One of Ireland’s best known private schools, Glenstal Abbey in Co Limerick, is set to close after almost 100 years in operation.
Parents, students and staff were informed on Friday of the decision to wind down operations by August 2028.
The school said it has spent years wrestling with uncertainty around its future amid a declining demand for boarding education and the rising cost of operating.
Current first, third, fourth and sixth year students will finish in June 2027, while second years will complete their Junior Cycle in 2028 alongside fifth years who will complete their Leaving Certificate in 2028.
The Benedictine school for boys takes day students and boarders and is seen as one of the most successful second level schools in the country.
The main building of the school is set on over 500 acres outside the village of Moroe in northeast Limerick and was built in the 1830s for the Barrington family. It was later sold to a local priest, who invited the monks of Maredsous Abbey in Belgium to settle there in 1927.
A secondary school for boys opened there in September 1932. A monastry of Benedictine monks remains on the grounds and will remain there.
The school has a student population of just over 200 boys and its current fees are €14,950 for day pupils, €21,500 for five-day boarders and €24,000 for full boarding.
International student fees are €25,950 for Europeans and €29,150 for the rest of the world.
Past pupils include businessman John Magnier and Web Summit founder Paddy Cosgrave.
“This decision has not been made suddenly, nor has it been made lightly. The Abbey has wrestled with the future of the school for many years. During that time, we have sought to support it financially, to strengthen enrolment and to consider whether changes to the school’s model could secure a sustainable future,” the Trustees of Glenstal Abbey said in a statement.
“However, the environment in which Glenstal Abbey School operates has changed significantly. Demand for boarding education has declined over time, while the cost of operating a small boarding school and providing the quality of education, care and facilities expected of Glenstal has continued to rise. A detailed external assessment of the school has confirmed that the kind of school we have here at Glenstal is not sustainable into the future.”
The trustees also said the school was not alone in facing these challenges, and that “boarding schools across Ireland and elsewhere are experiencing similar pressures”.
There just over 20 boarding schools across the country, compared to almost 40 fee-paying schools for day students only.
While it was a “very difficult decision for the Monastic Community” to make, the Abbey must also “meet its responsibilities to the monastic community and steward its resources responsibly”.
“We have concluded, with immense regret, that we cannot continue to guarantee the school’s longer-term future,” the trustees said.
A letter from Columba McCann, abbot of Glenstal, to past pupils known as ‘Old Boys of Glenstal’, said the school would “need support” to complete the exam cycles for 2027/28 and it was “determined to do everything possible to complete these”.
“However, this will depend on student numbers, staffing availability, Department of Education processes and other practical considerations,” McCann said.