Letters from the Most Rev. William MacNeely, Bishop of Raphoe (1888-1963), to Fr. Aloysius Travers OFM Cap. re arrangements for the purchase of Ards House by the Capuchins. A letter of 1 Mar. 1930 expresses his pleasure on hearing that ‘negotiations with the Land Commission have been successful. About the time of taking over the property, really it does not matter; just make arrangements as you consider convenient’. A letter on 18 Mar. 1930 affirms that the friars ‘may fix up an Oratory at once … as soon as things are in order’.
Correspondence of Ronan Daly & Hayes, 12 South Mall, Cork, solicitors, with Fr. Nicholas O’Brien OFM Cap., Provincial Secretary, re an application for an order from the Charitable Commissioners vesting the Ard Mhuire Friary and adjoining lands (consisting of 167 acres 3 roods and 15 perches in the townland of Ards and 38 acres 2 roods in the townland of Rinnsligo, County Donegal) in new trustees (appointed by the FMC trust). Reference (19 Mar. 1976) is made by Fr. Nicholas to the difficulties in locating documents in relation to the purchase of the Ards property from the Irish Land Commission in 1930: 'A search made in the Provincial Archives revealed ecclesiastical documents only (sanction by the Holy See, the local Bishop etc.) I had enquiries made both here in Dublin and in Letterkenny of solicitors whose firms might have been involved in the sale negotiations, but the results were negative. It is possible that the deal was made directly with the representatives of the Land Commission'.
Draft lease from Fr. Patrick Flynn OFM Cap., Guardian, Ard Mhuire Capuchin Friary, County Donegal, to Brendan McFadden, Greenhill, Dunfanaghy, County Donegal, of a portion of lands for five years at an annual rent of £1,550. With draft instructions for the ‘letting of land and farm buildings at Ards’.
File of documents (mainly from the County Donegal Committee of Agriculture) re a scheme to encourage landholders to plant trees on their lands in the county. The file includes information sheets and blank application forms relating to the proposal to plant conifers for a ‘shelter belt scheme in arable fields which cannot be cultivated in the usual way, on steep banks or hillsides, rocky or broken ground practically bare of vegetation, … and in swamps and bogs which cannot be reclaimed for agricultural purposes’. The file also includes a letter from A.M.S. Hanan re an article for the Royal Forestry Society on ‘southern hemisphere conifers in Ireland’ (12 Feb. 1970).
Architectural plans (elevations and sections), designs, drawings and sketches for the new Capuchin House of Studies and Ard Mhuire Friary and Church, County Donegal, prepared by James Rupert Boyd Barrett (c.1904-1976), architect, 5 Camden Place, Cork. The file includes the following architectural records:
Sketch plan for House of Studies, Ard Mhuire Friary Date: Nov. 1958 Number: Sketch 1 Scale: 1 inch to 16 feet Sheet size: OS; 104 cm x 77 cm Note: With colour washes
Sketch plan for basement and ground floors of the House of Studies Date: 5 Jan. 1959 Number: Sketch 2 Scale: 1 inch to 16 feet Sheet size: 69 cm x 67 cm Note: With colour washes
Sketch plan of alterations to accommodation block of the House of Studies. Date: 5 Jan. 1959 Number: Sketch 3 Scale: 1 inch to 16 feet Sheet size: 69 cm x 67 cm Note: With colour washes
Elevations and sections for alterations to the House of Studies and Friary Date: 7 Apr. 1959 Number: Drawing 5 Scale: 1 inch to 16 feet Sheet size: 110 cm x 66 cm Note: With colour washes
Sketch, elevation, floor plan and axonometric view of the Friary Date: 14 Jan. 1960 Number: Sketch 1 Scale: 1 inch to 32 feet Sheet size: 117 cm x 69 cm Note: With colour washes
Elevation and sections of the House of Studies Date: 9 Oct. 1962 Number: Drawing 8 Scale: 1 inch to 16 feet Sheet size: 126 cm x 71 cm Note: With colour washes
Floor plans (ground, first and second) of the House of Studies Date: 15 Oct. 1962 Number: Drawing 7 Scale: 1 inch to 16 feet; 1 inch to 22 feet Sheet size: 130 cm x 72 cm Note: With colour washes. The sheet shows the location of the Old Ard Mhuire Friary (formerly Ards House) with a note indicating that this is ‘to be demolished’.
