Campaign to save old Cork Prison supported by Terence MacSwiney's grandson

Plans to demolish the former jail to build two new prison facilities stand opposed by local residents and campaigners

The 'old' Cork Prison, of which campaigners are seeking to turn into a heritage site. 

A campaign to save the former Cork Prison has been supported by the grandson of Terence MacSwiney, a figurehead in Ireland’s fight for independence who spent some of his final days in the building.

Plans by the State to demolish the former jail and build two new prisons have been opposed by local residents and campaigners, who are calling for it to be preserved as a heritage site instead.

Now, Cathal MacSwiney Brugha, the grandson of former Lord Mayor of Cork Terence MacSwiney, has joined the campaign to save the jail.

“Cathal never got to know his grandad but he grew up knowing that he sacrificed everything for Irish freedom," said podcaster, historian, and former Sinn Féin councillor Eolan Ryng..

“This building is the last standing public building his grandad spent time in in Cork in his final weeks. 

"It is the place he started his hunger strike and it is where he left from for Brixton Jail where he would ultimately die.

“This campaign is about making sure future generations know his name and his story. It is about giving them a place to learn, to remember and to connect with men like MacSwiney and MacCurtain.” 

MacSwiney was an important leader and intellectual during Ireland’s fight for independence.

He was a playwright and a Sinn Féin politician who served as Lord Mayor for Cork during the Irish War of Independence in 1920.

However, he was arrested by British forces on charges of sedition and was imprisoned, first in Cork and then in Brixton.

He died there after 74 days on hunger strike.

Cork historian Jim Hegarty is also now supporting the campaign to save the former gaol.

Mr Ryng said: “To have people like Cathal MacSwiney Brugha and Jim Hegarty, known for his brilliant work on history in Cork, on board is hugely significant and means an awful lot to myself and the campaign as a whole.

“Putting a wrecking ball through our history would be wrong. 

"I hope the support from Cathal MacSwiney Brugha will help ensure the right decision is made.” 

The State previously announced that the old prison is to be demolished and two new prison facilities — one for 230 men and the other for 100 women — are to be constructed.