Béal na Bláth civil war site to receive significant upgrade

Cork County Council's heritage officer, Conor Nelligan, believes that next year's commemoration “will attract national and international attention"

The upgrade will be completed in time to mark the 100th anniversary on August 22 of the day Michael Collins was shot dead when he and a column of Free State forces were ambushed there by Anti-Treaty troops. File photo

Plans are being drawn up to significantly upgrade the country's most important Civil War commemoration site in advance of the centenary of the fatal shooting there of General Michael Collins.

A team of archaeologists, architects, engineers and officials from Cork County Council and a number of external experts and representatives from government departments are working on plans to upgrade the monument and its surrounds at Béal na Bláth. 

It will be completed in time to mark the 100th anniversary on August 22 of the day Collins was shot dead when he and a column of Free State forces were ambushed there by Anti-Treaty troops.

To mark the centenary of his death and to enhance the visitor experience a working group was established by the local authority to look at the site. It includes members of the council's architects, heritage and archaeology departments along with officials from the local municipal district council.

Extensive consultation has taken place with the Michael Collins Commemoration Committee, and with representatives from Department of Defence, Department of An Taoiseach, OPW and with the Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media.

The project is being governed by 'a design code' which was drawn up with the help of UCD's Dr Finola Kane and Damien Shiels. While it's still a work in progress some elements of the upgrade are known and have been outlined by the council's heritage officer, Conor Nelligan.

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He said he believes that next year's commemoration “will attract national and international attention".  Mr Nelligan said interpretive boards will be installed at the site to provide visitors with information about the political climate at the time, what led up to the ambush and what actually happened on the day.

Traffic calming measures are to be undertaken in the area and more parking spaces will be created by the monument with a new off-road access path from them directly to it. A “decluttering” will take place around the monument and the railings in front of it may be removed to enhance the visual appearance.

Mr Nelligan said they also intend to develop special historical leaflets about the ambush early in the New Year, which will be made available at council offices. They will also have this information on the council's website with graphics showing the positions of the Free State convoy and Anti-Treaty snipers. 

It will also provide details of 'safe houses' in the area. Mr Nelligan said one of the primary aims is to attract more visitors to the site and provide them with a greater perspective of what happened there.

“Everything that will be done there will be best in class and it is still a work in progress,” he said.