Terence MacSwiney Letters 1917-1918

Repository: Cork City and County Archives

Identity Statement

TitleTerence MacSwiney Letters 1917-1918
Archive ReferenceIE CCCA/SM/759
Web Link to this Entryhttps://iar.ie/archive/terence-macswiney-letters-1917-1918
Creation DatesMay 1917-Apr 1918
Extent Medium3 items

Context

Creator(s): MacSwiney, Terence (1879-1920), Lord Mayor of Cork.

  • Administrative History ↴

    Terence MacSwiney, republican politician and Lord Mayor of Cork, also Commanding Officer of Cork No.1 Brigade, Irish Volunteers / Irish Republican Army. Elected to the First Dáil as TD for the Mid-Cork area. Elected Lord Mayor of Cork following the murder of Lord Mayor Tomás MacCurtain in March 1920. Died on hunger strike at Brixton Prison, London in Oct. 1920.
  • Archival History ↴

    Donated by Maura Morrish and Antoin O’Callaghan in 2010.
  • Immediate Source Acquisition ↴

    Donation

Content & Structure

  • Scope & Content: MacSwiney, Terence (1879-1920), Lord Mayor of Cork. ↴

    1. 16 May 1917
    MS. letter from MacSwiney, 39 High Street, [Brown Yard, W. Worcester], to ‘My dear Fred’, Fred Murray, Sunday’s Well, Cork. Concerns personal matters including hunting. ‘I want the latest news from the Stalls. How about the Harriers? …there isn’t a decent dog or a decent man in these parts. You could tramp the hills here any day without hearing a hound give tongue! a most unhappy land….I can’t help thinking of my last Sunday in the South side. I was out with three good dog fanciers, two of them from the South Parish….’.
    (2pp)

    2. ‘Easter Monday Night’ [?1 Apr 1918]
    MS. letter from MacSwiney to [Fred Murray, Sunday’s Well], Cork, entitled ‘Notes on Training contd.’, relating to training of Irish Volunteers Cork Corps covering mobilisation, section commanders, attack and defence, night operations, cyclists, wireless, target practice, bayonet fighting, conscription plan, pistol and revolver shooting, close quarter fighting. ‘My belief is that we should mobilise our men as a force [and] take the field…. I hope to be with you before anything happens. I’m racking my brain to think of a plan for getting out of a crisis. Enemy on the alert. Police reported to Dublin that they could hear us drilling…Good luck to all the boys…’.
    (7pp)

    3. 3 April 1918
    MS. letter from MacSwiney to ‘F’ (Fred Murray, Sunday’s Well), ‘This is my third letter. Concerns organisation and training of the Cork Corps Irish Volunteers, such as, ‘Officers Class…try and keep this going…a lot of useful matter in Major Casserley’s Book…. most important matter [is] Demolitions and Barricades..’, and such as ‘F, G & H Companies’, Riverstown Coy (7) most important as they have a fair amount of stuff…’, and such as ‘Camps’, ‘General Equipment’, ‘Conscription’, ‘…This morning’s papers show a toning down by England. If they’re going to wait on Convention – we may be out of time without any difficulty. Some think they may patch up a bit [and] give amnesty ‘as usual’, [and] then try conscription. They are idiots enough for anything….’. (3pp)

  • Appraisal Destruction ↴

    Permanent Retention
  • Arrangement ↴

    Chronological

Conditions of Access & Use

Access Conditions Open by appointment to those holding a current reader's ticket.
Conditions Governing ReproductionSubject to rules governing reproduction of records of CCCA.
Creation DatesMay 1917-Apr 1918
Extent Medium3 items
Material Language ScriptEnglish
Finding Aids Series/Item level description Archive Web Link →

Allied Materials

Related MaterialCCCA: PR/4 Terence MacSwiney Lord Mayor Files U/71 Terence MacSwiney, Diary and Memorial Card CP/CO/M Cork City Council Minute Books

Descriptive Control Area

Archivist NoteBrian McGee
Rules/ConventionsISAD(G): General International Standard Archival Description. 2nd ed. Ottowa: International Council on Archives, 2000.
Date of Descriptions40634