The Callaghan Story

What’s in a name you ask?
At Mill River Resort, we believe in family and the strength in our heritage. Our owner Don McDougall is a proud descendant of a long line of Islanders and you needn’t look far to see how deep his roots run. Callaghan’s Restaurant & Bar and each of our Meeting Spaces have been named after ancestors and family, a legacy of Irish settlers that dates back to the 1840s.
Fidus et Audax (Loyal & Brave)
William E. Callaghan and his wife Ellen (Pendergast) were among early Irish settlers to Prince Edward Island. They made their home in Ebbsfleet, along the Island’s westernmost cape on the Northumberland Strait. William E. and Ellen homesteaded, living from the land as their family grew to include seven children: William Patrick, James, Peter, Mary Ann, Anna Jane, John Andrew & Alice Maude who were known as “The Seven Branches”.
The seven Callaghan children each went on to have a large family of their own marrying into the Doyle, Smith, Hogan, Clohossey, Shea, Wallace and Roberts families.
Island history runs deep in this family of farmers and lighthouse keepers, even today many descendants still reside in Prince County. The Callaghan family roots are proudly honoured at the resort by using the family namesakes throughout property.