Since 1976, the Mount Melleray Scout Centre has been a place of outdoor adventure, skill-building, and camaraderie for thousands of young people and Scouters, thanks to the support and generosity of the Cistercian Community.
Scouting as a movement of continuous development puts high demands on resources, venues, and facilities that support it, which require constant review. It has not been possible to avail of the facilities at Melleray in recent years as Scouting Ireland commissioned various reports and assessments of the Centre. After carefully considering these and understanding the necessary renovations to restore the building to the requirements of Scouting Ireland, it became clear that the costs, estimated to exceed €2,000,000, were beyond the scope of what ScoutingIreland can sustainably invest.
Scouting Ireland wishes to announce that, following careful consideration and with regret, we will return the Mount Melleray Scout Centre to the Abbot and the CistercianCommunity.
We express our heartfelt gratitude to the Abbot and the Mount Melleray community. Their kindness and hospitality have been integral to the success of Scouting at this site over nearly five decades. The partnership between Scouting Ireland and the CistercianCommunity has been one of shared purpose and mutual respect, and we hold this relationship in the highest regard. We recognise and thank those Scouters who facilitated the development of Young People over the last 50 years.
Scouting Ireland remains committed to providing high-quality facilities and programmes to support the development of young people across the country. While this chapter with Mount Melleray closes, the spirit of adventure, learning, and growth it inspired will continue to thrive in our movement, giving us hope for the future.
Thank you for your understanding and continued support as we move forward together.
