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Photographic prints of the exterior of Ard Mhuire Friary and members of the Capuchin community bathing in the waters of Sheephaven Bay. The prints are date-stamped on the reverse.

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.

A photocopy of an article titled ‘Ards House’ published in 'The Father Mathew Record' (Feb. 1967), pp 17-24. The article was written by Edward MacIntyre with an introduction by Fr. Benedict Cullen OFM Cap. The article provides a history of Ards House and the former Stewart-Bam estate. The article headings are as follows: The Lifford Inquisition, John (‘half-hanged’) MacNaughton, The builder of Ards House, Road from Letterkenny, Magistrate, Beggard the Estate, Uncle of Lord Castlereagh, Land Acts, Chapel and Choir, and A Greater Landlord. The article also publishes two images of Lady Ena Stewart and the staff of Ards House.

A view of Ards House and demesne as seen from the shores of Sheephaven Bay in County Donegal.

A view of Ards House and demesne as seen from the shores of Sheephaven Bay in County Donegal.

A metal artefact (possibly a nameplate). The engraving on the plate reads: ‘IARGONNELL’. A covering note reads: ‘Artefact from walled gardens found by Br. Rufino Ferris OFM Cap. (South Africa) in the summer of 2006. Placed in this envelope by Br. Michael Duffy OFM Cap., 11th Jan. 2007’. The artefact probably dates to the occupation of Ards House by the Stewarts.

Brochure advertising the sale of Ards House and Estate. The brochure has photographic prints of Sheephaven Bay, Ards House, and the associated workmen’s cottages. It is noted that the sale includes 2,000 acres. Ards House comprises a stone-built Georgian style residence with ‘six reception rooms, a billiard room, 19 principal bedrooms, 4 bathrooms, a nursery suite, splendid servant’s quarters, ample garages and stabling, 20 cottages and beautiful pleasure grounds’. The brochure provides details on various facets of the property and notes that the owner (Lady Ena Stewart-Bam) ‘has been in negotiation with the Irish Land Commission, who are quite prepared to give every facility to an intending purchaser’. The agent is noted as Messrs Battersby & Co., 39 Westmoreland Street, Dublin. The brochure also notes:
• The sale of the historic ‘Doe Castle’ ruin with about 30 acres of demesne land.
• The potential sale of ‘furniture which includes some old and rare pieces and a valuable library’.
• That the ‘Ards Estate has been in the possession of the Stewart family for about 150 years. The first Stewart of Ards and the First Marquess of Londonderry were only brothers. The present head, Lady Stewart-Bam of Ards, is selling the property as her husband’s chief interests are in South Africa’.
• That the price for the freehold is £50,000 including sporting and fishing rights.