Michael Collins - 16th October 1890 - 22nd August 1922. Like almost all rebels who possess the ability to lead a country into a new dawn, Michael Collins was cut down before he could achieve true greatness for Ireland. We fear most what we cannot control, and we cannot control the future. Michael Collins death remains an unsolved mystery, for a number of reasons. The only witnesses were Free State Army members of Collins’ convoy, and the anti-Treaty ambushers. As these were the participants, whose actions are in question, their accounts may not be objective. No two witnesses statements match: each one contradicts the other. There is no complete record as to who comprised these two parties. Most remarkably, none of the witnesses were ever questioned by the authorities. Their accounts have been handed down through newspapers, biographers, private documents, and personal contacts. In August 1922, the Civil War seemed to be winding down. The Free State had regained control of most of the country. Collins was making frequent trips to inspect areas recently recovered from anti-Treaty forces. His plan to travel to his native Cork on 20 August was considered particularly dangerous, and he was strenuously advised against it, by several trusted associates. County Cork was an IRA stronghold, much of it still held by anti-Treaty forces. Yet he seemed determined to make the trip without delay. He had fended off a number of attempts on his life in the preceding weeks. Having acknowledged more than once, in private conversation, that the Civil War might end his life at any moment, he several times assured his advisors, They won’t shoot me in my own county, or words to that effect. On 22 August 1922 Collins set out from Cork City on a circuitous tour of West Cork. He passed first through Macroom, then took the Bandon road via Crookstown. This led through Béal na Bláth, an isolated crossroads. There they stopped to ask a question of a man standing at the crossroad, who was an anti-Treaty sentry. He and an associate recognised Collins in the back of the open-top car.This is quoted as what led to an ambush being laid by an anti-Treaty column there, on the chance that the convoy might return. Between 7:30 and 8 pm, Collins’ convoy approached Béal na Bláth for the second time. By then, most of the ambush party had dispersed and gone for the day, leaving just five or six men on the scene. Two were disarming a mine in the road, while three on a laneway overlooking them, provided cover. A dray cart, placed across the road, remained at the far end of the ambush site. Shots were exchanged. Collins was the only fatality. Almost every other detail of what happened is uncertain, due to conflicting reports from participants, and other flaws in the record. Some of the details most disputed among the witnesses are: how the shooting started; what kind of fire the convoy came under; where the ambushers first shots struck; where Collins was and what he was doing when he was hit; whether anyone else was wounded; whether the armoured car’s machine gun was fully functional throughout the engagement; who moved Collins’ body; who was nearby when Collins fell. Many questions have been raised concerning the handling of Collins’ remains immediately following his death: the inordinately long time the convoy took to cover the twenty miles back to Cork City; who searched his clothes; what became of documents he was known to have been carrying on his person (such as his field diary, which did not turn up until decades afterward.)The medical evidence is also lacking. There are but imperfect records as to what doctor examined the body; whether an autopsy was performed, and by whom; to what hospital his body was taken, and why; most importantly, what was the precise number and nature of his wounds. Collins body was transported by sea from Cork to Dublin. He lay in state for three days in Dublin City Hall where tens of thousands of mourners filed past his coffin to pay their respects, including many British soldiers departing Ireland who had fought against him. His funeral mass took place at Dublins Pro Cathedral where a number of foreign and Irish dignitaries were in attendance. Some 500,000 people attended his funeral, almost one fifth of the countrys population. However, no official inquiry was ever undertaken into Collins’ death. Consequently, there is no official version of what happened, nor any authoritative, detailed contemporary records.
Posted on: Fri, 22 Aug 2014 14:59:31 +0000
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