Celebrations to mark the 100th anniversary of the outbreak of the Civil War and the death of Michael Collins

IRELAND will seek to salvage key elements of the Decade of Centenaries program after the Covid-19 pandemic wreaked havoc at numerous public events over the past two years.

The pandemic hit several public events planned for 2020 and 2021 – key centenaries for the Revolutionary War – by restricting public participation and forcing many ceremonies to be held online.

Major public ceremonies will now be held in the coming weeks to celebrate the outbreak of the civil war which began with the shelling of the Four Courts in Dublin in June 1922 as well as the fatal ambush of General Michael Collins in West Cork on August 22nd year.

Large events are also planned for next year to celebrate May 24, when anti-treaty forces were ordered to disarm and halt all military operations, marking the end of the bitter conflict.

The 100th anniversary of Collins’ death marks the largest ceremony held at Béal na mBláth in over 80 years.

Cork County Council is now working with the Ministry of Defence, the Taoiseach and the Ministry of Culture to restore Ambush Béal na mBláth to its 1920s condition – and the centenary event will feature the famous Rolls ‘Sliabh na mBan’ be. Royce armored car escorting Collins’ convoy that day.

Taoiseach Micheál Martin will also open a landmark four-day national conference on the Civil War in Cork.

Taking place at University College Cork (UCC) from 15-18 June, the conference will bring together over 130 experts who will reflect on the bitter conflict that has shaped Irish politics for decades.

Organizers said the conference will not have a single, agreed-upon narrative of the conflict or any sense of “closure.” Instead, she will seek to collect ongoing academic research on the Civil War and “meaningful engagement with a difficult and traumatic time.”

Speakers will deliver 20-minute presentations covering all aspects of war, including international comparisons, global contexts, military conflict, civil trauma, gender roles, worker militancy, state violence, military strategy, propaganda, memory, ideology, agricultural unrest, prison experiences , the military archive and the Beyond 2022 project.

UCC President John O’Halloran said it will prove to be a landmark event.

“This major conference marks a new chapter in the decade of centenaries as our reflections shift from Ireland’s hard-won independence to a fresh look at an internal struggle that has divided families and friends.”

dr Mervyn O’Driscoll, director of the School of History at UCC, said their goal is to encourage engagement as broadly as possible.

“UCC strives to bring its historical scholarship to a wider community. This four-day conference intends to bring the history of the Irish Civil War to a wide audience, to help better inform the debates that are sure to arise during this final phase of the centenary decade.”

Cork Mayor Gillian Coughlan said the work at Béal na mBláth was very exciting. The site is being restored to reveal its historical value in the most sensitive and appropriate way, and to serve as a legacy in itself after the centenary.

A blueprint for the project was developed by key experts in archaeological historical landscapes, historical memorial landscapes, historical analysis of the battlefield and ambush area, and based on historical landscape assessment.

There are also traffic calming measures, additional parking spaces and road renewals.

“Thanks to our partners, Cork County Council, in consultation with the local Béal na mBláth Commemoration Committee, will develop a project that is both sensitive and minimally intrusive, but will enhance the legibility of the memorial and its context,” she said.

“Through quality design, the Beal na mBláth project will uncover and restore this historic route through our historic landscape. The site is historic
Authenticity and integrity will be maintained while ensuring that this national monument remains a legacy for future generations.”

A key element of the project is to allow visitors to experience the landscape and get an accurate sense of how it looked in 1922.