A mother, the Church and a local crisis that gripped the nation

THE story of a family’s struggle against the weight of the Catholic Church and a compelling and detailed historical novel, Tim Fanning’s account of the Fethard-On-Sea boycott leaves no stone unturned and no angle uncovered.

The infamous incident in 1957 centred on local woman Sheila Cloney, the Protestant wife of a Catholic farmer, who fled from the tiny Co Wexford town with her two young daughters after refusing to send six-year-old Eileen to the local Catholic school.

Her action sparked outrage among the local clergy and led to a seven-month boycott of Protestant-owned businesses.