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A religious group at the University of Coventry is coordinating plans for a new Catholic university for the West of Ireland.

The Faith Alive organisation is believed to have secured the backing of the Vatican to set up a university at Ballina in County Mayo, at a cost estimated at Pounds 50 million. It has also been promised funding from the United States and New Zealand.

Faith Alive director Cormac O'Duffy said the decision followed a staff survey in Coventry. A 20-hectare site owned by the local council has been identified and the plans for the project forwarded to the council and the Bishop of Killala, Thomas Finnigan.

Mr O'Duffy said the university would aim to attract students from around the world. But it would also fill a gap in tertiary education in Ireland where up to 10,000 applicants are unable to find places every year.