Kilmichael monument debate

There are historical commemorations all year round.

The best known is Béal na mBláth in West Cork (yesterday) on the 91st anniversary of the death in 1922 of General Michael Collins and the State’s first Minister for Finance.

Another is at the Kilmichael Monument in West Cork to remember the turning point in the 1919-21 War of Independence, when a young Tom Barry who had been a soldier with the British army in Egypt led a well-trained group of Irishmen in Nov 1920 to attack a passing group of British Auxiliaries. A battle ensued and the Irish side won. The importance of Kilmichael is, it boosted the campaign of the Irish War of Independence.