DERRY | Clare McStay said that if she saw Sara Hunniford last year, she wouldn't have said, "Oh, hi ya," if she passed her in the road.

Clare, 17, is a Catholic living in Lurgan, Northern Ireland and Sara, 16, is a Protestant living in Portadown, also in Northern Ireland. They are part of the Children's Friendship Project for Northern Ireland, and hope to remain best friends "for life" after their experience of bonding for one month in Katherine Prudhomme-O'Brien's home in Derry.

They are among 10 teens in the program staying in New Hampshire, out of the 102 who arrived in the U.S. June 30. The program, established in 1987, aims at building peace and friendship that "focuses on preventing violence by building understanding and promoting interaction among people in the Catholic and Protestant cultures in that country," the organization says on its Web site.

The program pairs the teens in a neutral environment in an American home, where they can enjoy what they have in common rather than focus on their differences.

Prudhomme-O'Brien hosted two 16-year-olds last year and offered to participate again this year. Prudhomme-O'Brien is a stay-at-home mom who home schools her two daughters, Bjarna, 11, and Abby, 3.

"Part of my motivation came from the fact that my mother married a black man in Louisiana in 1985," she said. "My mother lost her job and it was very difficult for her and my new stepfather." She noted that her husband, Pete O'Brien, is of Irish descent.

Prudhomme-O'Brien said that she thinks bigotry can also stem from being in a different class than someone else. "I felt the sting of being different because I went to a trade high school when I went to live with my father in Reading, Mass.," she said.

"If it weren't for the likes of people like Katherine, we wouldn't be here," said Clare.

Sara and Clare spent six months in preparation for their trip to the United States, a first for each of them. They met every Monday in what they called an "ice-breaker program" to learn about the beliefs of each side, said Sara.

Sara attends the only integrated school in Northern Ireland. Her mother is a town executive, comparable to a town administrator in the U.S.

"It annoys me," Sara said of the Protestant-Catholic conflict. "My dad is quite bitter, but he is changing and even jokes about joining 'the orange.'"

The Northern Ireland Catholics wear the traditional Gaelic colors of green, white and orange; the Protestants wear red, white and blue. The girls noted that it is difficult to tell the difference between Protestants and Catholics except for when they are at sports matches.

The Catholics play Gaelic football and the Protestants play rugby and hockey.

"My grandfather is awful," said Clare, in discussing tolerance. "I do miss him, though, the most." She said that her father has Protestant friends. Her mother is a radiographer who monitors a breast clinic and does community work.

The teens think their parents' generation is more tolerant that their grandparents' generation, and that their own generation is beginning to break the cycle of distrust and dislike.

Their month-long visit will help them bring back new values. They attended a Peace Program last Saturday and will spend a day in Boston with inner-city youth who are part of the My Town Youth Leaders project.

They also take part in community service projects to give back something in exchange for the opportunity to participate in the program. They recently helped with a blood drive in Hampton.

Although Prudhomme-O'Brien doesn't belong to a particular church, the girls will attend services once a week as part of their program. One of these include the Ancient Order of Hibernians in Nashua.

"We're starting a good strong friendship," said Clare.

"We'll definitely keep in contact and tell lots of people about the experience," added Sara.