Seán MacSwiney (19 March 1878 – 22 January 1942) was an officer in the

Irish Republican Army The Irish Republican Army (IRA) is a name used by various Resistance movement, resistance organisations in Ireland throughout the 20th and 21st centuries. Organisations by this name have been dominantly Catholic and dedicated to anti-imperiali ...

and

Sinn Féin Sinn Féin ( ; ; ) is an Irish republican and democratic socialist political party active in both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. The History of Sinn Féin, original Sinn Féin organisation was founded in 1905 by Arthur Griffit ...

politician.

Biography

He was born at 23 North Main Street,

Cork city Cork ( ; from , meaning 'marsh') is the second-largest city in Republic of Ireland, Ireland, the county town of County Cork, the largest city in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster and the List of settlements on the island of Ireland ...

to John McSwiney, a tobacco manufacturer, and Mary Wilkinson. He was the brother of

Terence MacSwiney Terence James MacSwiney (; ; 28 March 1879 – 25 October 1920) was an Irish playwright, author and politician. He was elected as Sinn Féin Lord Mayor of Cork during the Irish War of Independence in 1920. He was arrested by the British Governme ...

and

Mary MacSwiney Mary MacSwiney (pronounced 'MacSweeney'; ; 27 March 1872 – 8 March 1942) was an Irish republican activist and politician, as well as a teacher. MacSwiney was thrust into both the national and international spotlight in 1920 when her brother ...

. In 1914, he was in Canada, where spent time in custody as a result of his activities against conscription when it was introduced during

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

. During the

Irish War of Independence The Irish War of Independence (), also known as the Anglo-Irish War, was a guerrilla war fought in Ireland from 1919 to 1921 between the Irish Republican Army (1919–1922), Irish Republican Army (IRA, the army of the Irish Republic) and Unite ...

, he served as an officer in Cork No 1 Brigade in the

. Terence, then a Sinn Féin

Teachta Dála A Teachta Dála ( ; ; plural ), abbreviated as TD (plural ''TDanna'' in Irish language, Irish, TDs in English), is a member of Dáil Éireann, the lower house of the Oireachtas, the parliament of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. The official Engli ...

(TD) and the

Lord Mayor of Cork The Lord Mayor of Cork () is the honorific title of the Chairperson () of Cork City Council which is the local government body for the city of Cork in Ireland. The office holder is elected annually by the members of the Council. The incumbent ...

, died on

hunger strike A hunger strike is a method of non-violent resistance where participants fasting, fast as an act of political protest, usually with the objective of achieving a specific goal, such as a policy change. Hunger strikers that do not take fluids are ...

in 1920. He was elected at the 1921 elections for the Cork Mid, North, South, South East and West constituency and became a member of the

Second Dáil The second (symbol: s) is a unit of time derived from the division of the day first into 24 hours, then to 60 minutes, and finally to 60 seconds each (24 × 60 × 60 = 86400). The current and formal definition in the International System of Un ...

. His sister Mary was elected for the Cork Borough constituency at the same election. Captured in 1921, he was sentenced to death, later commuted to 15 years' penal servitude. A few months into his sentence, in April 1921, he escaped from Spike Island. He opposed the

Anglo-Irish Treaty The 1921 Anglo-Irish Treaty (), commonly known in Ireland as The Treaty and officially the Articles of Agreement for a Treaty Between Great Britain and Ireland, was an agreement between the government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain an ...

and voted against it (as did his sister Mary). During the

Irish Civil War The Irish Civil War (; 28 June 1922 – 24 May 1923) was a conflict that followed the Irish War of Independence and accompanied the establishment of the Irish Free State, an entity independent from the United Kingdom but within the British Emp ...

, he was quartermaster for the 1st Southern Division of the anti-Treaty IRA and served on the IRA executive. He evaded capture until after the IRA called a ceasefire, and in November 1923 he was arrested in Kerry and interned. He was defeated at the 1922 general election. In 1933, standing on a Republican ticket, he was elected to

Cork Corporation Cork City Council () is the local authority of the city of Cork in Ireland. As a city council, it is governed by the Local Government Act 2001. Before 1 January 2002, the council was known as Cork Corporation. The council is responsible for ho ...

. In 1936 MacSwiney and

Tomás Mac Curtain Tomás Mac Curtain (20 March 1884 – 20 March 1920) was an Irish Sinn Féin politician who served as the Lord Mayor of Cork until he was assassinated by the Royal Irish Constabulary. He was elected in January 1920. Background Tomás Mac Curt ...

's son Tomas Og were imprisoned in

Arbour Hill Arbour Hill () is an area of Dublin within the inner city on the Northside (Dublin), Northside of the River Liffey, in the Dublin 7 postal district. Arbour Hill, the road of the same name, runs west from Blackhall Place in Stoneybatter, and sep ...

.MacEoin, Uinseann (1997), ''The IRA in the Twilight Years 1923-1948'', Argenta Publications, Dublin, pg 65, ISBN 0951117246 He died, aged 63, at Glenvera private hospital, Cork.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Macswiney, Sean 1878 births 1942 deaths Early Sinn Féin TDs Irish Republican Army (1919–1922) members Irish Republican Army (1922–1969) members Members of the 2nd Dáil People of the Irish Civil War (Anti-Treaty side) Politicians from County Cork

Sean Sean, also spelled Seán or Séan in Hiberno-English, is a male given name of Irish origin. It comes from the Irish versions of the Biblical Hebrew name '' Yohanan'' (), Seán ( anglicized as '' Shaun/ Shawn/ Shon'') and Séan (Ulster variant; a ...

Biography

See also

References