ABSTRACT
The first Inter–Party government proved more cohesive than Fianna Fail, and perhaps even some of its own component parts, had expected. It acted with a degree of initiative in a number of areas, such as health and agriculture, and, most dramatically of all, repealed the External Relations Act. The crunch arose over an issue that came to be known as the ‘Mother and Child Affair’, concerning a bill that Noel Browne proposed to introduce to improve state support for mothers and babies. This ran into opposition from the medical interest groups and from the Catholic bishops. Once it became apparent to the rest of the government that Browne’s bill was opposed by the hierarchy, the other ministers, including Sean MacBride, withdrew their support for it, and when, in April 1951, it seemed that Browne was determined to proceed, MacBride demanded that Browne resign from the government, which he did. He and his supporters left the Clann.
