The philosopher and writer Mr John Moriarty is planning to establish a Christian hedge school in a remote valley in Co Kerry.
The idea has been with him for years and he recently came across the type of site he had been looking for, between Kilgarvan and Glengarriff. Mr Moriarty has put a down payment of £25,000 on a 23-acre property, which he hopes to develop as an oratory, kitchen and refectory, a lecture room doubling as a library and 12 or 14 cells.
The idea is to have two or three resident instructors, living monastically, by a traditional rule. Guests would come for weekends or for much longer periods.
The cost of the property is €91,400 (£72,000). Seven religious orders in Ireland have already donated to the project and just €27,000 remains to be raised.
Mr Moriarty is to sell his house to fund the work on the physical structure.
The comparison with the Buddhist centre at Gurranes on the Beara Peninsula is inescapable. Mr Moriarty responds to this comparison by saying he is delighted that there are Buddhists in Ireland and that they are bringing their wisdom here.
He says, however, that just because the Christian Church has been here for 15 centuries, doesn't mean that it is secure.
This hedge school, Mr Moriarty says, is to be founded in the belief that Christianity can and will recover its nerve. It is to be "a place where Christianity can recover its nerve".
He is clear it is not in any way a crusade; instead, he says it is to be "a quiet turning of the sod in Christian faith, hope and charity".