Michael Fitzgerald (Irish republican) facts for kids
Michael Fitzgerald, also known as Mick Fitzgerald, was an important early member of the Irish Republican Army (IRA). He helped organize the group and became a leader, known as a Commandant. He was in charge of the First Battalion of the Cork Number 2 Brigade. Mick Fitzgerald died during a 1920 Cork hunger strike in Cork Gaol in 1920. He was one of many who went on hunger strike to protest being held without charges or a trial. This hunger strike helped bring more attention around the world to Ireland's fight for independence.
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Early Life and Joining the Volunteers
Mick Fitzgerald was born in Ballyoran, a place near Fermoy in County Cork. He went to school at the Christian Brothers school in Fermoy. After school, he worked in a mill nearby. In 1914, he joined the Irish Volunteers. This group later became the Irish Republican Army (IRA). Mick helped build up the local group of Volunteers. He became a high-ranking officer, a Battalion Commandant, in the Cork No.2 Brigade.
IRA Activities
On Easter Sunday in April 1919, Mick Fitzgerald led a small group of IRA volunteers. They took control of the Royal Irish Constabulary police barracks in Araglin, County Cork. After this, he was arrested and sent to Cork Gaol for three months.
Mick was released from prison in August 1919. He quickly went back to his work with the IRA. He was involved in stopping a group of British Army soldiers in Fermoy. The soldiers were disarmed, meaning their weapons were taken away. Mick Fitzgerald was arrested again and held in prison. He felt that a hunger strike was his only way to try and get released.
The 1920 Hunger Strike
Michael Fitzgerald was arrested on August 8, 1920, along with Terence MacSwiney and nine other IRA volunteers. On August 11, 1920, MacSwiney began a hunger strike in Brixton Gaol. Mick Fitzgerald and the other nine volunteers in Cork Gaol joined the strike.
Mick Fitzgerald was 24 years old. He was the first of the strikers to die, on October 17, 1920. He had been on hunger strike for 67 days. Just before he died, the authorities would not let him marry his fiancée. After Mick, Joe Murphy and Terence MacSwiney also died. Their deaths helped bring a lot of world attention to Ireland's fight for independence. This happened before an even bigger hunger strike in Irish history, the 1923 Irish Hunger Strikes.
Resting Place
Michael Fitzgerald is buried in Kilcrumper Cemetery, which is just outside Fermoy. A road in Togher, Cork, was also named after him.
Another important Irish republican, Liam Lynch, is also buried in the Republican Plot in Fermoy. Liam Lynch was killed in April 1923. His last wish was to be buried with his friend and fellow fighter, Mick Fitzgerald.
See also
- Timeline of the Irish War of Independence
