Cork's Kilmainham Ep. 3: The Chain, the Cell and the Hunger Strike

Cork's Kilmainham Episode 3: The Chain, the Cell and the Hunger Strike

In Episode 3 of Cork's Kilmainham, we follow the extraordinary story of Terence MacSwiney, from prisoner in the aftermath of the 1916 Rising to Lord Mayor of Cork, and finally back into British military custody at the Cork Military Detention Barracks.

The episode begins in the shadow of Thomas Kent's execution in May 1916, as Cork Volunteers were arrested, imprisoned and deported. Among them were Tomás MacCurtain and Terence MacSwiney, two men who would go from detention cells to Cork City Hall within four years.

We trace the political transformation that followed: the 1918 general election, the establishment of Dáil Éireann, the Democratic Programme, the rise of the Republican courts, and Cork Corporation's decision to recognise the authority of the Irish Republic.

Then came the murder of Tomás MacCurtain in March 1920 and MacSwiney's election as Lord Mayor.

In August 1920, British forces raided Cork City Hall and arrested MacSwiney. He was brought directly to the Cork Military Detention Barracks, where he refused to surrender the Lord Mayor's chain and began the hunger strike that would ultimately make his name known across the world.

The episode also looks at the remarkable Prudential Assurance Company case, a powerful example of just how far Republican institutions had begun to exercise real authority in Cork by the summer of 1920.

From Cork to Brixton Prison, the story then became international. MacSwiney's hunger strike inspired protests, demonstrations and industrial action across Europe and the United States, from New York to Barcelona.

After 74 days without food, Terence MacSwiney died in Brixton Prison on 25 October 1920.

But the story began in Cork.

Inside a building that still stands today.

The Cork Military Detention Barracks was the place where Thomas Kent was executed, where Cork Volunteers were imprisoned and deported, and where Terence MacSwiney began the hunger strike that shook the world.