Glenstal Abbey School is an all boys independent day and boarding Roman Catholic secondary school, located on the grounds of Glenstal Abbey in Murroe, County Limerick. It is run by monks of the Benedictine order. The school offers seven-day full boarding, as well as day boarding (Mon-Sat). The school is regularly ranked among the top schools in Ireland. History Glenstal is a Norman Revivalist Castle, designed by William Bardwell, an English architect and built by Sir Matthew Barrington in 1839. Sir Charles and Lady Barrington left Ireland permanently in 1925. The castle and estate were purchased shortly after by Monsignor James J. Ryan, retired president of St Patrick’s College, Thurles, for the nominal sum of £2,000. Some months after the purchase, Msgr Ryan wrote to Celestine Golenvaux, the Abbot of the Benedictine monastery at Maredsous, and invited him to come to Ireland and set up a daughter house in Glenstal and by March 1927, the first two Belgian monks had arrived at Glenstal to establish the new house. In September 1932, the monks opened a Secondary School with Fr Columba Skerret as Headmaster, and with an intake of just seven pupils. The first lay teacher of the school was Mr Vincent Quirke. Like many other religious organisations, Glenstal Abbey was faced with allegations of child abuse. Records indicate four historic allegations against two members of the monastic community relating to abuse at Glenstal Abbey School.They were reported and investigated; in no case were there criminal or civil proceedings. In a 2014 report The National Board for Safeguarding Children (NBSC) stated that the Benedictine community handled these accusations well with proper action, including removal from monastic life and treatment. Surroundings Glenstal is south facing and has views of the Galtee Mountains. It is on an estate of around , of which some is farmland, forestry, games fields, lakes, gardens and school and monastery buildings. School life The school is divided into three houses, Junior House, Inter House and Senior House. Each house has its own Housemaster. Each house has dormitories for the boys to sleep in, a common room with a television, the housemaster's office and pantry. Junior House holds the first and second years, Inter House the third and fourth years and Senior House the fifth and sixth years. The dormitories range in size from two beds to about sixteen. Sports The main sport in Glenstal is and has always