Revisions to ground floor plan of the House of Studies Date: Jan. 1963 Number: Drawing 3 Scale: 1 inch to 8 feet Sheet size: 114 cm x 67.5 cm Note: The sheet is torn and frayed. Careful manual handling is required.
First-floor plan of the House of Studies Date: Jan. 1963 Number: Drawing 4 Scale: 1 inch to 8 feet Sheet size: 110 cm x 67 cm
Revisions to second-floor plan of the House of Studies Date: Jan. 1963 Number: Drawing 5 Scale: 1 inch to 8 feet Sheet size: 110 cm x 67 cm
Survey of proposed Ard Mhuire Friary and the House of Studies Date: 26 July 1963 Number: No file number given Scale: 1 inch to 32 feet Sheet size: 76 cm x 61 cm Note: The survey was completed by E.G. Pettit, consulting engineer, 7 South Mall, Cork, for J.R. Boyd Barrett. The survey shows the location of the Old Ard Mhuire Friary (formerly Ards House) relative to the site of the new House of Studies.
Details of Altar Rail in Ard Mhuire Friary Church Date: 1965 Number: Drawing 53 Scale: ½ inch to 1 foot Sheet size: 72 cm x 48 cm
Details of seating in Ard Mhuire Friary Church Date: Nov. 1965 Number: Drawing 54 Scale: ½ inch to 1 foot Sheet size: 104 cm x 73 cm
Sketch plan of sanctuary layout in Ard Mhuire Friary Church Date: 24 Aug. 1965 Number: No file number given Scale: 1 inch to 4 feet Sheet size: 66 cm x 56 cm
Design for layout of sacristy in Ard Mhuire Friary Church Date: Oct. 1965 Number: Drawing 52 Scale: ½ inch to 1 foot Sheet size: 61 cm x 36 cm
Details of choir stalls in Ard Mhuire Friary Date: Mar. 1965 Number: Drawing 40 Scale: 3 inches to 1 foot; 1 inch to 1 foot; ⅛ inch to 1 foot Sheet size: 94 cm x 70 cm
Landscaping and garden plan for Ard Mhuire Friary Date: July 1965 Number: No file number given Scale: 1 inch to 16 feet Sheet size: 92 cm x 67 cm Note: The plan was compiled by Powers of Waterford.
Letters from James Rupert Boyd Barrett, architect, 5 Camden Place, Cork, regarding design work, tenders, bills of quantities and furnishings for the new Capuchin House of Studies at Ard Mhuire Friary in County Donegal. The letter recipients include Fr. Conrad O’Donovan OFM Cap., Fr. Berard Creed OFM Cap., Fr. Berchmans McCarthy OFM Cap., and Fr. Barnabas Gaynor OFM Cap. The file also includes receipts and certificates of payment for construction work on the House of Studies.
An inventory for furniture and interior fittings belonging to ‘Ards Castle’ (presumably Ard Mhuire Friary), Creeslough, County Donegal, to be sold at a demolition sale on 12 Oct. 1966. The auctioneers are noted as Quinn Bros. & McGowan, Longford. The building contractors are P.J. McLoughlin & Co., Longford.
Letters to Fr. Hilary McDonagh OFM Cap. responding to invitations to attend the blessing and opening of the Capuchin House of Studies and the new Ard Mhuire Friary on 13 Nov. 1966. The attendees included many local parish priests, Capuchin friars, members of other religious congregations and various lay people involved in the construction of the buildings. The file also includes a copy of the official declaration of the blessing of the foundation (in Latin) signed by Fr. Conrad O’Donovan OFM Cap., Provincial Minister, a list of donations to the building fund, an invitation card to the solemn blessing and opening and a menu card for the celebratory dinner.
Plan by Charles James McCarthy (1858-1947), architect, 12 Westland Row, Dublin (the son of James Joseph McCarthy, architect of St. Mary of the Angels), titled ‘General plan showing proposed Third Order Chapel, Choir and Additions to Capuchin Convent’. Various annotations have been added to the plan. The proposed Third Order Chapel fronted onto Church Street and was designed ‘to accommodate 300 persons’. The plan also contains a note indicating that ‘sixteen cells are provided on upper floors of proposed additions to convent’. The additions (bordered in red ink) also consist of an entrance hall, a large parlour and two reception rooms. See also CA CS/2/6/2/1.