placenamesArdfert
Ard Fhearta
An account by a member of its religious community records the centre’s earlier training role and changes in its administration.
The name
These Irish name elements are associated with this record in the Logainm glossary.
An element’s translation is a clue, rather than a complete explanation of the name. Its form and meaning depend on local history and the full Irish name.
Recorded forms
- Ard Fhearta · Irish · main form
- Ardfert · English · main form
Place & story
From juniorate to retreat centre
Writing in 2010, Angela Kiely recalled the Ardfert house’s use in the 1950s as a Mercy juniorate supporting the congregation’s Sacramento mission. The diocese took over the building for retreats in the late 1970s. Presentation Sisters assumed its management in 1981. These stages distinguish the building’s earlier educational role from its later work with parish and clergy groups. [2]
A handover marked with candles
Kiely described the ceremony on 3 April 2004 that welcomed a team drawn from the Mercy, Presentation and Ursuline congregations. Representatives of Kerry’s 54 parishes attended. A lighted candle passed from the outgoing Presentation community through Bishop Bill Murphy to the Mercy provincial, and team members each received a candle. Her account records the particular ceremony through which a change of administration was publicly marked. [2]
A different use after 2020
A diocesan notice published in February 2022 recorded that The Grove had leased the centre from August 2020, initially for one year. Retreat programmes had stopped during the pandemic. At the date of the notice, the diocese proposed selling the property to The Grove; the notice itself records that proposal, rather than completion of the sale. [3]
Geographic information
Sources & further reading
- Logainm.ie — Ardfert. Place names and geographic record, licensed under CC BY 4.0.
- Ardfert Retreat Centre: A Place Apart,4June2010 · Angela Kiely, Congregation of the Sisters of Mercy
- Ardfert Retreat Centre diocesan notice: SaintJohn’s Tralee newsletter,20February2022 · Diocese of Kerry, Saint John’s Parish Tralee
Name record retrieved 2026-10-25 · Source record modified 2009-10-27. How this page was prepared.