Councillor takes swipe at Fianna Fáil's support for Michael Collins statue in Dublin 

Fine Gael member of Cork City Council Shane O’Callaghan: While I very much support the proposal for a statute of Collins in Dublin – I would ideally like to see statues of Collins in both Cork and Dublin – Fianna Fáil’s approach to the issue is nothing short of bizarre.' Picture: Independent News And Media/Getty Images

A Fine Gael member of Cork City Council has taken a swipe at Fianna Fáil after the council voted to support calls for the erection of a statue of Michael Collins – in Dublin.

Cllr Shane O’Callaghan said he was at a loss to understand where Fianna Fáil stands on the issue of erecting a statue in honour of Collins in his native city after his efforts to garner support for such a move in Cork City last year were rejected by the council.

“They seem to be all over the place on the issue,” he told Monday's council meeting.

“Last year, Fianna Fáil city councillors were totally opposed to erecting statues of Collins, MacCurtain and MacSwiney in Cork and ensured the proposal was defeated.

“Now, a Fianna Fáil TD and the Fianna Fáil Mayor of Cork County have come out in favour of a statue of Michael Collins being erected in Dublin.

“While I very much support the proposal for a statute of Collins in Dublin – I would ideally like to see statues of Collins in both Cork and Dublin – Fianna Fáil’s approach to the issue is nothing short of bizarre.

Fianna Fáil appear to be talking out of both sides of their mouth on the subject.” 

Speaking afterwards, the Lord Mayor of Cork, Fianna Fáil councillor Colm Kelleher, in his capacity as a councillor, said he had no difficulty commemorating anyone from the Civil War period, regardless of what side they were on, but a certain process had to be followed.

“Respect is the key,” he said. "As Lord Mayor, I have a portrait of Collins hanging opposite a portrait of de Valera in my office. The centenary of the Civil War will be a delicate matter for all sides. A century on, I think Civil War politics should be and is over.” 

Mr O’Callaghan spoke out after councillors discussed a motion he tabled for Monday’s council meeting in which he asked the council to write to the Taoiseach, the Tánaiste, the Transport Minister and Dublin City Council to express Cork City Council’s support for a proposal to erect a monument and statue of the “great Cork patriot Michael Collins” in Dublin City, and that consideration also be given to erecting monuments and statues of Tomás MacCurtain and Terence MacSwiney in the capital as well.

He told the meeting a statue of Collins in the capital is a fantastic idea and long overdue.

“I am very much in favour of people jumping on this particular bandwagon because the more people that are in favour of it, the more likely it is to happen,” Mr O’Callaghan said.

He said he was pleasantly surprised to hear that Fianna Fáil TD for Cork South West Christopher O’Sullivan and the Fianna Fáil Mayor of Cork, Gillian Coughlan, had also come out in favour of the proposal.

But Fianna Fáil councillor Seán Martin accused Mr O’Callaghan of going off-topic and of not following the agreed procedures when it comes to discussing such matters.

Before the vote on his motion was called, Green Party councillor Colette Finn said she was against the erection of statues.