THE Irish government is set to hand over use of Durrow Abbey House, a state-owned heritage building, to a charity aimed at building ties between Christians and Muslims.

The Arts for Peace Foundation wants to create a holiday haven for children from war-torn regions. The charity, which is being backed by wealthy Arab businessmen as well as the government, aims to build trust between western and eastern communities.

Elizabeth Garrahy, a former actress and film maker who conceived the project in the aftermath of the September 11 attacks, asked the government for help in finding a permanent home for the charity. Tom Parlon, the minister with responsibility for the Office of Public Works (OPW), is thought to have suggested Durrow Abbey, near Tullamore, Co Offaly.

The charity aims to raise up to €30m in donations. If given the go-ahead, it will transform the long-dormant estate, installing studios for art and crafts, classrooms, a library, a therapeutic gym with a swimming pool, and an organic farm.

Garrahy has already assembled a coalition of financial backers across Europe, Japan and the Middle East, helped by seed funding from a prominent Dublin businessman who wants to remain anonymous.

The Arts for Peace Foundation will be modelled on the Barretstown Gang Camp in Co Kildare, founded by the actor Paul Newman, which aims to give children with serious illnesses the holiday experience of a lifetime.

Terry Dignan, programme director of Barretstown, has been invited onto the board of APF with a view to sharing his expertise in providing a safe, quality residential environment for visiting children.

The foundation and its trained counsellors will work with children traumatised by war or living in divided societies, using drama, sculpture, writing, painting and music to help them to deal with their experiences.

More robust pursuits such as canoeing, horse riding, falconry and camping will also be on the itinerary.

The foundation plans to host a forum for dialogue among members of different cultures and religions, called the Durrow Round Table.

In a submission to the government, Garrahy said: “The idea for the Arts for Peace Foundation came about as a response to the horrifying escalation in global violence in the past four years.

“I felt very strongly that an international foundation whose core ethic was to build bridges and to promote understanding and respect of all cultures was much needed at this point in the earth’s history, and that the best way to start is with our children and young people.”

Garrahy trained as an actress with the Gaiety School of Acting and at the Drama Studio London. In 2001, having won a Bank of Ireland Millennium award for her role as Grace in Brian Friel’s Faith Healer in London, she was appointed Arts Council artist in residence at the Muslim School in Clonskeagh, Dublin.

She said the “life-changing” experience coloured her vision for subsequent work and sowed the seeds for the Arts for Peace Foundation.

The foundation is poised to become a significant employer in the Tullamore area, and the doors of the facility will be thrown open to the local community in the winter and at other times of the year when it is not being used by the foundation.

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