€1.5m rescue fund saves Mount St Joseph

A rescue fund comprising donations and pledges worth some €1.5m has prevented the closure of the well-known boys’ boarding school at Mount St Joseph Abbey on the Offaly/Tipperary border.

In a statement the Trustees of Cistercian College Roscrea announced the agreement of the rescue package.

The breakthrough comes just one month after it was announced that Cistercian College was to close in June of this year due to a dramatic fall off in student numbers.

Within days a group of volunteers made up of parents and past pupils formed the CCR Action Group which pledged to devise a restructuring plan to ensure the future viability of the school.

Over the past month, the CCR Action Group has worked to generate additional investment and boost enrolement by capitalising on the support of the college’s extensive alumni network, parents of existing and past pupils as well as the local community.

The Trustees have paid tribute to the wider school community for its incredible response which made it possible to reverse last month’s closure announcement.
It said a rescue package, which includes significant financial contributons in the form of personal pledges totalling in excess of €1.5million, could not have been achieved without the outstanding efforts of the CCR Action Group and the commitment of its Chairman, Ronnie Culliton.

“This is one of the most joyous days in the history of Cistercian College. We have witnessed a small miracle over the past four weeks. The decision to close was an extremely difficult one for the monastic community to make and so we are understandably overjoyed to now be in a position to announce that the college will remain open,” said Dom Richard Purcell, Abbot of Mount St Joseph Abbey.

“We have been truly overwhelmed by people’s generosity which has ultimately resulted in ensuring the financial viability of the college in the immediate term. The hope now is that we can continue this positive work together to ensure that Cistercian College can remain open for a very long time to come,” Dom Richard concluded.

The Cistercian College will accept applications for September 2017 for day boarding and five-day boarding as well as the traditional seven-day boarding offering.

Based on the results of extensive quantitative research undertaken by the CCR Action Group, the school is confident that this new operating model will provide a significant uplift in enrolement.

A new Board of Management for the school will be appointed in due course.