THE words of Michael Collins were invoked at the 103rd commemoration of his death on Sunday as those gathered were asked to ‘think in long strides’.
Health Minister Jennifer Carroll MacNeill borrowed from the 1980 speech of Brendan O’Reilly, the writer of the ballad of Michael Collins, who noted a phrase Collins used to describe himself: ‘I think in long strides.’
The Fine Gael Minister told the crowd of hundreds at the monument site at Béal na Bláth that previous speeches were not just reflections on Collins and his legacy, but were in fact ‘mirrors of Ireland itself evolving through time’.
Tim Crowley explains to Simon Harris TD the history of the Triumph motorcycle engine that was present at the Béal Na Bláth ambush.
‘Each speech tells a story not just of Collins but of Ireland’s journey. In that sense the commemoration of Collins, and its careful curation and custodianship by the commemoration committee, has become its own arc of history, its own historical event through which the reflection of the day and the vision of tomorrow can be found through those given the honour to stand here in this revered place,’ she said.
‘The vision of Collins as a state creator and a state builder and the realisation of that visions through the defence and development, stone by careful stone, of the building of the political and economic and social institutions of the Irish state to where it is today.’
She said it was Collins who laid the foundation stones for building the walls of the Irish State, the defence forces, the gardaí and the beginnings of the judicial system.
‘Collins gave us the vision – peaceful, outward-looking, economically strong and grounded in the rule of law.
Notwithstanding the pressing need to be effective in the operational issues of his day, as every political leaded must be, but thinking in long strides again about his vision for his state, his country – for our future.’
Senator Garret Kelleher, chair of the committee, became emotional as he told attendees that it was his last commemoration as chair.
Meanwhile, Tánaiste and Fine Gael party leader Simon Harris visited the Michael Collins Centre in Castleview, just outside Clonakilty, last Wednesday to unveil a motorbike that led Michael Collins’ convoy into Béal na Bláth on August 22nd 1922.
That motorbike was driven by Lieut John Joseph Smith, who was shot in the neck when he went to the aid of Collins.
Mr Harris said the rediscovery of the 1919 Triumph Model H motorbike ‘brings us face-to-face with a tangible connection to our revolutionary past’.
He acknowledged the generosity of the late Conor Murphy and his family for their role in preserving the remnants of the vehicle for posterity.
It was a poignant moment for Dominic Smith, great-grandson of Lieut Smith, who flew in especially from Chile for the unveiling – in a one-day round trip – and he also later visited Béal na Bláth for his first time.
The discovery of the motorbike was the culmination of 25 years of research by Tim Crowley, owner of the Michael Collins Centre and it is an exciting addition to Tim’s already hugely impressive collection at this museum.
