Wreath laid to mark one year since the unveiling of Michael Collins statue in Cork city 

Members of the Michael Collins 100 Committee gathered on Sunday morning to lay a wreath at his statue in the city centre, to mark one year since it was unveiled.

The statue, located on Grand Parade, was funded through a crowd-funding scheme spearheaded by the committee, which is a non-political organisation dedicated to honouring the legacy of Collins.

The site near the library where the statue was unveiled has historical links to Collins because in March of 1922, he attended a Pro-Treaty rally and delivered a speech to a crowd reported to be around 50,000 people at that spot.

The statue was created by the renowned sculptor who made the Clonakilty Michael Collins statue, Kevin Holland, and was based on the iconic 1922 photograph of Collins with a Pierce bicycle.

It was officially unveiled by sporting heroes Jimmy Barry Murphy, Ronan O’Gara and Rena Buckley on October 20 last year.

That day, a large crowd that spanned the generations turned out to witness the unveiling of a new statue.

Fine Gael councillor and general election candidate for Cork South Central Shane O’Callaghan told The Echo, “It was great to mark the first anniversary of the placement of the Michael Collins statue on Grand Parade with other members of the Michael Collins 100 committee.

“As predicted, the statue has already turned into a major landmark – Cork city bus tours stop there and every time I pass I see people stopped at the statue.” 

To mark the occasion, Fidelma Collins, committee member and grandniece of Michael Collins laid a wreath, the group had a minute's silence, then sang 'Amhrán na bhFiann', then committee chairperson Tim Crowley gave a short speech.