REVELATIONS that two coffins were made for Michael Collins are just some of the unique nuggets to be found in the newly released Michael Collins News journal.

The 108-page journal was organised by the Collins 100 Committee, which was launched last month in Collins Barracks in Cork city, and features many rare and never-seen-before articles and photographs from the overall revolutionary period.

Tim Looney’s article recalls the fact that two coffins were made for Michael Collins following his death at Béal na Bláth.

The first one was commissioned locally in Cork city and was made by Tim’s uncle Dan Looney.

This was then transported to Dublin on board the Classic, a ship that later sank off the Greek coast in 1951.

Dr Oliver St John Gogarty, a close friend of Collins, carried out an autopsy on him and embalmed the body but felt that a much better quality coffin would be more appropriate for a national hero and revered statesman.

He then ordered a ‘stronger and more decorative oak coffin’ for his dead friend.

Another article highlights the extraordinary act of post-civil war reconciliation when Tom Barry agreed to unveil a commemorative plaque to Michael Collins at Sam’s Cross, near Collins’ birthplace in Clonakilty in 1965.

What is most remarkable about this event is that it was led by a then 21-year-old solicitor Jim O’Keeffe, who later went onto become a Fine Gael TD for the Cork-South West constituency from 1977 to 2011.

The great-grandson of Lieutenant John Joseph Smith, Dominic Smith writes about his great grandfather who accompanied Collins’ convoy while on the way to Béal na Bláth on that fateful evening on August 22nd 1922 where he too was shot but survived the ambush.

The remarkable discovery of the remains of the Model H Triumph motorcycle which Lieutenant Smith drove also features and how Dominic Smith travelled from Chile for the unveiling of the motorcycle at the Michael Collins Centre and Museum, owned by Tim Crowley.

Rare and previously unseen photographs feature throughout with some benefiting from modern colourising technology, while some excellent drone photographs of key location related to the revolutionary period also feature.

Michael Collins News retails at €10 and is available from local outlets in Bandon, Clonakilty and Cork. To order by post email [email protected]