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Bolton Abbey was founded by Mt St Joseph’s Abbey, Roscrea in 1962. The 300 acre farm and house were donated by Dr Robert Farnan who along with Archbishop McQuaid desired a monastic community in the Archdiocese of Dublin. Fr Ambrose Farrington was sent here as the first superior and Br Kieran Dooley accompanied him. Their task was to prepare the house for the later arrivals. Fr Martin, Br Alberic, Fr Raymond and Br John arrived in 1963. Fr Albert, Br Thomas, Fr Justin, Fr Edmund, Br Louis, Fr Philip, Fr Eoin, Br Benedict and Fr Ignatius arrived in 1965.
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Br Anthony and Br Sean arrived from Mount Melleray in 1968. These early years were noted for the hard and joyous labours involved in building expansions and making the farm viable to support this new, vibrant and young community. In 1977 the foundation was raised to the status of an abbey and Dom Benedict Kearns was elected as the first abbot. The abbey has lived alongside some extraordinary changes in the Irish Church and Irish society. We prayed our way through the political violence which resulted in so many deaths North and South on our Island during the ’70s and ’80s and early ’90s. Financially we were unaffected by the Celtic Tiger (economic boom) which occurred during the ’90s and early part of the first decade of the new millenium. We were delighted with the new prosperity that many enjoyed but saddened to see many community values being very quickly eroded in our society. We are now living through a period of economic collapse which was ultimately brought about by greed. Our current farm prices suggest strongly that we share the fate of so many who are struggling to make a living today. The sex abuse scandals which first emerged in the early ’90s totally undermined trust in our society and in the Church. We too anguished with the pain of this, as well as feeling, in some sense, the despair of so many victims. Our abbey has lived through exrtaordinary times in both the Church and Society. The one constant through it all has been Jesus Christ. For us he has been a constant light in the darkness and a true light which out-dazzles so many false lights in our world which have the power to lead us all astray. May He be praised forever and continue to bless us all as we look forward to the future with joy, hope and trust.