Taoiseach unveils ‘wonderful collection’ of works by Terence MacSwiney in Cork

Taoiseach Micheál Martin has commended Cork City Council for its decision to gather the writings of martyred lord mayor of Cork Terence MacSwiney in one volume as part of its programme to mark the Decade of Centenaries.

Mr Martin said The Art and Ideology of Terence MacSwiney: Caught in the Living Flame was an important work that would help people understand the sacrifice made by MacSwiney for Irish freedom when he died in Brixton prison on October 25th, 1920, after 74 days on hunger strike.

“This wonderful collection is the first time everyone has access to the remarkable diversity and ambition of Terence MacSwiney’s work. It will be a vital tool in ensuring that scholars and all interested in our past can incorporate MacSwiney in many more aspects of our national story.”

A playwright, author and politician, MacSwiney was also a leading figure within both the Irish Volunteers and Sinn Féin on Leeside, and he was elected lord mayor of Cork in March 1920 in succession to his good friend Tomás Mac Curtain following his murder by members of the Royal Irish Constabulary.

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On August 12th, 1920, MacSwiney was arrested for possession of “seditious articles and documents” and jailed for two years by a military tribunal, but he warned: “I have decided the term of my imprisonment. Whatever your government may do, I shall be free, alive or dead, within a month.”

MacSwiney’s hunger strike garnered world attention for the cause of Irish independence, with protests attracting tens of thousands of supporters in the United States and Australia, as well as in South America, India, Catalonia, France and Germany.

MacSwiney’s body lay in St George’s Cathedral, Southwark, London, where 30,000 people filed past it and the British authorities, fearing large-scale demonstrations in Dublin, diverted his coffin directly to Cork. His funeral in the North Cathedral on October 31st, 1920, attracted huge crowds.

Thousands lined the streets of Cork as MacSwiney’s remains were brought to St Finbarr’s Cemetery where he was buried in the republican plot following a graveside oration by founder of Sinn Féin, Arthur Griffith.

A prolific author on cultural and political matters, MacSwiney had written for the nationalist journal Irish Freedom, and a collection of his writings entitled Principles of Freedom was published posthumously in 1921 based on articles he had written for the journal in 1911 and 1912.

Those writings are incorporated within this new volume which has been compiled and edited by historian Gabriel Doherty, independent researcher Fiona Brennan, and Irish language and literature lecturer Neil Buttimer.

According to Mr Doherty, MacSwiney employed a variety of literary forms to express his support for the political separation of Ireland from Britain and the promotion of indigenous culture, but these writings were overshadowed by the manner of his death and many were unavailable to the public.

“The volume seeks to reawaken interest in this aspect of MacSwiney’s contribution to Irish life by making these texts available in a single volume for the first time. They cover the span of his adult life, from 1900 onwards. Firstly, as a published poet, then as a dramatist, and finally as a prose writer.

“While MacSwiney’s work as a member of Dáil Éireann, lord mayor of Cork and commandant of the Cork No 1 Brigade of the IRA, meant he had much less time to devote to his writings in the last 18 months of his life; the last texts included here date from just before his arrest and imprisonment.”

The volume, published by Cork University Press and launched by Mr Martin at a ceremony at Cork City Hall, includes a foreword by President Michael D Higgins, retired Cork city librarian Liam Ronayne and MacSwiney’s grandson, Cathal MacSwiney Brugha, as well as Mr Martin.

Paul Moynihan, director of services at Cork City Council, paid tribute to all involved in bringing the volume to fruition in advance of the 102nd anniversary of MacSwiney’s death.

“This new volume is an impressive body of work in its documentation and exploration of our city’s martyred lord mayor’s poetry, drama and prose. A significant contribution, it offers new insight and understanding of such an enigmatic figure in Cork city’s commemorative history.”

“The collaboration that has resulted in the publication of this landmark volume sees each editor focusing on individual areas of the poetry, drama and prose of MacSwiney in one significant volume, celebrating his literary talent,” he added.

Mr Moynihan said the work was a key piece of the Cork City Council’s commemorative programme and it had originally been planned for the 100th anniversary of his death in 2020 but was delayed by the Covid-19 pandemic.

The launch, in the Council Chamber at City Hall, was celebrated with a welcome from the Lord Mayor of Cork Cllr Deirdre Forde, selected readings by the editors and song by Máire Ní Chéileachair, including Shall My Soul Pass Through Old Ireland, written about Terence MacSwiney.