Hundreds of oddly-dressed religious zealots appeared in Dublin last night, persuading homeowners to invite them into their kitchens and then refusing to leave. Locals said the invaders were 18th and 19th century Shakers, bent on reclaiming their reputation for beautiful furniture and devotion to God.

The raids began early yesterday morning, when at least 50 Shakers arrived at a newly-built housing development near Leixlip, Co Kildare. They used a similar pattern to gain entry to some 23 homes; first knocking on the door of the house, then presenting the owners with some freshly-baked apple pie, and finally asking if they might see the home's wonderful "Shaker" kitchen.

Once inside, homeowners say, the strangers asked them repeatedly if they were sure they really wanted a Shaker kitchen. If householders replied that they did indeed, the Shakers typically installed themselves in the kitchen and refused to leave.

"They said it wasn't a real Shaker kitchen at all, but they could put that right," one homeowner said in a telephone interview. "Then they started reefing out all the electrical equipment - the built-in fridge, the microwave, even the wood-panelled extractor fan."

She said her group of three middle-aged Shakers, two women and a man, had taken particular offence when they tried to open what looked like a simple wooden drawer, but what was in fact some inset wood panelling with a wooden knob to make it look like a drawer.

"They are still in there but I'm afraid to go near them. My husband had to hand over his toolbox and I think they are making a hard chair," she added.

Apartment owners in the International Financial Services Centre said the 150 Shakers that arrived there yesterday afternoon seemed particularly zealous in their religious devotion. They chanted and sang in unison, rocking and shaking rhythmically back and forward, and have been trying to impose an entire lifestyle on local people.

"They said there was to be no more television, supermarkets, cigarettes or wine for us," said a foreign exchange trader. "Then they put me and my wife in separate bedrooms and warned us that the Shaker way included a life of celibacy."

Last night the Shakers called off a press conference, due to be held in a hastily-built wooden meeting house, because reporters refused to switch off their mobile phones. But Shaker sources said they had come back to life because they were so appalled by the hijacking of their religion's name by Irish developers.

"These people seem to think that anything made of panelled wood is `Shaker'. Well we say that whatever is fashioned, let it be plain and simple and for the good. If you want to be a Shaker, we can arrange that," one source added.

The Garda said that because the Shakers had used no violence to gain entry they were not in a position to bring any criminal charges against them, but that civil actions might be possible.