Pillowcase of Terence MacSwiney
On October 25th 1920, Terence MacSwiney, Lord Mayor of Cork and Commander of the Cork No 1 Brigade of the IRA, died on hunger strike while imprisoned in Brixton Prison.
On August 12th, 300 British soldiers raided Cork City Hall and arrested MacSwiney and 11 other IRA officers. All the men were later released, except for MacSwiney, who was found in possession of a RIC cipher and other documents related to Dáil Eireann. He was charged with sedition and remanded in custody. He immediately went on hunger strike. After his arrest, MacSwiney was brought before a British Army court-martial in Victoria Barracks, Cork. He refused to recognise the court’s authority. As he was already on hunger strike, he declared that he would soon be ‘free, alive or dead’. He was sentenced to two years imprisonment at Brixton Prison. MacSwiney lasted 74 days on hunger strike. His death brought world-wide attention to the cause of Irish Independence and contributed to the negative international perspective of British policy in Ireland.
This is the pillowcase that MacSwiney died on in Brixton Prison. This ordinary but poignant object is a powerful testament to the suffering MacSwiney endured for the sake of Irish independence.