How long was the fast of Terence MacSwiney?
In 1920, Terence MacSwiney, Lord Mayor of Cork, Ireland, was
sentenced to two years in jail for "being in the possession of
seditious documents." He was jailed in Brixton Prison, London,
on August 12, 1920. As a protest against the sentence, MacSwiney
went on a hunger strike and refused to eat food of any kind while
in prison. He did not, however, refuse water and medicines. He
died on October 25 of the same year, the 74th day of his fast.
While he was subject to fits of delirium from time to time, he
retained his consciousness until a few days before his death.