Independence struggle veteran (104) recalls the greatness of Collins

Col Seán Clancy, who celebrates his 104th birthday today, has recalled his association with Michael Collins, particularly the day power was handed over by the British in Dublin Castle in 1922.

"I distinctly remember the troops, the bands playing and so on. Collins arrived a little late in a taxi. He was approached by a very officious British civil servant, in morning dress and with a watch chain in his breast pocket," Col Clancy told The Irish Times yesterday.

"He said to Collins: 'Mr Collins, you are seven minutes late'. Collins used some west Cork expression first and then remarked that 'you people are here 700 years, and what blooming difference will seven minutes make now that you are leaving '."

Col Clancy was attending the launch in Dublin, by Minister for the Arts John O'Donoghue, of Recollections of 1916 And Its Aftermath. It is written in book form by Jane O'Hea O'Keeffe, with recordings on CD by her husband, Maurice O'Keeffe.

Col Clancy, who is among those featured, was born in east Clare. He has a vivid memory of being sent to Limerick on an errand by his father in Easter 1916.

As a young man, he followed Éamon de Valera, but he changed loyalties following Dev's failure to go to London for the Treaty negotiations.

He joined the Free State Army and worked with Collins in Portobello Barracks.

"Collins was a great leader, and we have seen nothing like him since," Col Clancy recalled. "I was in an office in Portobello Barracks when I heard he had been killed. I marched in his funeral. It was a massive turnout of Dublin people who loved him. You see, he lived among them for a few years without a home. He lived in safe houses."

Col Clancy said that had Collins lived, he would have been a great political leader.

"He certainly was a great war leader, and that is what counted at the time."

Mr O'Donoghue said the project had been some time in gestation, with Mr O'Keeffe travelling around the country gathering local history data for publication or broadcast. The timing, he added, was opportune, particularly in view of the upcoming centenary of the 1916 Rising.

"The oral tradition was for many generations the backbone that supported a vast body of Ireland's cultural identity," he added.

Mr O'Donoghue's department has contributed towards the project, and the material produced is to be supplied and retained for public use by the National Library, venue for yesterday's launching.