Cork hunger strike ends after 94 days
Bishop says more death would be a ‘useless sacrifice’
Cork, 13 November 1920 - 94 days after it began, the hunger strike in Cork Gaol has come to an end.
The nine surviving hunger strikers, whose ‘bodies have been practically reduced to skeletons’ according to the Irish Independent, will now begin their recovery following an intervention by the Bishop of Cork, Daniel Cohalan, and the Sinn Féin TD, Arthur Griffith.
The intervention followed the recent deaths of Michael Fitzgerald and Joseph Murphy in Cork Gaol and of the former Lord Mayor of Cork, Terence MacSwiney, in Brixton Prison.
In a letter to the press, Bishop Cohalan pleaded for the strike, which began on 11 August, to end to avoid further loss of life. The bishop maintained that the death of the Lord Mayor in particular had ‘drawn the attention of the world to the cause of Ireland’ and that the deaths of more hunger strikers could do no more than that which had already been done.
Bishop Cohalan acknowledged the ‘heroic sacrifice’ of the late Lord Mayor, but added that the ‘morale of the nation can be maintained without the useless sacrifice of valuable lives. In war the useless waste of troops is avoided. This hunger strike should be ended at once, and every effort should be made to nurse these brave men back to health.’
READ: Dr William Murphy on hunger strike and Ireland in 1920
Arthur Griffith added his support to this appeal when he expressed his opinion that their ‘heroic sacrifice’ had already achieved the desired result. Mr Griffith, whose message was conveyed in a letter via the new Lord Mayor of Cork, Dónal Ó Ceallacháin, said that the men in Cork Gaol ‘should now, as they were prepared to die for Ireland, prepare again to live for Ireland’.
Mr Griffith added that the hunger strike was a completely voluntary action so he could not order the men to end it, but it was his earnest belief that this was the correct course of action.
The end of the hunger strike will come as a great relief to many who have followed the prisoners’ pitiful plight.
The nine surviving hunger strikers are John Crowley, Peter Crowley, Thomas Donovan, Michael Burke, Michael O’Reilly, Christopher Upton, John Power, Joseph Kenny and Seán Hennessy. They have now been given their first nourishment in 94 days. A statement issued from Dublin Castle says that ‘no unfavourable symptoms occurred as a result of their first meal’.
Dr William Murphy joins Myles Dungan on RTÉ Radio 1's History Show to discuss the Irish hunger strikes in 1920. Broadcast on 5 April 1920.
[Editor's note: This is an article from Century Ireland, a fortnightly online newspaper, written from the perspective of a journalist 100 years ago, based on news reports of the time.]
