More than 1,000 British Home Office files relating to the last days of the life of the former Lord Mayor of Cork, Terence MacSwiney, were handed over to Cork Public Museum yesterday.
The huge collection of documents includes harrowing medical reports detailing Mr MacSwiney's final days while on hunger strike in Brixton prison.
Mr MacSwiney, the Commandant of the Cork IRA, was given a two-year sentence at his court martial in Cork on August 16th, 1920, for having "seditious" documents. He died after 75 days on hunger strike on October 25th, 1920 in jail.
According to Ms Samantha Melia, assistant museum curator, the collection gives a superb account of the Lord Mayor's last days. "This collection is of huge benefit to historians and to the general public who wish to understand more about Terence MacSwiney.
"We already have a large collection of documents which have been handed over to us by his family, but this completes the collection. "Terence MacSwiney is a much overlooked member of the Republican movement during the War of Independence and this will help us record the fact that he made the ultimate sacrifice for his beliefs."
Many of the documents are records from doctors in the jail who watched over Mr MacSwiney's deteriorating condition. On one occasion the papers read that W D Higson said on August 20th that the prisoner felt as though he was "getting dried up". The papers also document doctors' efforts to feed MacSwiney as he drifted in and out of consciousness during his final days. The medics insisted this was not "forcible feeding" but MacSwiney's wife Muriel and sisters Mary and Annie accused the authorities of prolonging his discomfort.
"The collection includes paper cuttings, telegrams from the government and the King, as well as declarations of support for his cause. They do make for harrowing reading but it is very important to record this". London-based librarian Mr Frank Small was instrumental in securing the papers.
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