Fado o shin, before the Celtic Tiger, Eircom, tribunals and scandals, there were people in Ireland who lived, not for money and self-advancement, but for a great ideal - an independent Ireland, with a just social order, its own language and culture as a central part of its self-esteem, and a noble and positive influence on the entire world.
Such a man was Terence McSwiney, Lord Mayor of Cork, who died in Brixton Prison, London, after a 73-day hunger strike on October 25th, 1920. His sacrifice did more than any other incident to draw worldwide attention to Ireland's struggle for independence.
As a young man, he was influenced by Conrad na Gaeilge, that remarkable organisation that halted the decline of the Irish language, restored national morale and had a decisive influence on the social and political history of Ireland.
Literary output
McSwiney was one of its foremost intellectuals. His literary output was remarkable, considering his many other commitments: he wrote seven plays and over 40 poems and newspaper articles, some of which were published in book form as The Principles of Free- dom. In them he showed his anger at "the bribes of those in power to maintain their ascendancy, the barter of every principle by time-servers, the corruption of public life and the apathy of private life . . ." These words could raise, in some minds, an unhappy parallel with present-day Ireland.
He worked as an accountant in one of the biggest wholesale merchants in Ireland - Dwyers of Washington Street, Cork - and later became a teacher of commercial subjects with the Technical Instruction Committee of Co Cork. He was associated with the foundation of the Irish Volunteers in 1914 and, together with Tomas McCurtain, kept a strong organisation going in Co Cork after the split with John Redmond, who supported the war against Germany.
After the 1916 Rising he was interned in Reading Jail and in Frongoch Camp in Wales. When released, he took a leading part in reorganising the volunteers and in building up Sinn Fein as a strong political movement. The party won an overwhelming majority in the 1918 elections.
McSwiney was elected as TD for mid-Cork and, as expected, the new Dail Eireann formally proclaimed Ireland as an independent democratic republic. He helped Michael Collins, who was also Minister for Finance, to raise a loan to finance Dail Eireann and he took a major part in setting up the Sinn Fein courts that undermined the imperial legal system. In the subsequent War of Independence, McSwiney was OC of the first Cork Brigade, Irish Republican Army.
The 1920 local elections saw Sinn Fein returned with an overwhelming majority in the corporations, town councils, and county councils in most of Ireland. McSwiney was elected to Cork Corporation and after the murder of Lord Mayor Tomas McCurtain by British agents, he was selected as his successor.
Court martial
Arrested on trumped-up charges, he was court-martialled but challenged the jurisdiction of the court and announced his intention to refuse to take food or drink until he was released - alive or dead. Transferred to Brixton Prison, he went on hunger strike. This, as the weeks continued, aroused worldwide interest and then worldwide sympathy.
During the long agony in Brixton Prison, politicians and newspapers debated what was to be done in this extraordinary situation. The Lord Mayor of the third largest city in Ireland was openly challenging the might of the British Empire. King George argued for his release, as he had previously protested to the politicians about Black and Tan atrocities in Ireland - but to no avail.
Even after McSwiney's death, the British government continued to blunder. Bishop Amigo of Southwark Cathedral defied the government and allowed the remains to lie in state there. As the cortege passed, the London streets were lined with tens of thousands of English people who stood in respectful silence.
The funeral, planned to go through Dublin, was diverted by force from Holyhead to Cork, where large crowds attended it. There were scores of priests in attendance and several bishops at the Requiem Mass, a clear warning to the British government that it could no longer count on the Catholic Church to prop up a discredited empire and the undemocratic regime in Ireland. The government noted with dismay that nearly all the English newspapers denounced its action in the McSwiney case and many, led by the Manchester Guardian, challenged the entire war policy in Ireland.
Memorial services
The world's press also was almost unanimous in denouncing the British Government. Memorial services were held in many cities throughout the world and La Scala opera house in Milan was closed in sympathy with McSwiney's sacrifice. The international humiliation, combined with the deteriorating military situation in Ireland, forced the British Government eventually to negotiate with Dail Eireann.
McSwiney's death encouraged freedom movements throughout the entire world and it is of special interest that Gandhi, the architect of Indian independence, acknowledged McSwiney as the inspiration of his life's work.
The "me fein" Ireland of today may be unworthy of McSwiney's sacrifice. But by his suffering and death he dealt a mortal blow to the prestige of the greatest empire this world has known. Like the heroes of 1916 he set in train a series of events that led to the collapse of that empire and all other empires, and for that humanity owes McSwiney a debt of gratitude.
He was the greatest Corkman of the last, or any other century. Solas na bhFlatheas da anam.