“A sad and difficult week” as Cistercian Order set to depart from Roscrea

The close-knit South Offaly and North Tipperary communities have had “a sad and difficult week” since news emerged that the Cistercian Order of monks is to end its 158-year association with the area by relocating from its present home, at Mount St Joseph's Abbey in Roscrea, to Mellifont Abbey in Louth.

Cllr Peter Ormond, who lives close to the historic abbey, said the Order had made “an enormous contribution” to the entire community on both sides of the Offaly/Tipperary border.

“It has been a sad and difficult week” said the local Fianna Fail councillor, who added that the monks would be “sadly missed” and their spiritual presence “cannot be underestimated”.

The announcement of the move to Louth by the remaining Cistercian monks in Mount St Joseph's follows on from a consolidation process last year which resulted in members of the order based in Mount Mellary in Waterford, St Joseph's, and Mellifont amalgamating to form the Community of Our Lady of Silence, to be based temporarily in Roscrea.

Bishop Fintan Monahan, Bishop of Killaloe, paid a warm tribute to the Cistercians whom he said had been “in integral part of the pastoral life” of the Diocese since 1878, and hold “a special place” in the hearts of the people of Roscrea and the surrounding areas.

He also referenced the “generations of pupils and staff” associated with the school on the abbey grounds since 1905; the farm on the college grounds and the many people who had participated in spiritual retreats and those who had “prayed and worshipped” in the abbey for more than a century.

Bishop Monahan said the contribution of the monks and school staff to education through the work of the boarding school is “respected and appreciated all over the country, and particularly with the strong sporting ethos” and he expressed his gratitude that the Cistercians are to continue as patrons of Roscrea College, where the Cistercian spirit “will continue to animate its life”.

“While there is a deep sense of sadness and disappointment at local level, I understand that this decision follows a prolonged period of prayerful discernment and reflects the necessary rationalisation taking place in many areas of Church life at present,” said the Bishop of Killaloe.

Cistercian College, which is not affected by the decision of the monks to leave Roscrea, is set to make history this September when it accepts its first enrolment of female students, having been founded in 1905 as an all-boys' boarding school.

Colm Maloney, the president of Cistercian College, described the move to enrol girls as “a hugely historic decision” and said it was made so the school could “cater for entire families, for boys and girls, for sisters to attend the same as their brothers.”

He added that the Cistercian Order and school as a whole felt the historic move “reflects society and workplaces. We want to make sure we’re part of the future”.

The school, which is renowned for its sporting tradition and facilities, particularly in the areas of rugby and golf, counts among its alumni former Taoiseach, Brian Cowen and his MEP brother, Barry; former tánaiste Dick Spring; former minister David Andrews and champion racehorse trainer Willie Mullins.