Item 14 - The Blue Lady of Ards

Extracts from by John J. Dunne, 'Haunted Ireland / her romantic and mysterious ghosts' (Belfast, 1977) re an apparition called ‘The Blue Lady of Ards’ which supposedly haunted the old Ard Mhuire Friary (the former Ards House). The text reads:
'She did not make her presence felt until after the mansion had been taken over by the Capuchins and became their house of theological studies for Irish novices. … It is reported that the apparition was seen on top of the oak staircase in the mansion. The stairs were horseshoe-shaped, forming a horseshow meeting at the landing above. A priest is said to have seen the ghost, a lovely lady in blue, at the top of the stairs, just as he was about to ascend them'.