Mary MacSwiney

Terence MacSwiney’s sister Mary MacSwiney at Mountjoy Prison in Dublin during the hunger strike. Her brother Terence died at Brixton Prison in London after a hunger strike of 74 days. Picture: Topical Press Agency/Getty Images

With a roll call of political achievements in her own right — including Sinn Féin leadership in 1927 — and lauded for her oratory and publicity prowess, much of Mary MacSwiney’s activities in 1920, unsurprisingly, revolved around her younger brother Terence.

An outspoken powerhouse and school teacher, Mary was a member of the Women’s Franchise League, the Gaelic League, Inghinidhe na hÉireann, and was a founding member of Cork’s Cumann na mBan — the inaugural meeting of which was held in the MacSwiney home. Prior to 1920, due to her republican activities and connections to Terence, Mary was arrested mid-lesson in her St Angela’s College classroom and subsequently dismissed from her teaching post.