Hundreds of students apply to study at US‑run third‑level campus in former Mount Melleray

Florida-based Ave Maria University is offering students the chance of 'a transformational semester of prayer, study, work, and adventure'

Mount Melleray Abbey, near Cappoquin, was closed over a year ago, almost two centuries after it was founded in the 1830s by a monk who returned to Ireland from the Cistercians’ monastery in Melleray, France.

Hundreds of American students have applied to travel to Waterford’s Mount Melleray Abbey this September to study at a new third‑level campus being established there by a US Catholic university.

Mount Melleray Abbey, near Cappoquin, was closed over a year ago, almost two centuries after it was founded in the 1830s by a monk who returned to Ireland from the Cistercians’ monastery in Melleray, France.

In December 2024, the Cistericans announced that the site would be closed the following month, after a decision by the monks of Mt Melleray Abbey, Mt St Joseph Abbey in Roscrea, Co Tipperary, and Mellifont Abbey in Louth to form a union.

The group, to be known as the Abbey of Our Lady of Silence, relocated to Roscrea on a temporary basis. Last week, it was announced they are leaving Roscrea to take up full-time residence in Mellifont Abbey.

The Florida-based Ave Maria University is offering its students the chance to study at Mount Melleray for a semester  in the autumn. 

It is understood that hundreds of applications have been received, far exceeding the 100 spaces available.

In an advertisement to study in Ireland, the university said: “Ave Maria University students are invited to step into a fully integrated academic experience at Mount Melleray Abbey, a historic Cistercian monastery and AMU's new international instructional campus. 

"Life at the Abbey campus is selective, welcoming students who are academically prepared, personally responsible, and ready for a transformational semester of prayer, study, work, and adventure.” 

It invites applicants to the “island of saints and scholars”. 

A video on its website shows aerial shots of Mount Melleray Abbey interspersed with views of the Cliffs of Moher, grazing sheep, a musician against the backdrop of a rich sunset, and classroom shots.

The website states: “For first-year 'Pioneer' students, studying abroad in Ireland comes at no additional cost beyond airfare, which typically runs around $500.” 

Meanwhile, a statement to parents, students, and staff of Cistercian College on the Roscrea Mount St Joseph site, from college president Colm Maloney, said it is preparing for a transition to a co-educational model from September.