Glenstal Abbey

Glenstal Abbey is a Benedictine monastery of the Congregation of the Annunciation located in Murroe, County Limerick. It is dedicated to Saint Joseph and Saint Columba. The current abbot of the monastery is Brendan Coffey.The abbey is located in and beside Glenstal Castle, a Normanesque castle built by the Barrington family. The transfer from the Barrington family to the Benedictine order went not smoothly due to unforeseen circumstances. In 1925, it was James Ryan, a wealthy priest who actually bought the place from the family. The abbey came into being in 1927 when the chapter of the Abbey of Maredsous in Belgium accepted the offer of Ryan to donate the estate when the Benedictines would open a monastery there. Later that year a superior was appointed and the founding monks chosen. They arrived in Glenstal Abbey in May 1927.The picturesque grounds include lakes, forests and an old walled, terraced garden which features a bible garden. The monastery runs an all-boys boarding secondary school on its grounds, Glenstal Abbey School, home to approximately two hundred students. It also runs a 250 acre dairy farm.As many other religious organisations, Glenstal Abbey too was faced with allegations of child abuse. Since 1975 ten accusations against six monks were filed. In a 2014-report The National Board for Safeguarding Children stated that the Benedictine community handled these accusations well with proper action, including removal from monastic life and treatment.
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