A Gun and its Story: The Assassination of Oswald Swanzy

The man deemed the prime instigator in the murder of Tomás MacCurtain left Cork under an assumed name but was tracked down and killed by the IRA, writes Kieran McCarthy

People gather outside the home of Tomás MacCurtain the day after his murder. March 1920. Tomas MacCurtain 100

By day 12 of the inquest into the murder of Cork Lord Mayor Tomás MacCurtain, the true extent and scale of the involvement of the local Royal Irish Constabulary and Detective Inspector Oswald Swanzy was evident.

It was clear that his shooting was sanctioned by the British government and the RIC and organised and facilitated on the ground in Cork.