Collins and Griffith remembered

A memorial mass to commemorate two of the most important founders of the state, Michael Collins and Arthur Griffith is taking place in Dublin this morning.

A wreath laying ceremony at Glasnevin Cemetery will follow the annual service, which will take place at St. Joseph’s Church on Berkley Road in the City.

In attendance will be Colonel Clancy, the 102-year old veteran of the War of Independence.

Fine Gael Councillor for Fingal, Cathal Boland, who will also attend the commemoration, said that while Collins and Griffith were key figures in Irish history, the two men were very different.

"Collins was a man of action who saw that by doing things in a physical way, you could achieve what you wanted to do, whereas Griffith was very much a pacifist who believed that by words you could change the world," he said.