Cistercian monks in Roscrea, Tipperary have decided to relocate to Mellifont Abbey in Louth, which they intend to make their “long-term home”.
In a surprise development the monks at the Cistercian Community of Our Lady of Silence Abbey, formerly Mount St Joseph’s Abbey, will make the move within the next 18 months.
They will continue as patrons of Mount St Joseph College and remain “fully committed” to its future, according to a statement on the Cistercian Community website.
It was also their intention to enter “diligent and respectful discussion” with “our wonderful staff at the abbey”, to ensure “appropriate provisions are made and that everyone is treated with fairness, dignity and care”.
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A spokeswoman refused to say how many monks were resident there, adding “nobody here is willing to talk”.
In November 2024, due to falling numbers, the Cistercians voted to amalgamate their communities at Mount Melleray in Waterford, Mellifont in Louth and Mount St Joseph in Roscrea, and relocate to Roscrea on a temporary basis.
It’s believed the community then numbered 26, including three novices.
The community statement said relocation to Roscrea from January 2025 “afforded us the necessary space and time to reflect carefully on our long-term future”.
It continued: “Last week, following a formal vote of the Conventual Chapter, the monastic community decided to relocate to Mellifont Abbey Co Louth, as our long-term home.” They expressed “heartfelt gratitude to the wider community for its steadfast support, friendship and generosity over many generations”.
The Cistercians have been in Roscrea since 1878, and opened the College at Mount St Joseph there in 1905. Past pupils include former taoiseach Brian Cowen, former tánaiste Dick Spring, former minister for foreign affairs David Andrews, and former editor of The Irish Times Conor Brady.
Spring said he was “saddened” by the news the Cistercians were to leave Roscrea, while respecting their decision to move to Mellifont. “There since 1878, it is a sad day for all, including the Cistercians,” he said.
Brady, who is on the board of management at Mount St Joseph College, said it was “a great pity the Cistercians won’t be at Roscrea any longer”. He said, however, “the future of the school is assured and they will continue as its patrons. It’s pretty much the norm in Irish schools nowadays that the religious aren’t `on site’, as it were.”
“It’s sad. But, on the positive side, in September we’ll be enrolling our first girls as students,” he said.
Bishop of Killaloe Fintan Monahan, a diocese that includes Roscrea, said he had heard the news “with great sadness”. The Cistercian Abbey held “a special place in the hearts of the people of Roscrea”.
