Collins memorabilia donated to State

Several items belonging to Michael Collins, including a Luger pistol and matching hand-made holster, have been donated to the State by the family of the revolutionary leader.

Mr Michael Collins, a great grand-nephew of the "Big Fella", said the collection would have fetched "probably enough for a few houses" if sold on the open market. "But if they were sold they'd have ended up in America or elsewhere, and we didn't want that to happen."

The collection includes a presentational sword, with "General Michael Collins" inscribed on the blade, that was believed to have been given to him by his bodyguard, Tom Cullen.

There was also a Mauser pistol, known as a "Peter the Painter" or "broom-handle", because of its wooden stock, on which the initials "TK" had been written. The gun is believed to have been owned by Tom Keogh one of the "12 Apostles", the Collins hit squad which assassinated 14 suspected British secret agents on November 21st, 1920. In reprisal, the Black and Tans fired on a crowd watching a football match at Croke Park, killing 12 people, on what came to be known as Bloody Sunday.

Perhaps the most valuable item, however, is the Luger Parabellum Artillery pistol, made in 1917, and believed to have been a captured weapon brought back from the first World War. Mr Collins said: "We understand this was the Luger he used because it fits the holster and the holster fits that which appears in a picture of Collins."

Dr Pat Wallace, director of the National Museum of Ireland, said the items would be added to a "tremendous collection of 1916 memorabilia" that was being moved from Kildare Street to Collins Barracks in preparation for a planned major exhibition on the Rising in its 90th anniversary year. He said items were still coming forward, including a revolver from Harry Boland donated by a nephew. Dr Wallace added. "There is still stuff out there, important items, not just owned by the great names but connected to lesser events, skirmishes and ambushes, relevant to local heroes."

Speaking at Kildare Street yesterday, the Minister for Arts, Sport and Tourism, Mr O'Donoghue, said Collins was "much more than just a general. He professed to want a country distinguished by social equality, economic efficiency, cultural achievement and religious tolerance."