‘SINN FEINER’S EXECUTION – CORK HONOURS THE DEAD’ was the headline on The Daily Mirror on November 1, 1920. The Sinn
An historic copy of the Daily Mirror UPDATE:THIS MADE 200 AT HAMMER
Feiner referred to was Kevin Barry, scheduled to be executed at 8 am on that morning, as Cork honoured its Lord Mayor Terence McSwiney, who had died in Brixton Prison on October 25 after 74 days on hunger strike.
As a newspaper man it strikes me as an impressive and startling front page, dealing simultaneously with two major stories, composed almost entirely of photographs and captions and full of visual impact. We know the sorry history of these tragic deaths and their historical importance, here they are being played out in real time. A copy of the newspaper is lot 147 at the annual James Adam History Sale in Dublin on April 24 at 6 pm, estimated at just 80-120.
There is a photo of 18 year old Dublin Medical student Kevin Barry on the top left of the page and a larger image of the coffin of Terence McSwiney at Cork City Hall on the top right.
The picture on the lower left shows the Lord Mayor’s flower decked coffin on a tug guarded by the military. The caption details how thousands paid their respects at Cork City Hall. There are further photographs of an ambulance covered in flowers arriving at City Hall and Sinn Fein volunteers regulating queues of mourners.
There are 287 lots in the auction including books, drawings, memorial cards, medals, photographs, letters, carvings, postcards, maps and militaria. The catalogue is online.
