The Cordova daily times., 1920-10-25

have been welcomed by the whole public but his family were as firm as MacSwiney in refusing to listen to any end except release or death. There can be no doubt the Irish republicans believed MacSwiney had given their cause the most valuable service in his power and that, like John Brown he will trouble you more than ever when you have nailed his coffin down.
 MacSwiney's hunger strike was be- gun on August 12 when, with ten of his associates, he was arrested by soldiers in Cork while attending a session of Sim Fein .. court After trial by courtmartial under the regulations of the Defense of the Realm Act, he was found guilty of sedition and sentenced to two years Imprisonment, which he was serving in BriXton prison in London.
 MacSwiney, then an alderman of Cork, was elected lord mayor of the city at special session of the Cork corporation on March 30 of this year. He was well-known Sim Fein leader and, prior to his election, had been deported and inn prisoned several times, one of the latest notable instances of his con. finement having been in 1916 in con- nection with the Irish Easter re- volt
 When arrested on August 12. Mac SWiney managed to escape to the street from the back of the city hall. which soldiers had surrounded, but was captured outside. He was taken to the military barracks and came up for trial on August IS. The court martial found him guilty of having control of the secret police cipher. of having in his possession a docu- ment likely to cause dissatisfaction. namely, copy of resolution of the Cork corporation pledging al legiance to the Dali Eireann, the Irish republican parliament. and of having made a seritious speech on the occasion of his election
 Already weak at the trial because of {n t,1- IT., Swiney disputed the jurisdiction of the court, saying: q am the lord mayor of this city and it's chief magistrate. I declare this court il- legal and those taking part in it liable to arrest under the laws of the Irish republic"
 The day following his trial, Lord Mayor MacSwiney was deported to England aboard destroyer, under a heavy military escort and was lodged in BriXton jail. The gov ernment announced on August 19 that he was sentenced to two years imprisonment.
 MacSwiney's hunger strike brought numerous solicitations and protests to the British authorities, many of the appeals being from sympathizers in the United States. Even a threat from the Sim Fein in Ireland. that, in the event of his death, a general strike and serious disturbances would prevail throughout the island An appeal was taken directly to the king but this proved unavailing.
 During his Imprisonment, the lord mayor received numerous messages of encouragemet anl also petitions to abandon his strike He replied to the latter that if he gave up his fight he would "give away Irish liberty" and that he would rather die than do that"
 Replying to reports that susten, ance was being given Mayor Mac SWiney, the British home office de- clared Eff he is being fed we do not know it." while members of Mac Swiney's family denied categOrically that food had been given him.
 Peter MacSwiney of New York, brother of the lord mayor is an official of the American commission for Irish independence.