaster (30 Jan. 1925) near Creeslough, County Donegal.
Clipping of an article from the 'Donegal Democrat' (30 Jan. 2002) referring to the golden jubilee of Br. Edward Dunne OFM Cap. (1930-2012). The article refers to his memories of the old Ard Mhuire Friary and to the fire in the house in December 1944. The file also includes a clipping from the 'Irish Catholic' (19 Feb. 2004) referring to the arrival of two European religious sisters of the Spiritual Family the Work (FSO) to assist the Capuchins at Ard Mhuire Retreat Centre in Donegal. With a photographic print of Sr. Christiane and Sr. Maria who are working in the diocese of Raphoe.
Copy clipping from the 'Donegal Democrat' (27 July 2007) referring to the departure of Fr. Eustace McSweeney OFM Cap. from Ard Mhuire Friary. Includes photographic print of Fr. Eustace.
Clipping of an article titled ‘New Methods at Friary / Piers and retreats: a day’s work at Ards’ from the 'Donegal News' (17 Feb. 2017). The article refers to the closure (due to safety concerns) of the old pier alongside Ard Mhuire Friary.
The series contains records compiled mainly by Capuchin friars relating to the history of the locality around Ard Mhuire Friary including material on the previous owners of Ards House in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. Much of this historical research was amassed by Fr. David Kelleher OFM Cap. (1912-1995) who spent nearly sixty years of his ministry as a Capuchin friar in County Donegal.
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.
Scale: 6 inches to 1 mile Sheet No.: Donegal, Sheet No. 26 Copy ordnance survey map (Dublin, 2nd ed., 1905) showing the Ards Estate and surrounding townlands and localities. Notable features include Ards House and demesne, Ards farm, the largely forested estate, St. Michael’s Catholic Church, Cashelmore, Doe Castle, Sheephaven Bay, and Creeslough.
An article on the history of the Wray family in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. The Wrays were the owners of the Ards Estate before it was purchased by the Stewarts in 1781. It is noted that in about 1700 William Wray ‘bought 5,000 acres of land between Dunfanaghy and Doe from William Sampson’. The article adds: 'In 1781 the estate was sold to Mr Alexander Stewart, brother of the first Marquess of Londonderry and uncle of the infamous Lord Castlereagh, for the sum of £13,250 in order to meet the owner’s debts'. An appendix to the article includes some brief notes on the Stewarts of Ards compiled by Fr. T.J. Walsh, a diocesan priest in Cork.
