Crowds Mourning Terence MacSwiney
© Cork Public Museum.
© Cork Public Museum.
Peaceful Resistance
After his arrest, MacSwiney immediately went on hunger strike. He was imprisoned in Brixton Prison, where his continuing hunger strike attracted worldwide attention.
As the hunger strike continued, the British government was threatened with a boycott of English goods by North America, and four countries in South America appealed to the Pope to intervene in the standoff.
McSwiney died on 25 October 1920 after 74 days on hunger strike, and his body was brought home for burial. He lies beside Tomás MacCurtain in the Republican plot in Saint Finbarr's Cemetery in Cork.
MacSwiney's funeral on the 31 October 1920 attracted huge crowds. Large crowds gathered at Carnegie Library on Angelsea Street to sign a Book of Condolences.
Terence MacSwiney's Funeral
© Cork Public Museum.
© Cork Public Museum.
In this image, you can see the enormous crowds that lined the streets as Terence MacSwiney's coffin was carried to its final resting place.