The new play Mac Swiney marks the centenary of the death of Terence Mac Swiney, albeit one year late due to the pandemic, who died while on hunger strike in Brixton Gaol on the 25 October 1920.
From Cork, Terence Mac Swiney was a playwright, author and politician.
He was elected as Lord Mayor of Cork during the Irish War of Independence in 1920.
He was arrested by the British government on charges of sedition and imprisoned in Brixton Prison.
His death there after 74 days on hunger strikes and brought him and the Irish Republican campaign to international attention.
His death was pivotal in Ireland’s fight for independence because it happened on British soil within a prison hospital under the watchful eye of medical staff who tried to keepMac Swiney alive.
Events also took place under the scrutiny of the British press and world public opinion much of which was sympathetic toMac Swiney’s plight – and indeed, the plight of Ireland at that time.
The play also features Tomás Mac Curtáin who was killed by British forces some months earlier, and highlights the remarkable life of MurielMac Swiney who went on to play a pivotal role during the course of Irish history.
Mac Swiney, written and directed by John Dunne, comes from London Irish Theatre and is supported by the London Cork Association.
Mac Swiney plays at Etcetera Theatre (above the Oxford Arms), 265 Camden High Street, NW1 7BU 25- 26 July 2021.
