The Cistercian abbey - which was founded by monks fleeing the French Revolution - will close on Sunday as three communities merge and relocate to Roscrea in Tipperary.
The decision by the Mount Melleray, Mellifont (Louth) and St Joseph (Tipperary) communities to merge was taken due to falling numbers and the dramatically increasing age profile of the monks involved.
On November 3, the monks in all three communities agreed to unite - with Mount Melleray falling victim to the drastic measures to ensure the monks have a future in Ireland.
It remains unclear what will happen to Mount Melleray, which boasts several large accommodation blocks, a large church as well as numerous general use structures.
There are also a number of farm buildings associated with the abbey's former involvement in agricultural operations.
The Cistercian Order - also known as the Trappists - admitted it was a very difficult decision to leave their historic home.
“After much reflection and soul searching we as an Order have had to make some very difficult decisions with the aim of ensuring a future for Cistercian life in Ireland,” the order said.
“We have been confronted with these difficult decisions as we address the reality of falling numbers and ageing communities; issues which other similar communities are also addressing at this time.
“With effect from January 26, three of our communities, namely, Mount Melleray, Mellifont and Mount St Joseph, which since November 3, the Feast of St Malachy, have already merged as one new single community, will be based, for an interim period, at Roscrea.
“This new community has been given the name of ‘The Abbey of Our Lady of Silence'.”
The imminent closure of Mount Melleray has seen huge numbers of people travelling to the abbey for Mass, Confession and prayer.Such are the large numbers that waiting times for the final Confessions at Mt Melleray have extended to several hours.
The abbey was beloved of those seeking quiet and solace - but also became hugely important over the decades to other groups ranging from the scouts who staged huge camps at the sprawling facility to Alcoholics Anonymous who held weekly meetings there as well as special retreats.
Mt Melleray's closure has come as a second major blow to the religious infrastructure in the south east with Clonmel Friary, which was founded in 1269, closing on December 31 last.
The abbey was founded on May 30, 1832, at Scrahan outside Cappoquin in west Waterford.
It was established by 64 Irish and English monks who had been expelled from the abbey of Melleray after the French Revolution of 1830.
They came to Ireland under the leadership of Fr. Vincent de Paul Ryan who, after a brief stay in Kerry, selected the west Waterford site as their new home.
Monks called the new abbey 'Mt Melleray' in honour of the motherhouse they were evicted from in France.
They settled on a mountainside site provided by local landlord Sir Richard Keane and their initial abbey was little more than a large cottage and attached shed.
On the feast of St. Bernard, 1833, the foundation stone of the new monastery was blessed by the Most Rev. WilliamAbraham, Bishop of Waterford and Lismore.
Mount Melleray got its first 'daughter house' when monks from Ireland helped establish St Bernard's Abbey in England two years later.
In 1849, monks from Mount Melleray helped found New Melleray in Iowa in the US.
In August 1933, under the presidency of Joseph Cardinal McRory, the monastery celebrated its centenary with the foundation stone of the new abbey church being laid.
The church was completed and solemnly blessed on November 26, 1935.
Many of the expanded buildings at Mount Melleray were constructed with cut limestone blocks from Mitchelstown Castle in north Cork which was burned to the ground during the Civil War and finally demolished in 1930 with its materials sold off.
In June 1946, the President Sean T O'Kelly paid a State visit to Mount Melleray.
Finally, in 1952, a new church was consecrated at Mount Melleray by the Bishop of Waterford.
In 2008, Dom Eamon Fitzgerald, the Abbot of Mount Melleray, became the first Irish Abbot General of the Cistercian Order.