Michael Fitzgerald also known as Mick Fitzgerald, (December 1881 – 17 October 1920) was an Irish militant and Republican activist who was among the first members of the Irish Republican Army and played a significant role in organising it. He rose to the rank of Commandant, Officer Commanding (OC) in the First Battalion, Cork Number 2 Brigade. He died during the 1920 Cork hunger strike at Cork Gaol. Fitzgerald led 65 men in the hunger strike which was in protest at their detention without being either charged or convicted of any crime.[1] The hunger strike is credited with bringing additional world-wide attention to the Irish cause for independence.[2]
Early life
editBorn in Ballyoran, Fermoy, County Cork, Fitzgerald was educated at the Christian Brothers school in the town and subsequently found work as a mill worker in the locality. He joined the Irish Volunteers in 1914 and was involved in building the local organisation – which later became the Irish Republican Army (IRA). He rose to the rank of Battalion Commandant, 1st Battalion, Cork No.2 Brigade.[3][4][5]
IRA activities
editOn Easter Sunday 20 April 1919, Michael Fitzgerald led a small group of IRA volunteers who captured the Royal Irish Constabulary barracks at Araglin in County Cork on the border with County Tipperary. He was subsequently arrested and sentenced to three months imprisonment at Cork Gaol.[6] Fitzgerald was released from prison in August 1919 and immediately returned to active IRA duty. He was involved in the holding up of a party of British Army troops at the Wesleyan church in Fermoy. The troops were disarmed and one of them was killed.[3]Arrested and held on remand, Mick Fitzgerald felt that the only chance he had for release was via a hunger strike.[7]
1920 hunger strike
edit
Michael Fitzgerald, along with Terence MacSwiney and nine other IRA volunteers, were arrested on 8 August 1920. On 11 August 1920, MacSwiney began a hunger strike in Brixton Gaol. Fitzgerald and the other nine volunteers at Cork Gaol joined the strike. Twenty-four-year-old Fitzgerald was the first to die on 17 October 1920 as a result of his sixty seven day fast.[8][9] Days before his death, the authorities refused Fitzgerald permission to marry his fiancée.[10] He was followed by Joe Murphy and Terence McSwiney.[3] Their deaths are credited with bringing world-wide attention to the Irish cause for independence and occurred before the largest hunger strike in Irish history - the 1923 Irish Hunger Strikes.[4]
Gravesite
editMichael Fitzgerald is buried at Kilcrumper Cemetery, on the outskirts of Fermoy. A road was also named after him in Togher, Cork.[3]
Also buried in the Republican Plot in Fermoy is Liam Lynch, who was killed by Free State troops in April 1923. His last wish was to be buried with his friend and comrade, Mick Fitzgerald.[11]
During a November 2008 visit to Fermoy, County Cork, then Sinn Féin vice-president Pat Doherty laid a wreath at Fitzgerald's grave. In a speech, he compared Fitzgerald's sacrifice to that of the 1981 hunger strikers.[11]
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ Dwyer, Ryle (13 August 2019). "Death of MacSwiney had enormous significance as prisoners hunger strike drew global coverage". Irish Examiner. Retrieved 1 October 2023.
- ^ Macardle, Dorothy (1965). The Irish Republic. New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux. pp. 391–392.
- ^ a b c d Cork Jail Memorial Souvenir (pamphlet), 1948, Cló na Laoí (The Lee Press), Cork.
- ^ a b Peter Hart. Rebel Cork's Fighting Story. 1916-21. Told by the Men Who Made It. Edited by Peter Hart. Mercier Press, Cork 2009. Pages 117-120.
- ^ Peter Hart. The I.R.A and Its Enemies: Violence and Community in Cork 1916-1923. Oxford University Press. 1998. pp 248-249.
- ^ "Commandant Michael Fitzgerald". Homepage.eircom.net. Retrieved 21 May 2014.
- ^ Collins, Lorcan, (2019), Irelands War of Independence 1919-1921, The O'Brien Press, Dublin, pg 154 ISBN 978-1-84717-950-0
- ^ Copyright, 1920, by The New York Times Company. Special Cable to THE NEW YORK TIMES. (18 October 1920). "October 17, 1920 Michael Fitzgerald". New York Times. Retrieved 2 June 2014.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ^ "HUNGER STRIKER DIES IN CORK JAIL AFTER 68-DAY FAST" (PDF). New York Times. 17 October 1920. Retrieved 2 August 2022.
- ^ O'Halpin, Eunan & Ó Corráin, Daithí (2020), The Dead of the Irish Revolution, Yale University Press, 2020. p. 196
- ^ a b "Commandant Mick Fitzgerald honoured". An Phoblacht. Retrieved 21 May 2014.