The Cistercian Order has reaffirmed its commitment to its secondary school in Roscrea, Co Tipperary and will continue as patron as the monks prepare to leave the monastery and relocate to Mellifont Abbey.
The Cistercians relocated from Mount Melleray, Co Waterford, to Mount St Joseph in Roscrea on an interim basis last year due to falling vocations.
They have now voted to amalgamate their communities at Mellifont in Louth.
Fr Donal Davis, Prior of Mount Melleray, said the move to Roscrea has given the monks time to reflect and have "a guided discussion with the community and we eventually decided that Mellifont would be the place".
"We have people interested in joining us but not enough to support three monasteries in the country," Fr Davis said, "so we feel that in the interest of caring for the future of Cistercian life in Ireland that coming together to form one community was a necessity".
He said many monks wanted to stay in Roscrea, but the majority wanted to move to Mellifont as a permanent move.
"Mellifont is a smaller complex and less overheads to be paid," he said.
Cistercian College is located on the grounds of Mount Saint Joseph Abbey on the outskirts of Roscrea.
The school and monastic communities have shared a history and heritage since 1905, a connection the order says will continue after the monks depart.
College President Colm Maloney said the secondary school shares the sadness over the order’s decision to leave Roscrea but welcomed their continued role as patron and trustees of the college.
"Cistercian College stands on strong foundations and looks to the future with confidence and clarity," he said.
Mr Maloney said that as a page turns with the monks’ departure, a new chapter opens as it prepares to welcome girls to the college in September.
He said the story of Cistercian College Roscrea has evolved and changed, but the monks "will be very much with us on that journey, and they’ll be supporting us long into the future".
Bishop of Waterford and Lismore Phonsie Cullinan acknowledged that it was hoped that the Cistercians would return to Mount Mellerary, but he said it was fitting that they were returning to Mellifont Abbey in Collon, which was the first Cistercian site in Ireland.
"The people all around Mount Mellerary and Roscrea are so utterly sad that the monks are leaving, but we have to respect their decision," Bishop Cullinan said.
He said the Cistercian legacy will continue in Tipperary and Waterford through education.
A US-based Catholic university is set to open a campus at the former Cistercian abbey in west Waterford.
"The people in Roscrea, I am sure that they are so keen to guard what the monks have given and that that tradition will live on through the school which is right there on the grounds and then in Mount Mellerary also, with the new Ave Maria University, that this is a new chapter in the story of Mount Mellerary," the bishop said.
"It’s not over, it’s continuing," he added.
Roscrea has been associated with monastic life for over a thousand years. The town’s origins date back to the late 6th century when St Cronan founded a monastery there.
A round tower and church mark the early monastic site.
The monastic tradition continued with the Cistercians, who have been in the Tipperary town since 1878.
Local people speak fondly of the monks and expressed sadness at their decision to leave.
"It’s what you might call the end of an era," said Dick Conroy.
"They have been so much part of the fabric of society even the monks themselves coming in here to do their shopping, you’d see them around the place," he added.
Local historian George Cunningham said the order "is not just an institution, it’s Roscrea".
"We were proud that the monastic tradition was carried on in Roscrea by the Cistercians," Mr Cunningham said.
"It’s hard to imagine Roscrea without them," he added.
The transition to Mellifont Abbey will take place over the next 18 months, which the order said will allow for a proper opportunity to mark their departure from Roscrea.
Fr Davis said the relocation will be a challenge.
"We will be doing it prayerfully, discerning God’s will and trying to figure out just what way we would adapt Mellifont for our needs at the present," he said.
