An American Catholic university has announced plans to establish a campus in Ireland at the site of a recently closed monastery.
Ave Maria University said it will open a campus at Mount Melleray Abbey in County Waterford, bringing undergraduate study programmes to the former Cistercian house near Cappoquin. The abbey, founded in 1833 by monks fleeing persecution in France, closed in January 2025 after almost two centuries of monastic life.
In a video message published on its website, the Florida-based university described the development as “a fully integrated Ave Maria University experience now embedded in the rich Catholic and cultural heritage of Europe”. The move represents the first overseas campus for the institution, which was founded in 2003 in the Diocese of Venice, Florida.
