Aug. 10 (Bloomberg) -- Moyross, a suburb of the Irish city of Limerick beset by poverty, drugs and gangs, needs a savior. The `Slam Dunk Monks' are offering a path to redemption.

This month, the New York-based Franciscan Friars of the Renewal will open its first Irish ministry in Limerick, the city immortalized in Frank McCourt's memoir ``Angela's Ashes.'' The deprivation portrayed in the book still plagues Moyross, where horses graze in abandoned lots frequented by drug dealers.

The friars, who got their nickname after organizing a basketball outreach program in the Bronx in the late 1980s, run soup kitchens and preach on the streets of six cities. In Moyross, a 1970s housing estate that symbolizes the problems which persist in the euro region's best-performing economy, the five crusading friars say they may build a stable to appeal to the community's horse-loving young people.

``It's about getting to know the people and treating them with respect and kindness,'' says New York-born Brother Shaun O'Connor, 44. ``That's a good practical thing that has nothing to do with evangelization on the surface.''

Persistent gang violence has given Limerick the nickname ``stab city.'' Limerick, Ireland's fourth-largest city, accounts for around 1.4 percent of the country's population, yet has 25 percent of its gun crime, according to the police.

Since arriving on July 22, the friars have been touring the area -- often trailed by local children -- talking to residents, handing out pictures of Jesus and riding sulkies, the two- wheeled, horse-drawn carriages traditionally used in Ireland's poorest neighborhoods.

Poverty and Plenty

The Friars of the Renewal order was founded in 1987 in the Bronx, seeking to emulate the life of St. Francis, the 12th century monk who lived a simple life unadorned by wealth. From that first friary, they expanded into New Jersey, before opening centers in Honduras and London. The Slam Dunk Monks dress in gray habits, take a vow of poverty and rely on donations to survive.

Now they're targeting Moyross, a housing project for 4,000 people surrounded by graffiti-stained walls and metal fences. Locals say it's common to find drug dealers feuding in front of empty houses and rubble-strewn lawns.

The neighborhood stands in contrast with an Ireland that's experienced a decade of record economic growth, seen unemployment fall to 4 percent and become the second-richest nation in Europe.

Still, around 20 percent of Irish people are poor or at risk of falling below the poverty line, compared with a European Union average of 16 percent, according to Ireland's statistics office.

Unemployment Woes

In Moyross, the jobless rate is four times the national average of 4.6 percent, and almost half the 1,000 houses are in ``serious disrepair,'' according to a government report published in April.

The friars won't be alone in their efforts to fix Moyross. The government has promised to rebuild homes and improve roads, while locals run a community center to occupy the young people and monitor a closed-circuit security system to curtail crime.

``We're fixing, but long term we need to prevent things,'' says resident Paddy Flannery, 53, a former builder who now runs the center. ``Maybe the monks will reach the people we can't.''

In other cities, the order of about 100 friars runs shelters, holds prayer meetings and concerts and hands out rosaries and leaflets. The Limerick city council has donated three abandoned houses the monks are turning into a friary, which will feature a reception room, chapel and private area for the brothers' cells.

Calming Presence

The friars say building a stable may eventually help the young people of Moyross to accept them as part of the community. Brother Martin de Porres says the order also may hold nativity pageants, as it has done in New York.

``Maybe we can do that here, get people involved in it, in making costumes,'' he says as he strings rosary beads outside the friars' new home and waves to passers-by.

Patrick McCarthy says the friars, with their beards and long grey cloaks, might bring a calming presence to the neighborhood.

``They'll get on good, but they'll have to be firm,'' says McCarthy, who has lived in Moyross for 20 years and keeps horses in his yard. ``The biggest thing here is horses. The kids love them, and maybe it'll keep them way from other activities.''

O'Connor previously lived in the order's St. Fidelis Friary in London's Canning Town, where the yard featured a basketball net and a life-size painting of Jesus. East London kids pelted the monks with eggs and stones until the ``novelty wore off'' and they were welcomed into the community, he says.

O'Connor acknowledges that thanks to a shaky set of knees, his days emulating Michael Jordan may be past him. Still, he is hopeful the area's young people will learn to accept their presence.

``The kids are tough, a little hard around the edges, and they test you a bit, but they're open,'' O'Connor says. ``Through time, we'll let them know we're kind, friendly, normal -- even though we don't look normal.''

To contact the reporter on this story: Fergal O'Brien in Dublin at fobrien@bloomberg.net.

Last Updated: August 10, 2007 02:50 EDT