West Cork is heavy with meaning when it comes to Michael Collins, as rising visitor numbers reveal.

Michael Collins’ death on August 22nd 1922, at just 31, is one of those stories that never leaves West Cork.

More than a century on, the Big Fella is still felt in the places where independence was planned, fought for and remembered.

This year’s ceremony at Béal na Bláth marks the 104th anniversary of his passing and it underlines a truth locals have known for a long time: the Rebel County is heavy with meaning.

At The Diamond Bar at Glannarouge, formerly known as Long’s pub, the plan was hatched for the ambush that led to Collins’ death.

And his sacrifice for modern Ireland is remembered every year at the memorial at Béal na Bláth.

Places and memories

In Dublin, the General Post Office on the Liffey holds its own chapter in the story.

Collins stood there beside Plunkett, Pearse, Connolly, Clarke and MacDiarmada during the 1916 Easter Rising, when the tricolour was raised over the roof.

The man who pulled up the flag was his cousin, 25-year-old Gearóid O’Sullivan from Skibbereen.

Today, Gearóid O’Sullivan is remembered with a plaque outside Skibbereen Town Hall, where Collins delivered a speech on St Patrick’s Day 1922, less than six months before his death.

O’Donovan’s Hotel in Clonakilty is another of the many places holding his memory. An audience saw him give his pre-election speech here on June 15th that same year.

The anniversaries keep returning and with them, the pull of the man himself.

He’s kept alive in film and on banners, on tea cups and even hurling jerseys. Collins’ gaze and stature of a statesman remain familiar. Beside the merchandise, he also draws visitors in growing numbers to West Cork each year.

This is evident at Clonakilty’s Michael Collins House Museum at Emmett Square, which celebrates its tenth anniversary this year.

Visitor numbers have risen from about 7,500 to an annual average of around 20,000, according to Cork County Council.

The council estimates that the museum contributes around €2m each year to the local economy.

What if?

The question on many people’s lips is: What would Ireland be like today, had Michael Collins not been killed?

Tim Crowley, who established the Michael Collins Centre Museum at Castleview near Clonakilty together with his wife Dolores, has been asked this question many times.

‘He stands out as a pragmatist and never did anything without asking the question ‘What am I hoping to achieve by doing this?’,’ said Tim Crowley, who is a direct relative of Michael Collins.

He added that the separation of Ireland might not be a reality, had Collins stayed alive and continued his plan to use the 1921 Anglo-Irish Treaty as a stepping stone to achieve a united Ireland.

‘No political party can lay claim to Michael Collins because he was a unique individual. I have heard people say that he would have done ABC if he was around today, but nobody can speak for him,’ he said.

Out of all the political parties, Sinn Féin is the one most closely connected with the revolutionary life of Michael Collins: he became a member of Sinn Féin in 1908, was the party’s elected member for South Cork in the first Dáil and became Minister of Home Affairs and Minster of Finance in the early republican-led administration of the young Irish state.

For many years, the party used to advertise him as one of its own, but today it seems hesitant to lay political claim to his legacy.

‘Sinn Féin recognises Michael Collins as one of the key figures of Ireland’s revolutionary period,’ a party spokesperson said.

‘Like many historical figures, his legacy is debated, particularly regarding the Treaty. Today, Sinn Féin believes the focus should be on the shared goal that united the leaders of the independence movement: achieving Irish self-determination and building an Ireland that is united, inclusive and reconciled.’

Sam’s Cross origins

From an article in 2022 my colleague, reporter Jackie Keogh, spoke to Collins’ grandniece Helen Collins who said his spirit lives on ‘in love’ at his birthplace, Woodfield near Sam’s Cross, while Béal na Bláth speaks very much to his death.

Helen Collins and her family were responsible for loaning Michael Collins’ diaries to the National Archives, now regularly on display at Clonakilty’s Michael Collins House Museum.

A slate outline is all that’s left of the family farmhouse at Woodfield, burnt down during the War of Independence.

It remains a pilgrimage site for those who continue to feel a connection with Michael Collins and his ideals.

One famous guest who last week stood next to the bust of Ireland’s most famous politician was activist Greta Thunberg.

Had they ever had a chance to meet, what would Michael Collins have said to Thunberg about her antics of wearing a tricolour balaclava at a Kneecap concert?

And if he was around today, would he be using social media and AI to finish the campaign for a united Ireland?

His social media biography might just read: rebel, statesman and proud Irishman, born near Clonakilty. 

Political education

As the mastermind and spearhead of Ireland’s anti-colonial struggle, The Big Fella had an awareness of political injustices and an early political education.

He named Denis Lyons, his headmaster at Lisavaird school, as one of the first nationalists to personally inspire his ‘pride of Irishness’.

Today, Kieran O’Donovan is headteacher at Lisavaird National School and says the school is proud to have had Michael Collins as its former pupil.

And it’s also connected to his sister, Margaret O’ Driscoll, a former principal of Lisavaird Girls National School.

‘We made a movie for the centenary commemoration called Tales From Home and turned some of the lesser known stories about Michael Collins into a film, with help from the Michael Collins Centre Museum. Some of our kids would be ancestors of Michael Collins and also live in the townlands associated with his family,’ said Kieran O’Donovan. Back in the day, the school house in Lisavaird would have been where Hurley’s Fuel Centre is today.

In the school corridor, Michael Collins’ attendance record is on display in a glass box, along with a tapestry created by a local artist, showing  key scenes of his life from his school days to Béal na Bláth.

While the future General Collins was at the school, Fenian leader Jeremiah O’ Donovan Rossa made the journey from Skibbereen to Lisavaird and gave a lecture in front of the pupils.

He might have inspired a young, wide-eyed Michael Collins to his path in politics. Both Collins and O’Donovan Rossa were buried in Glasnevin Cemetery, just a short distance apart.

This year’s national commemoration for Michael Collins takes place at the cemetery this Sunday (August 16th), while the commemoration at Béal na Bláth with an oration from RTÉ broadcaster and author David McCullagh is on Sunday, August 23rd, at 3pm.