St Brigid's nursing home in Carlow town, which has served as a medical facility for the past 50 years, is to close by October 17th of this year.
The home, which has a bed occupancy of 24, has served as a maternity unit, general hospital facility served by local doctors and in latter years exclusively as a nursing home.
The closure will mean the loss of 18 full-time and part-time jobs.
Sister Presentation, superior at St Brigid's and a member of the Madrid-based Hospitaller Sisters of the Sacred Heart of Jesus who have run the hospital since 1967, said that their numbers have dwindled and most of their sisters are well beyond retirement age.
In the circumstances it was no longer possible to provide adequate support or personnel for their Carlow mission.
News of the closure follows a recent announcement that 40 jobs are to go at Lapple Ireland in Carlow town. The firm have been making tools and dyes for the auto industry since 1974.