Cistercian Abbey Favorite Tour Stop 
 

By Gerry Molumby

I remember fondly those Sunday afternoon trips when my dad would load us all in to his "Thames" lorry and we would set off from Thurles for a spin. One of those regular trips would be down through the Vee and its wonderful views over Tipperary and Waterford with a stop off at Mount Melleray Abbey near Cappoquin, Co. Waterford. Situated on the slopes of the Knockmealddown Mountains (or as we called them 'the knock me down mountains ') 
I live now in Nottinghamshire, not far from the Cistercian Abbey of Mount St. Bernard, which is near Loughborough. Cistercian abbeys in Ireland and England had a turbulent period with the dissolution of the monasteries under Henry XIII. 

There is an interesting connection between these Irish and English monasteries. Before the end of 1835, six monks, led by Fr. Odilo Woolfrey as Superior, were established at Mount Saint Bernard, Leicestershire. The mother house of the new monastery was the Irish abbey of Mount Melleray, Co. Waterford. 
 

The monks settled in and from these humble origins , Mount St. Bernard, Colville, Leicestershire was designed by Augustus Pugin. He also designed the interior of The House of Commons and St. Mary's Church in Derby. Pugin’s Irish structures included St. Aidan' Cathedral and St. Peter's College, Wexford. 
 

Melleray has an in-depth museum on site and both abbeys are open during the day for visitors to walk the grounds and listen to their prayer services.