Mementos of Michael Collins

THE CULT of Michael Collins continues unabated and is occasionally reminiscent of the devotion once accorded by Irish Catholics to saints.

The Cork rebel is indisputably the pre-eminent figure in Ireland’s quest for independence and virtually any artefact associated with his short, turbulent life finds a market among legions of eager admirers and collectors.

Following criticism this week by some of his descendants, a lock of his hair and a medical swab used to clean the face of his corpse were both withdrawn from separate auctions.

But there is no shortage of other Collins-related material on the market. For example, at Adam’s this week, a black-bordered memorial card, for “General Michael Collins (Commander-in-Chief of National Army) killed in action at Béal na mBláth, near Bandon, Co Cork, 22 August 1922” made €520 (€300-€500). Further mementos are listed in the catalogue for Whyte’s “History” sale which begins at noon today in the Freemasons’ Hall, Molesworth Street, Dublin.

Mealy’s auction in the Berkeley Court Hotel, Ballsbridge on Wednesday will include a “criminal card” issued by the British authorities in 1920 to policemen searching for Collins, the “most wanted” man in the British Empire (€3,500-€5,000); and photographs of his funeral (part of a lot of eight estimated at €500-€700).