Women coming from abroad to live here can be lonely and find it difficult to make friends, partly because of our reluctance to entertain at home. Coming from countries where home entertaining is the norm, they can find it hard to adjust to meeting people through our pub culture.

Despite the supposed warmth of our welcome, Ireland can be a cold and difficult place to crack if you're a stranger embarking on a new life. But a cosmopolitan group of women based in Malahide, Co Dublin, is easing the passage of newcomers with a ready-made social network.

Founded three years ago by a dozen women who found themselves suddenly transplanted to Ireland due to changes in their partners' jobs, or a yearning for change and adventure, Malahide International Women's Club is a concept that could offer a model for other temporary or permanent immigrants to follow.

Indeed, many new members attracted to the group, which is estimated to have almost doubled in size to 80 in just a year, are Irish women who have lived abroad for a long period and have returned home in recent years, because of the booming Irish economy.

The group meets weekly and organises social, cultural and sporting activities such as tennis, book clubs and art groups, to help the women find, or re-find, their feet in Ireland.

For foreign women, more often than not the move to Dublin is a transitory phase in their lives - most of them expect to return, sooner or later, to their true home, be it Boston or Barbados.

Almost all of them are professionals, but they don't work here, due to the complexities of obtaining a work permit for what is usually an indefinite stay. This leaves them with a lot of spare time on their hands. In many ways, they are fortunate to have chosen the plush and relatively tranquil suburbs of Malahide and Portmarnock, or Lucan, in which to live. These are areas well used to foreigners, with Dublin Airport and many multinational firms located close by. So, difficult transitions have been smoothed by a receptive and welcoming community.

Over a buzz of conversation and the clatter of coffee cups in a Malahide hotel, the women, some of whom have young babies with them, talk about the benefits they have derived from the group, describing it as "a lifeline" or "a godsend".

Countries represented at this particular morning gathering include South Africa, Canada, the US, England, the Ukraine, Russia, Germany, Scotland and Ireland.

The relative perspectives of the Irish and foreign women on our society are interesting. Our apparent reluctance to entertain in our homes - something that's common in the US, Canada and in much of Europe - is remarked upon by many of them. Those coming here from a non-pub culture, therefore, find it harder to make new friends. Some of the women say they were lonely before they linked up with the group.

Marge Roberts from Maryland in the US first moved here in September 1999, initially for four to six months. "When that was extended, I had mixed feelings because I missed my family and friends back home. Then I found out about this club and it has been a godsend. I really enjoy it and when I leave, as with most of the women who leave, I will find it really difficult, because they are really good friends."

Irish life, despite what those of us caught up in the sleep-drive-workdrive-sleep rollercoaster might say, still isn't as frantic as that in the US, she believes. "In America, the majority of people seem to focus on work. Here they work, but they also seem to enjoy life."

Marjorie Cobbe, who left Ireland in 1956 to work for the United Nations in Geneva, disagrees, however. She sees a more selfish and pressurised society than when she left; a new Ireland in all its economic bombast.

Cheryl Fields from Christchurch in Barbados arrived in Dublin in July 1999 with her husband Austin, a pilot with CityJet, and their two teenage sons. She has found the club invaluable in helping her to integrate and find friends.

"I expected Ireland to be totally different, so I was prepared for it. I've settled in fairly well and it's mostly because of this group and through meeting people here who've helped me to organise what I need, whether it's finding a dentist or whatever." The Fields made an effort to meet Irish people and sent their two boys to a local school.

"In Malahide, the people are so tolerant and friendly, so the boys are very lucky - it's been a positive experience for them. But it was harder for them than for us. They have friends in school but they miss being able to go outside a lot in the winter. The climate is a shock."

Everything else, though, has been less of a shock than expected, apart from some minor irritations with petty bureaucracy and red tape. For example, transferring a valid driving licence from Barbados to Ireland has proven impossible for Fields. And others have had similar problems transferring a driving licence.

CHERYL Bell, who moved here from Toronto with her husband three years ago, "out of a spirit of adventure", is also positive about her experiences here.

"I think what it is striking about the group is the real generosity of spirit here. Everybody is willing to try to make everybody else's life a little nicer, including the Irish women. They just jump in and offer you their homes and their friendship."

The almost mythical status of relaxed and laid-back Ireland seems to hold true for the foreign women, even if we don't always believe in it ourselves any more. English-born Sue Tarbitten moved here after a 19year stint in Switzerland, but she and her husband have not yet decided whether to put down roots in this country. "I'm quite happy here at the moment. It's very friendly here but Switzerland is very cold and very reserved. It's difficult to get to know them [the Swiss]. They are organised to a fault. To come here, even seeing the rubbish on the streets was a pleasant change."

Evelyn Zaborowski, born a Furlong in Co Wexford, returned to Ireland in 1980 after teaching in Germany, where she met her husband Edward. But she still feels more "cosmopolitan" than Irish, German or anything else, she says.

While she found Ireland had changed in her absence, she was glad to return. "Germany is a wonderful country, but there are so many rules and regulations. They are a very correct people, a very ordered people and I'm not sure we are.

"I found a huge change when I came back and not one I had been expecting. I think you forget, when you move away you also change yourself, and I think I had missed the huge warmth of people."

Malahide International Women's Club meets at 10.30 a.m. each Tuesday at The Island View hotel, Malahide. For further information, contact Pat Scott at 01-8461268 or Cheryl Bell at 01-8455119.