14th October in Naas
A major commemorative event in Naas at the Osprey Hotel, 7.45pm
The event recognises the life and work of Michael Collins, the first Commander in Chief of the Irish Defence Forces and, of course, one of the key leaders during the War of Independence.
This will be another very special night of remembrance and, during the course of the evening, there will be talks and presentations from a range of local and national figures, including the Curator of the GAA Museum and a niece of Kitty Kiernan, as well as a special extract from "Allegiance", the critically acclaimed play by Mary Kenny based on a meeting between Michael Collins and Winston Churchill in London during the Treaty talks in 1921.
Of special interest during the evening will be the display of the Sliabh na mBan armed vehicle which was present at Beal na mBláth during the ambush there in August 1922 when Michael Collins was killed and the restored 1916 Model T Ford car which was owned by the brother of Kitty Kieran and which often transported Michael Collins during his visits to Longford – two poignant and tangible reminders of the tumultuous events of 100 years ago.
Admission to the event is €10 which will include a free specially prepared commemorative brochure.
The Slievenamon Armoured Car will be on display by kind permission of the Defence Forces. Also, the restored Model T Ford Car of Larry Kiernan, brother of Kitty and father of our guest Margot Gearty, by kind permission of Eamon Creamer.
Chairman for the evening: Martin Condon
Remaining funds from the night go to provide fresh flowers weekly on the grave of Michael Collins in Glasnevin.
“Yet even the most grotesque subversions of history cannot outdistance the true facts of the story, of a country boy who became the first urban guerrilla, laid the foundations of a state and then negotiated its independence, was chairman of its Provisional Government, then commander in chief of its armed forces when it was plunged into civil war - all this before dying at the hands of his fellow republicans at the age of thirty-one.” A.T.Q. Stewart
