Author

When a Protestant woman in Fethard-on-Sea refused to educate her children as Catholics, local Catholics boycotted Protestant businesses. This dramatic, human tale highlights how a personal dispute became a national crisis that tested the Irish state.

As Catholic democracy eroded the power of Waterford’s Church of Ireland community, they retreated into denominationalism. This study focuses on their controversial bishop, Robert Daly, a ‘Protestant Pope’ who strove to resist the Catholic Church’s advances.