Health minister to speak at annual Michael Collins memorial event this year

Health minister Jennifer Carroll MacNeill will deliver this year’s address at the Michael Collins Commemoration at the monument in Béal na Bláth on Sunday, August 24, at 3pm.

The Michael Collins Commemoration is an annual event which takes place at Béal na Bláth, near the village of Crookstown, to honour the memory of General Michael Collins, the Irish revolutionary leader who was shot at the location on August 22, 1922, at the age of 31.

More than a century after his death, many people continue to visit the Michael Collins monument at Béal na Bláth to pay tribute.

Each year, a commemoration is held at the site of his death on the Sunday closest to August 22.

Looking forward to speaking at the Michael Collins Commemoration this August, Ms Carroll MacNeill said: “It is an extraordinary honour to have been asked by the Michael Collins Commemoration Committee to speak at this year’s Béal na Bláth commemoration.

“This significant event allows us to remember and honour the legacy of Michael Collins, whose vision, leadership, and unwavering dedication to our country and its people continue to inspire us all.”

Ms Carroll MacNeill added: “His legacy of leadership and dedication to public service is something I see as I visit our healthcare community around the country and their unwavering dedication to caring for people.

“I am really looking forward to speaking at the commemoration and reflecting on Collins’s legacy and values.”

Speaking on behalf of the organising committee, chairperson and Fine Gael senator Garret Kelleher said: “We are delighted that Minister Jennifer Carroll MacNeill has accepted our invitation to deliver the oration at this year’s Michael Collins commemoration, which will take place in Béal na Bláth on Sunday, August 24, at 3pm.

“Minister Carroll MacNeill has proven herself to be an exceptionally capable and competent minister in her roles as minister for state for European affairs, minister for state in the Department of Finance, and more recently as minister for health following her elevation to Cabinet in January,” he added.

“She has a deep understanding of Irish history, and we very much look forward to hearing what she will have to say in August.”

The address in 2024 was delivered by then taoiseach Simon Harris, who became only the third serving taoiseach to speak at the annual commemoration event.

The address in 2023 was delivered by former RTÉ northern editor, the late Tommie Gorman, while both then taoiseach Micheál Martin and tánaiste Leo Varadkar addressed crowds the previous year for the centenary commemoration.