The Fethard-on-Sea Boycott was a notorious event in Irish history. In 1957, Sheila Cloney, the Protestant wife of a Catholic farmer, fled her home with her children. Associates of Ian Paisley hid Sheila and her children in Belfast before eventually getting them to Scotland. Sheila Cloney left the Wexford village after refusing to bow to the demands of the local Catholic clergy to educate her daughter as Catholics. In response, the priests launched a boycott of Fethard's Protestant shopkeepers and farmers.

Tim Fanning tells Ciarán Dunbar the story of Sheila Cloney of the boycott of Protestants in Fethard-on-Sea.

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The Rev Ian Paisley rose to prominence as the face of hardline unionism but the first time some would have heard of him would have been in connection with Maura Lyons. In 1956, the west Belfast teenager was smuggledto Scotland by members of the Free Presbyterian Church. She was a 15-year-old Catholic girl who converted to Free Presbyterianism, in the face of the strong objections of her family. They accused the Rev Ian Paisley of “abduction”. At one point, he gathered his supporters in the Ulster Hall to listen to a recording of Maura’s voice at the Ulster Hall, renouncing her Catholic faith as a “religion of fear and dread”.

Ciarán Dunbar is joined by journalist Malachi O’Doherty, who grew up in west Belfast.

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The latest BelTel / LucidTalk polling reveals Sinn Féin keep the top spot as both the DUP and UUP see a slight boost in popularity, but the trend is worrying for Alliance. But Almost half of unionists say they would vote for Reform UK. And as talk of a border poll refuses to go away, most people want to know what exactly the criteria for calling one would be. And finally, as Catherine Connolly wins the presidential elections down south, the polling reveals how NI voters would have voted.

Ciarán Dunbar is joined by Journalist Aoife Moore and political commentator Alex Kane.

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