One of the most famous schools in the State, Kylemore Abbey in the heart of Connemara, Co Galway, is to close. The school, which enjoys one of the most spectacular settings of any school in these islands, is blaming the fall in vocations for the decision.
However, members of the Benedictine Order will continue to live at the abbey and the world-famous Victorian gardens and house will remain open to the public.
The trustees yesterday announced the decision to close the school in August 2010.
This will allow all pupils to complete their second-level education.
Faced with a fall in vocations, other schools run by the religious have opted for the now well-established system of lay trusteeship adopted by Dublin's Blackrock College and other schools.
A spokesperson said however that the relatively small number of pupils at the school meant this was not feasible.
The spokesperson also said the nuns had no plans to sell off any of the lands.
The Kylemore Abbey girls secondary school has operated as a boarding school since 1922, though the school has also accepted day girls from the local area.
There are now 137 students at Kylemore today, including 49 boarders. More than 30 of these are from outside the State, continuing a tradition which dates back to the 1920s.
Of the 23 teaching staff at the school, only one is a member of the Benedictine community.
In a letter to parents, staff and the local community, Mother Abbess Magdalena FitzGibbon OSB said the decline in vocations had left the order with no alternative but to close.
"In common with other orders, many of our sisters have reached retirement age and with no new entrants, we no longer have the personnel necessary for the management and trusteeship of the school. We very much regret having to make this decision, but having looked at the options, we are left with no alternative."
The trustees this week are meeting staff, parents and local primary schools to explain plans for the phased closure.
Founded in Brussels in the 16th century, the Benedictine nuns took possession of Kylemore Castle, 50 miles from Galway city, in November 1920.
Today there is a community of 14 nuns at Kylemore. In 1993 a visitor centre was developed to welcome visitors to the abbey, garden and Gothic church, and to serve as an introductory point to the area. A major restoration of the Victorian walled garden was completed in the late 1990s.
The number of nuns teaching in Irish schools has more than halved in the past decade. At primary level, there are fewer than 450 nuns teaching, compared to more than 1,000 at the start of the 1990s. Also notable is the shortage of younger nuns entering teaching, with fewer than 10 sisters now under 40 years of age.
In contrast, of the 445 total, about 270 are between 60 and 65 and almost 20 are over 65.
