Councillors back plan to erect statue of Michael Collins in Cork

Backers of the project say it will not cost the city anything — but one councillor pointed out the city already has a notable monument to The Big Fellow

Michael Collins at St Francis Church on Broad Lane, Cork, on March 12, 1922. In the front row are (L-R) economic adviser and later judge Diarmaid Fawsitt, Commandant Cooney, Michael Collins, Pádraig O'Keeffe TD, Fr Leo Sheehan, Fr Edmund Walsh, and General Sean Mac Eoin. Irish Examiner Archive

Plans to erect a statue of Michael Collins in Cork City centre have taken a big step forward after city councillors voted overwhelmingly last night to support the project.

They voted 22 for, with one against and one abstention, in favour of Fine Gael councillor Shane O’Callaghan’s motion calling for the council to facilitate the installation of a statue of Michael Collins in the city to commemorate the centenary of his death and in recognition of his contribution to the struggle for independence and the establishment of an independent, democratic Irish State.