The Fethard-On-Sea Boycott

by Tim Fanning

In 1957, Sheila Cloney, Protestant wife of a Catholic farmer, fled from her home near the Wexford village of Fethard-on-Sea with her young daughters after refusing to bow to the demands of the local Catholic clergy to educate them as Catholics. In response, the priests launched a boycott of Fethard's Protestant shopkeepers and farmers.

234 pages, Paperback

First published October 7, 2010

Reviews

[Jess · Rating 2 out of 5]

In the spirit of full disclosure, I feel I should mention that I read this book as an assignment for a history class. Personally, I find that I enjoy books less when I am obligated to read them than I would if I had chosen it myself.

That being said, this was pretty dry. I'm not really sure the topic needed an entire book written about it, or at least not a book of this length. I appreciated the author's efforts to combine historical detail with a more narrative style of writing, but in the end I just don't think it worked. I would have much preferred a more narrative take with less of the (what I would call) unnecessary background information.

[Steven Jones · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hard to believe the hatred that so called Christians can have for other churches. This book gives a background to the boycott, going back 70 years before the event. It draws a picture of the sectarianism of 1950s Ireland - ironically the govt at the time where busy pointing at Northern Ireland and shouting 'sectarian', whilst in a country with a catholic church led constitution this event occurred. The court case in 1950 about the Ne Temere decree is also covered in the book.

An illuminating read about how nationalism/religion/nativism came together and tried to destroy a family.

[Michael Ryan · Rating 5 out of 5]

A valuable book. I think I shall hang onto this one. My father grew up in Fethard-On-Sea, though I think he had left for England before 1957. I still have cousins there on the family farm, so I recognise all the geographical features: Tintern Abbey, Saltmills, Hook Head, Bannow Bay...

The following line in the introduction, "...I had a letter that I had found in the archives from a local man, John Joe Ryan, to the Taoiseach of the day, Eamon de Valera, which contained an intriguing line suggesting that the roots of the boycott went back eighty years." I think, references my uncle John.

All long dead now, but it paints a brilliant picture of conservative, desperately poor, small-town Ireland of the 1950s. The people were mainly farmers, educated freely by the state up to Standard Six, and deferential to the clergy who were better educated and hailed from richer families, and who assumed the full authority of the church in their dealings. It is amazing how much Ireland has changed in two generations.

I thought it was a ripping yarn.

[Sheila · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting book which begins with some of the Irish history relating to the two main religions; Catholics and Protestants. Sheila and Sean Cloney married in the 1940’s and had three children. Sean was Roman Catholic while Sheila was raised as Protestant. They managed until their youngest was due to begin school. Then the local priests began to pressure the couple to enrol her in the local Catholic school. When three priests visited Sheila when she was home with her children, she decided to flee with her children. The local priests pressured the members of his parish to boycott the businesses of the Protestant community members. The media caught wind of the boycott and it led to national and international news.
I had no idea how life was for the people living in that period of time and how even people advertised which religions they preferred for their employees when advertising vacant positions!

[Heather · Rating 4 out of 5]

A different kind of book about a family, church, and a community.

[Kieran L · Rating 4 out of 5]

A informative well written book. Set the context for the boycott very well, giving a detailed and considered explanation and reasoning for the circumstances of the boycott. Written without bias

[Síle · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was looking forward to reading this book, given that this incident was so well known in Ireland. A lot of the information in the book was worthy of reading, and of interest to people, but the biggest ommission of all was Sheila Cloney herself. I appreciate that she was a private lady who never really talked about that part of her life, but the book was much more focused on the church and economic side of it. If you are going to read this book to try to find out more about this courageous family, look elsewhere. On the other hand if you want to get an insight into how the Catholic church could easily sway people's behaviour and thoughts in the 1950s it's for you. I'm glad I read it, but I can't help thinking how much more engaging the book could have been.

[Elaine · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found this fascinating. I had heard about it here and there down through the years, but was fascinated to find out more about the situation. I would like to have read more about the Cloney's comments on the matter, but one thing that struck me, and is perhaps reflected in the focus of the book is that the boycott had very little to do with the Cloney's or their family. The book concentrates on the few individuals who bullied their wider community into participating in the boycott by forcing others in their community to suffer, it seems that the Cloney children were not really the issue, just an excuse to settle old grievances. It certainly was an enlightening read and quite well written.

[Ian Major · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent insights on the family and leading characters in the affair - and on the history that informed society's thinking at the time. Important reading for today's society, North and South, if we are to appreciate the complexities that inform our conceptions of ourselves and our rights and wrongs. And an easy read too.