Council unveils plans for revamp of Michael Collins assassination site at Béal na Bláth
The annual Michael Collins commemoration ceremony is held at Béal na Bláth every August. Picture: Daragh McSweeney/Provision
Plans for a new commemorative project at the site of Michael Collins’s assassination at Béal na Bláth have been unveiled by Cork County Council.
In advance of the centenary of the revolutionary’s death on August 22, the roadway at Béal na Bláth will be revamped and the memorial cross at the site elevated to allow for greater accessibility.
A successful Section 38 application under the Roads Traffic Act 1994 will see traffic calming measures introduced adjacent to the memorial itself via the reduction of the road width. The road's surface and markings will also be redone.
A new car park and a historical map guide to the site itself and the wider ambush area will be constructed nearby.
Those behind the project say it will allow visitors to the location “the chance to experience the landscape and feel what it was like in 1922 when the ambush took place”.
According to Cork County Council, the project has been developed by key experts in archaeological historic landscapes and memorial historic landscapes.
A historical analysis of the battlefield and ambush area, and a historic landscape assessment of the surrounding area, have also been carried out.
The project is supported by the Department of the Taoiseach, the Department of Defence and the Department of Tourism and Culture.
Mayor of the County of Cork, Cllr Gillian Coughlan, said the redevelopment would be "both sensitive and features minimal intervention but will increase the memorial's legibility and that of its context”.
“Through quality design, the Beal na Bláth project will reveal and re-establish this historic route through our heritage landscape,” she said.
“The site's historical authenticity and integrity will be maintained while ensuring this national monument remains a legacy for future generations."
She said the project would be completed ahead of the 100-year anniversary event on August 22, which is expected to attract significant national and international attention.
Chief executive of Cork County Council Tim Lucey said the funding and expertise brought to the plan would ensure “the restoration of the landscape affords the appropriate commemoration of the events in 1922, for the centenary year, and for years to come”.
