Fethard-on-Sea is close to the southernmost tip of Co Wexford, Hook Head. One road leads into the peninsula, and no one passes through en route to anywhere else. It is a self-contained place, its cultivated fields and well-kept houses bounded on three sides by the sea.
It is easy to see how intimate its community would become down through the generations. This would have made the deep divisions caused by the boycott of Protestant businesses 41 years ago, arising out of the attempt by the local Catholic priest to insist the children of a mixed marriage attended the Catholic school, all the more painful.
One of those children, Ms Mary Dunne (nee Cloney) will be buried in Fethard-on-Sea today, following a service in St Mogue's Church of Ireland church. Last night her body was removed from the funeral home in Wellingtonbridge to the restored Catholic church at Poulfur, outside Fethard.
Her unusual funeral arrangements, involving two churches, were specified by herself. Before her body left Wellingtonbridge, prayers were said by the Church of Ireland rector of the New Ross group of parishes, the Rev Paul Mooney. He welcomed it to Poul fur church, where prayers were said by the parish priest, Father Joe McGrath.
Mr Mooney is a bridge between the churches in more ways than one. A former Catholic priest, he left to get married and was ordained as a Church of Ireland clergyman. Father McGrath spoke of the loss felt by the whole community. "It is not surprising so many people came to pay their respects. Mary was a person in a hurry, full of enthusiasm, usually for other people." an Cloney, is a prominent local historian and was very involved in the local 1798 commemoration committee, Comoradh 98. The Cloney family have been prominent in the area for centuries, and one of his ancestors was a leader of the 1798 Rebellion. Mary herself She was active in a number of organisations, including the local badminton club and Macra na Feirme.
For her friend and fellow campaigner, Billy Moroney, however, the funeral had a significance beyond the paying of respects to an active member of the local community. It was a symbol of how religious divisions could be overcome, however bitter the history.
"It is so important these days, in the light of Northern Ireland, for people to see what is happening down here, especially after the history of what happened. They might see things in a different perspective," he said.
Ms Dunne is survived by her husband, Michael, and two children.