Roscommon priest’s stand against the Ku Klux Klan inspires novel

The remarkable story of a Roscommon-born priest who challenged the rise of the Ku Klux Klan in 1920s America has inspired a newly republished historical novel based on real events from his life.

Fr Jimmy Coyle, originally from just outside of Athlone, County Roscommon, ministered in Birmingham, Alabama, during a turbulent period following the First World War, when the city’s rapid industrial expansion brought both opportunity and deepening divisions of race and class. 

Known for building inclusive congregations and speaking out against prejudice, Fr Coyle became a prominent voice for tolerance at a time when doing so carried serious personal risk.

His story now forms the basis of ‘Something Bigger’, a novel by Athlone-born writer Sheila Killian, who is the priest’s grand-niece and drew on her own family history in telling the story.

Set in Birmingham in 1921, the novel is narrated through the voice of Fr Coyle’s younger sister Marcella and offers a vivid portrayal of Irish emigrant life in the American South at a time of social upheaval and growing racial tension.

Sheila said she hoped the book would help bring wider attention to an important but little-known chapter of Irish diaspora history and to the courage shown by her Roscommon relative during a difficult period in American society.

Originally published in the United States during the Covid pandemic, ‘Something Bigger’ has now been released in a new European edition printed in Ireland with a redesigned cover. 

The Irish launch will be performed later this month by award-winning novelist Donal Ryan.

The novel has already received strong praise from leading Irish writers. Donal Ryan described it as “a stunning, intensely engaging novel by a consummate storyteller,” while Liz Nugent called it “compelling, intriguing and skilful.” 

‘Something Bigger’ is available through bookshops and can be ordered nationwide through local retailers.