24 October 2024
By Bryan McCarthy
bryan@TheCork.ie
Cork County Council has acquired a linen handkerchief, which was in Michael Collins’ pocket at the time of his death, for permanent display at Michael Collins House Museum, Clonakilty.
The handkerchief was gifted by Michael Collins’ brother Seán to General Seán MacMahon, then Quarter Master General of the Irish Free State Army and a close associate of Collins. The artefact is accompanied by a short note dated the 31st of August 1922 that reads; ‘A Cara, accept enclosed as souvenir of Miceál – in his pocket at time of death’. Seán Ó Coileáin’.
Michael Collins Handkerchief on display at the Michael Collins Museum in Clonakilty. L to R. Conor Nelligan Heritage Officer, Noreen O’Mahony, Senior Executive Officer, West Cork, Cllr. Noel O’Donovan, Deputy Mayor, Patricia Liddy, Director of Municipal District, Lorraine Lynch, Divisional Manager West and Jamie Murphy, Micheal Collins Museum Manager. Photo by Dermot Sullivan
Michael Collins Handkerchief on display at the Michael Collins Museum in Clonakilty. L to R. Cllr. Noel O’Donovan, Deputy Mayor and Jamie Murphy, Micheal Collins Museum Manager examine the bequest. Photo by Dermot Sullivan
The linen handkerchief along with the letter from Seán Collins will go on display and be available to view free of charge in the Michael Collins House reception area for the remainder of the year. It will then make its way into the museum’s permanent display.
Mayor of the County of Cork, Cllr Joe Carroll said, “Shortly after his death, Michael Collins’ siblings gave several of his close friends and colleagues similar personal items to remember him by. Luckily, a number of these items have found their way into the Michael Collins House collection including the necktie worn by Collins during the Anglo-Irish Treaty negotiations and a small personal prayer book, among other items. These items are hugely important for the museum in telling the personal story of Michael Collins and in bringing history to life.”
The handkerchief adds to a growing collection of artefacts in the museum which it hopes will attract even more visitors to the popular attraction. Welcoming between twenty and thirty thousand visitors annually, the museum has become a must see for visitors to the region as well providing an important cultural hub and economic driver for the local Clonakilty community.
Michael Collins House Museum opens all year-round Tuesday to Saturday from 10.00am to 5.00pm. For more information, visit www.michaelcollinshouse.ie