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Terence MacSwiney, the Republican martyr, became an enduring symbol of self-sacrifice and stoicism even before he died on a hunger strike 100 years ago.
His most famous statement, that it is not those who inflict the most suffering, but those who endure the most who will triumph, became axiomatic for freedom struggles around the world.
His death on hunger strike in London’s Brixton Prison on October 25, 1920 did more to raise the world’s conscience about what was happening in Ireland than any other act during the War of Independence.
MacSwiney left behind a 28-year-old widow, Muriel, and a two-year-old daughter, Máire. His death would deeply affect both women for the rest of their lives and lead to an irrevocable fight that lasted half a century.
Muriel Murphy was born into the Cork brewing dynasty of the same name. MacSwiney was 13 years older than her. He was of the opinion that he would never marry given his countless commitments to the cause of Irish republicanism, but he was in love with her and she with him.
She shared her passion for the national movement to the dismay of her family who opposed the party. She married him a few days after her 25th birthday, when she received her inheritance.
Máire, their only daughter, was born in 1918 while her father was in jail in Belfast. In January 1920, before becoming mayor of Cork, MacSwiney appointed his sister Mary as Máire’s joint guardian along with his wife.
Muriel MacSwiney was plagued with depression her entire life. She “suffered from her nerves” and “went to bed” to use the language of the time. He had moments of great tenderness and also inexplicable cruelty.
When Máire was four years old, her mother warned her that if she didn’t eat an egg she would leave her.
“I thought this was unlikely to happen, so I refused to obey her,” wrote Máire MacSwiney in her memoir History’s Child. “But, sure enough, she left the next day. It was two weeks after my fourth birthday that she left, and I didn’t see her again for about 18 months. I would soon learn not to be bothered by his frequent disappearances. ”
As a woman of some media, Muriel MacSwiney could afford to seek the best treatments and left Ireland in 1924 to live in Germany, bringing Máire with her. He placed his daughter in boarding school and moved to Paris, where he became a communist in reaction to his privileged upbringing, as many did at the time.
Mother and daughter only met during school holidays and the MacSwiney family in Ireland began to worry about Máire’s well-being. When they visited her in Germany in 1931, Máire fled the adoptive family she was staying with and returned to Ireland with Terence MacSwiney’s sister, Mary MacSwiney.
In the subsequent court case, Máire sided with her aunt against her mother and chose to live with the MacSwineys in Cork. Muriel MacSwiney disowned her daughter and never spoke to her again.
In 1945, Máire MacSwiney married Ruairi Brugha, son of Cathal Brugha. The couple had lost their parents at an early age during the revolutionary period. Cathal Brugha was one of the first fatalities of the Civil War. He was shot dead in July 1922 by Treaty forces.
Ruairi Brugha came to resent the death of his father, stating in a 2003 documentary titled “When Ruairi Met Máire” that it was a waste.
Máire MacSwiney said in the documentary about her own father’s sacrifice: “It didn’t seem right to leave a child, but that attitude was common back then. The same happened with those who died in Flanders for king and country. They did not think of women or children. They were doing their duty. ”
Ruairi and Máire had four children. The youngest, Professor Ruairi Brugha, says he does not recall his mother ever questioning, despite the impact that his father’s death had on her, the veracity of Terence MacSwiney’s decision.
“My mother and father were both from one generation, undoubtedly heavily influenced by their own parents, who believed in patriotism and self-sacrifice for the welfare of the country,” he said.
“I don’t know if there is an objective perspective on such a decision. I think a reading of the biographies and source material on Terence would show that he weighed the competing duties and responsibilities of being a father and husband against the potential of his action to advance the cause of Irish freedom, and made his decision; but that he was very concerned about the consequences of that decision, partly because of Muriel’s mental fragility and the potential impact on his daughter. Hence his decision to give his sister a guardian role. ”
Professor Brugha says that he still gets emotional thinking about the circumstances of his mother’s escape from Germany.
He believes that his mother sympathized with his own mother, as they both suffered from depression. Professor Brugha acknowledges that Muriel MacSwiney would be diagnosed today with bipolar disorder, which would largely explain her behavior.
“Muriel lost her husband in Ireland. Unfortunately, Muriel was putting her own convictions first and the interests of a vulnerable young girl, her daughter, were second, ”said Professor Brugha.
“When my mother was finally given the option, for the first time, to have a normal family, she accepted that option.
“In terms of our upbringing, both my mother and father protected us from being overly romantic, thinking of ourselves as special because of who our grandparents were.”
Professor Brugha is Retired Professor Emeritus of Public Health and Epidemiology at the Royal College of Surgeons of Ireland (RCSI).
At the start of the pandemic, he was a prominent voice on Irish radio waves talking about Covid-19. He says he has been thinking a lot about the lessons to be learned from the life of Terence MacSwiney that could be applicable to the current situation the country is in.
The circumstances of his death overshadowed the work Terence MacSwiney did in his life to improve the lot of others, he believes.
In the nine months that he was mayor, he established a commission to implement a minimum wage in Cork, removed all public appointments from sponsorship, and started child welfare grants.
“I was not looking to die. I was looking to improve people’s lives, ”said Professor Brugha.
“None of us are going to be called on a hunger strike, none of us are being called to die by the people around us. As a patriot, he was willing to put other people first. The only way we will control Covid-19 is if we achieve a high level of compliance by doing the things we all need to do.
“Covid asks all of us to make sacrifices for the benefit of others and I think that’s the connection to Terence MacSwiney.”
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