Magnetically attractive, abbeys are islands of serenity in a chaotic world. And so it is that for almost two centuries, the dreamy spires of Mount Melleray Abbey, County Waterford, have acted as a beacon for travellers crossing the famous Vee Gap of the Knockmealdown Mountains.
Yet, it was by chance that this renowned abbey came about. An anti-clerical government decreed in 1830 that all foreign religious be exiled from France. Irish and English Cistercian monks at Melleray Abbey in Brittany then headed for Ireland, attracted by the religious toleration following Catholic Emancipation.
Traditionally, Cistercians earned their income from agriculture and did not minister outside their community, so farmland was urgently required. Patrons happy to endow tracks of land were, however, thin on the ground, since most of Ireland was then owned by Protestant landlords.
Eventually, the monks came upon 600 acres at Scrahan, Co. Waterford that formed part of a mountainside and was covered with heather, furze and rushes. The landowner, Sir Richard Keane was well-disposed, believing the industrious Cistercians would attract business, so a price was agreed.Thousands of men from West Waterford then arrived to donate their labour and the unforgiving mountainside soon became productive.
Frenetic
Work went ahead at a frenetic pace; 1838 saw the dedication of the monastic church, the first in Ireland since the Reformation. Soon afterwards, the Abbey proved its worth by feeding the starving during the Famine, with no hungry person ever turned away. A golden era followed as Melleray grew with the rising tide of Catholicism in 19th-century Ireland. At its peak, there were almost 200 monks and lay brothers along with a boarding school, seminary and prosperous farm. One of the lesser-known roles of the monastic community was, however, providing comfort to many troubled souls coming to seek consolation when counselling and therapy were still unknown.
Towards the end of the 20th century, the Abbey hit headwinds. Declining numbers of students led to the closure of the boarding school, while an increasingly secular society meant vocations to monastic life fell sharply.
A community of strict observance coming together to pray seven times a day, including at 4 am, was increasingly regarded as an anachronistic way of living.Such rituals were seen as past their sell-by date with no place in the modern world.
This is in one sense true but in another, Cistercian life still has lessons for all. Melleray has shown us that another way of living is possible: neither materialistic nor self-serving. Cistercianism postulates that true fulfilment comes not from wealth and status, but with spiritual mindfulness and the act of serving.The reality is, of course, that few could measure up to the exacting standards of obedience, poverty and hard work required of Cistercians and so vocations have fallen.Their ideas are, nevertheless, important for they force us to question the values we take for granted in the 21st century: the primacy of the individual, the unending quest for gratification and the frenzy towards conspicuous consumption.
Vacate
Now the sad news has come that the monks of Melleray – along with those of Mellifont Abbey – will vacate on January 26 with the community members transferring to Mount St Joseph’s Abbey, Roscrea. This means that for the present, at least, the Cistercians will stay in Ireland and we should welcome this.Even for those who are not particularly devout, monastic life provides a valuable touchstone to a simpler way of living against which we sometimes need to measure ourselves if we wish to stay fully grounded.
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John G O’Dwyer’s latest book titled,”Great Irish Pilgrim Journeys” is out from Currach Books next February.