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Terence MacSwiney
Lord Mayor of Cork
OC Cork No. 1 Brigade IRA
"It is not those who can inflict the most, but those that can suffer the most who will conquer."
"One armed man cannot resist a multitude, nor one army conquer countless legions; but not all the armies of all the empires of earth can crush the spirit of one true man. And that one man will prevail. "
"I am confident that my death will do more to smash the British Empire than my release."
"I want you to bear witness that I die as a Soldier of the Irish Republic." His last words. |
Writings of Terence MacSwiney
Terence McSwiney's speech as Lord Mayor of Cork Principles of Freedom |
Probably no one outside of Michael Collins was as responsible for getting England to agree to peace talks in 1921 as Terence MacSwiney. MacSwiney, like Ghandi some twenty years later, helped bring English rule in his country to an end by passive resistance; he refused to submit to English law, and by that simple act he brought the harsh glare of a worldwide spotlight to the injustice of England's colonial regime.
Terence MacSwiney, born in Cork in Cork city in 1879. He was educated as an accountant. He was also a writer, and wrote poetry, plays and pamphlets on Irish freedom. His Principles of Freedom published posthumously in 1921. He was also the publisher of a weekly paper called, Fianna Fáil (soldiers of destiny). The paper, however, was suppressed after only 11 issues.
Volunteer
In 1913 MacSwiney founded the Cork Brigade of the Irish Volunteers and was President of the Cork Branch of Sinn Féin.
Arrests and Internments
He was interned under the Defence of the Realm Act in Reading and Wakefield Gaols from April to December, 1916. |
Photo of the badge worn by the Volunteers at MacSwiney's funeral. |
Terence MacSwiney's funeral
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MacSwiney was arrested in Dublin in March 1918 and imprisoned in Belfast and Dundalk Gaols until September when he was released, only to be re-arrested and imprisoned to Lincoln Gaol. He was released in 1919 and elected to the first Dáil Éireann in 1919 as the representative of Mid-Cork while his friend Tomás MacCurtain was elected Lord Mayor of Cork. On March 20, 1920, MacCurtain was murdered in his home by members of the Royal Irish Constabulary. MacSwiney was then elected Lord Mayor of Cork. |
Hungerstrike
MacSwiney was arrested again in Dublin on 12th August 1920 and charged with making a 'seditious' speech. During his trial in front of the military court he said, “I have decided that I will be free alive or dead within a month, as I will take no food for the period of my sentence”. MacSwiney immediately commenced a hungerstrike for 74 days, making his the longest hunger-strike in Irish political history. MacSwiney’s hungerstrike gained world attention. The British government was threatened with a boycott of British goods by North America; and four countries in South America appealed to the Pope to intervene.
On the 20th of October he fell into a coma, and died five days later at 5.40am on 25th October 1920. His last words to a priest who visited were, “ I want you to bear witness that I die as a Soldier of the Irish Republic.”
Irish Volunteers escorted his casket through London as thousands of Irish exiles lined the streets. MacSwiney was buried in Cork on the 29th Oct 1920. |
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