SHEILA CLONEY was an “inspiration” to her daughters, her funeral in Fethard-on-Sea, Co Wexford heard yesterday.
About 150 people, including the local Catholic parish priest, attended the funeral of Ms Cloney who attracted international media attention by refusing to send her daughters to a Catholic school in 1957.
Ms Cloney (83) died in Wexford hospital on Sunday. The congregation included family, friends and neighbours.
The Rev Jenny Crowley told mourners that “Sheila’s life [had] been well-documented in the public domain over the last 24 hours” and that yesterday was “not the time or the place” to refer to the fateful events of the late 1950s.
She said Ms Cloney had “left very careful instructions” for her funeral, which stipulated that it be a low-key, simple ceremony with “no eulogy – just a few words about the Resurrection hope”. Her wishes were respected.
The Rev Crowley read a brief statement of behalf of Ms Cloney’s daughters which stated: “Our mother was a force in all our lives and we thank her sincerely for being an inspiration to us all.”
The chief mourners were her daughters Eileen and Hazel. She was predeceased by her husband Seán and another daughter Mary. Her remains were later removed to Dublin to be cremated at a private ceremony
The presence of Catholic parish priest Fr Oliver Sweeney in St Mogue’s Church of Ireland was highly symbolic.
More than half a century ago, his predecessors had been involved in a bitter dispute with Ms Cloney over her refusal to accede to clerical pressure regarding the education of her daughters.
In 1957, Ms Cloney, a Protestant, left her Catholic husband, home and the State after being told by the local Catholic priest that she would have to send her daughters to the local Catholic national school.
He based his “orders” on the Catholic Church’s rule, known as the ne temere decree, which stipulated that the children of mixed marriages be raised and educated as Catholics.
Ms Cloney’s departure with the children, first to the North and then to Scotland, created a major controversy which divided the south Wexford community, attracted national and international media attention and resulted in a boycott of Protestant businesses by the majority Catholic population in the village of Fethard- on-Sea.
The matter was eventually resolved when then taoiseach Éamon de Valera condemned the boycott in the Dáil and Ms Cloney returned to Ireland.
She and her husband Seán Cloney were reconciled and their daughters were educated at home.
Speaking to The Irish Timesoutside the church, Wexford rector the Rev Maria Jansson described Ms Cloney as a woman with "an incredible depth of integrity" who never spoke about the events of 1957.
She said Ms Cloney “bore no malice”.
Helen Skrine, a friend of Ms Cloney, said she was a brave woman who had acted on her principles. It had taken many years for the divisions to heal in Fethard- on-Sea, she added.