With coffee culture booming around Ireland, one of the most authentic brews may well come from the newly refurbished and extended café at Ards Friary. Why so? Because the highly popular cappuccino, the Italian founded frothy, milky, caffeine-laced cuppa is named after the colour of the hooded robes worn by those in the Capuchin Order and dates back to the early 1800’s. Now, visitors to Ard Mhuire can enjoy a heavenly brew and take in the stunning surroundings and nature of Ards and Sheephaven Bay at the same time. The newly refurbished ‘Cino’s Café’, formerly the Coffee Dock, has been upgraded with new facilities, double the amount of seating, some stunning local artwork and a much needed new roof. Also, the popular shop at the Friary has also seen a welcome expansion and all of this is part of a new drive to secure the future of this historic, tranquil haven. But these newly opened additions are only part of an ambitious project to utilise much more of the Ards estate and connect the public to nature in a holistic way. Ards Mhuire will celebrate its centenary as a centre for Capuchin study and pastoral ministry in five years 2030. Originally the site of the old Ards Estate House, once the home of the Stewart Bam family, which sat opposite where the Friary building is today, became a Capuchin training college. It remained there until the old house was demolished just before the new Friary opened in 1966.
