Neighbours of the Pilgrim House Community in the Wexford village of Castletown described the group yesterday as an extremely private one which kept to itself.
The local parish priest told The Irish Times that the community was a committed and dedicated Christian group and not an extreme sect, as had been suggested.
Father Eugene McCarney said that the group, which has been based in Castletown, between Arklow and Gorey, for about 10 years, operated independently of the parish. But he had visited the community at its base in the secluded Hyde Park estate on several occasions and had found its members to be "very friendly".
"They are a very committed group of people, looking after handicapped children and handicapped adults in a very dedicated way," Father McCarney said. "They are not an extreme Christian cult. That description is way over the top."
Other residents of Castletown, a small village about three miles off the main Dublin-Rosslare road, knew little about the group. "I saw them taking the children to the seaside once, but apart from that I've never laid eyes on them," said one woman, who asked not to be named. "They do their own thing up there and don't get involved in the community in any way."
"Sometimes they are very friendly and other times they pass by and don't speak at all," another woman said.
The only people at the community's headquarters yesterday were a caretaking couple, who had just moved in. They told The Irish Times that they had no involvement in the group, whose members had all left for Israel.
Before moving to Castletown, the group had operated in Sutton and later in Dun Laoghaire, Co Dublin. They then purchased the Hyde Park estate, which at one time was owned by the Beaumont family. New outbuildings and a chapel have recently been built in the grounds, close to the original estate house.
A planning application for retention of the new buildings, including the chapel, is posted on the gate of the estate, which is about a mile outside Castletown village.
The buildings used by the group are hidden behind woodland and several locals said they had never seen them. Neighbours said the group was frequently visited, however, especially by priests and nuns.
