The founder members of the Fethard Guild of the Irish Countrywomen's Association were the late Olivia Hughes and Phyllis and Helen O'Connell. The Guild was founded in 1927 and meetings were held in the old school which is now better known as the Tirry Centre.
The object of the ICA was to improve the quality of life for women in rural Ireland and the image projected in the early days was greatly different to that of today with the emphasis on household crafts.
Fethard ICA introduced the first summer school, thanks to the assistance of Dr. O'Connell. Dr. O'Connell had a hut on Slievenamon and members of the Fethard ICA used to cycle from Fethard to the hut on the mountain. There they exchanged crafts and ideas with each other and lived on the natural produce of the surroundings. In the evenings they were joined by the mountain folk and the entertainment included recitation, singing and story-telling.
During the war years and for some time afterwards, the Fethard ICA Guild provided a very valuable service to the community on fair days. They had a wagon, which was parked on the Main Street the evening before and from 6.00 a.m. on the day of the fair they provided Bovril, coffee, tea and sandwiches on a rota basis. The role played by members of the guild can only be appreciated when it is realised that most of them had to look after their normal, everyday duties as well.
Mrs. Hughes opened a milk depot in Burke Street and this, too, was manned on a rota basis by ICA members. About 1953, the ICA offshoot, Country Markets, was set up in Fethard. Fresh produce provided by members was offered for sale in the Town Hall on Friday mornings. This venture still continues today although it only returned to the Town Hall venue in 1990.
After the war, Nissen huts were offered for sale and in 1947 the Fethard Guild of the ICA decided to purchase one for a meeting hall. To do so they had to borrow £200 but the loan was repaid in record time by their own fund raising. The Nissen hut was a very popular venue for meetings and continued to be used by many organisation until the Tirry Centre was opened. Most ICA guild members are actively involved in other local organisation and it is also fair to say that they are always most co-operative when called upon in the interests of the community.
The 1990's have marked the start of a new era for the Fethard Guild of the ICA. On February 14th, 1990, the Nissen hut was demolished to make way for a new hall. A generous bequest by Phyllis and Helen O'Connell helped to finance the project which today is known as the O'Connell Memorial Hall. On November 25th, 1991, Mrs. Monica Prenderville, the national president of the ICA officially opened the hall and in her address she referred to the first ICA summer school on Slievenamon. She suggested that a tree be planted to the memory of Phyllis and Helen O'Connell and their father on the site of the site of the "doctor's hut" which holds so much history and culture.
On Tuesday, April 21st, 1992, Monica Prenderville's suggestion was carried out when Federation President, Lily Barrett and officers of Fethard ICA, along with a number of friends, made the journey to the mountain for a tree planting ceremony on the site. It is now planned that members of various ICA guilds around the country will climb Slievenamon on Sunday, June 21st, 1992, to relive the first summer school and see where it all began.
Committee meetings are held on the fourth Tuesday of the month in the I.C.A. Hall, Rocklow Road, Fethard. The officers are: Sheila O'Donnell (president), Nuala Delaney (vice president), Joan Heffernan (secretary), Kathy Alyward (treasurer). Contact: Mrs. Sheila O'Donnell, Coleman, Fethard. 052 31336
