The Fenian by Mike Kernan
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The Fenian is a touching tale of teenage angst, love and loss, sensitively recounted by Mike Kernan. Readers who remember the 1970s will be charmed by his descriptions of contemporary music, films and grooming styles. Kernan has even provided a playlist, so readers can enjoy tracks reflecting the mood of each chapter. This book provides multiple opportunities to wallow in delicious nostalgia, but for Lorna, the Protestant protagonist, and Robert, a Catholic, there is an underlying sense of regret for what might have been. Try to imagine Romeo and Juliet without the shared priest.
‘When I think of those days, those childish, innocent days, I hear the music again.’
When a group of 19th century Irish republicans adopted the name of a mythological band of warriors, they cannot have imagined the effect it would have on Scottish teenagers in the 1970s. In Northern Ireland and Scotland, the word ‘Fenian’ became a term of abuse used by Protestants against Roman Catholics. Although few people understood the obscure political and religious dogma separating these two branches of Christianity, a visceral resentment simmered between the communities. Job advertisements barred Catholics from applying and football teams were affiliated with one church or the other. Inter-faith love affairs were frowned upon. The cultural separation was so deep that children born of ‘mixed’ marriages were sometimes thought of as illegitimate.
‘So many times over the years I have tried to figure it out – the ingrained, unconscious hostility.’
Lorna’s life is forever changed by a thoughtless promise she makes at a crucial moment in her childhood. Until then, she has not given much thought to religion. Although they go to different schools depending on which religious community they belong to, several young people living on a working class ‘estate’ form a strong friendship group, meeting up in a bus shelter to banter and play. When they reach their late teenage years, the bond survives but the new game is romance. The group’s favourite pastime, musical chairs with the boys sitting down and the girls circulating, leads to serial flirtations which, so long as certain unwritten rules are kept, cause little resentment.
‘How he could do all those big things and still have room for a single fibre of self-doubt?’
Kernan takes up their story again in 2001. Lorna has stayed close to her roots, but Robert has achieved success beyond his youthful ambitions, carving out a stellar career in television news, marrying money and raising a fine son. When Robert returns to Glasgow, both he and Lorna are newly divorced. Will her binding promise spoil their chances of reviving an old flame?
‘My Mum’s Dad, my Papa, was in what they called the Lodge at one time. Orange sash, bowler hat, white gloves, the full bit.’
Being an Ulsterwoman, I find the deep significance of Lorna’s promise all too relatable. For me, The Fenian has a special meaning. I grew up in a Protestant community in Northern Ireland, and like Lorna in The Fenian, my maternal grandfather and uncle were members of an Orange Lodge. As a small child, I enjoyed the festival atmosphere of the Twelfth of July, when the Orange Order paraded through the streets. It was not until I became a teenager that I understood the connection between the waving banners and marching bands and the soldiers patrolling my city.
Mike Kernan skilfully reveals the tragedy of centuries of religious hatred and division, without making it the main focus of his novel. Most readers will enjoy the coming of age dramas, followed by mid-life crises, without giving a thought to religion or politics. Those who know the dark history behind the sufferings of these star-crossed lovers will sympathise with them on a different level.