Posthumous award of the Service (1917-1921) Medal to Terence MacSwiney by the Minister for Defence Simon Coveney

The Minister for Defence, Simon Coveney TD, today presented the Service (1917-1921) Medal to the next of kin of Terence MacSwiney at Collins Barracks, Cork.

The Service (1917-1921) Medal with Bar was posthumously awarded on the basis of information held on the late Terence MacSwiney in the Military Service Pensions Collection. The Minister for Defence today presented this Service Medal to Terence McSwiney's grandson, Professor Cathal MacSuibhne Brugha.

Speaking at the presentation event the Minister said “it is a great honour for me to posthumously award the Service (1917-1921) Medal to Terence MacSwiney and to present this medal to his grandchildren today. Terence MacSwiney was a very prominent figure in the struggle for Independence, following his arrest in August 1920 his peaceful protest drew international attention and sympathy for the cause of Irish independence”.

The origins of this Service Medal go back as far as 1942 when the Government approved that a medal with bar should be issued to those in possession of a military service certificate entitling them to a pension under the Military Service Pensions Acts, 1924 and 1934 in respect of the period subsequent to 1916 and prior to the 11 July 1921.

Those not in possession of a military service certificate, but who could satisfy the Minister that had they applied for a pension, where their service was such as would have merited the award of a pension, would also be issued the medal with bar.

The Military Service Pensions Collection Project, is a joint Department of Defence and Defence Forces contribution to the ‘Decade of Centenaries’. The Project is mandated to digitise and release the files and records of the Department of Defence dealing with the service of qualifying members of the Irish Volunteers, the Irish Citizen Army, The Hibernian Rifles, Cumann na mBan, Na Fianna Éireann and the Irish Republican Army in relation to the period April 1916 to September 1923.

The extensive collection of pension and medal applications from veterans of the revolutionary period and the related administration and legislation files comprise a unique and excellent resource for those interested in family history, students and academics alike. These files give an unprecedented insight into this period and those involved.

Since the first release of material in 2014, approx. 104,000 files have been individually catalogued by the MSPC team, with over 34,000 scanned files fully available online and hosted on the Military Archives website.

Origins and scope

The Service (1917-21) Medal was instituted by the government in 1942. The medal is awarded in two classes: medal with bar to persons who rendered active service during the War of Independence and a medal without bar for those without active service who were members of the Old IRA and allied organisations (e.g. Cumann na mBan) in the three months prior to 11 July 1921.