Hannah Murphy on her 104th birthday recalls seeing Michael Collins on the day he was killed in 1922.
Hannah Murphy was born in Rosscarbery, County Cork on 23 June 1911. The great-great grandmother is celebrating her 104th birthday at An Ghraig Clonakilty Community Hospital.
She vividly remembers the anticipation in Roscarberry before the arrival of Michael Collins on 22 August 1922. He came from Clonalilty in an armoured car.
I stood to let him pass me and I thought he'd put his hand on my head, you know, and say hello child or something and he didn't touch me.
Michael Collins strode past the 11 year old Hannah Murphy without any acknowledgement, just hours before he was assassinated at nearby Béal na Bláth.
The memory of Michael Collins, along with Jeremiah O'Donovan Rossa and Tom Barry is recalled with the publication of 'Rosscarbery's Three Patriots', a book researched and written by the National Monument Committee. Michael Collins and O'Donovan Rossa were born in Rosscarbery. Tom Barry, while born in Killorglin, County Kerry, grew up in Rosscarbery. As the decade of centenary commemorations continues, there will be a special unveiling of a national monument to all three men in the centre of Rosscarbery on 28 June 2015.
With commemorations of the 1916 Rising set to begin in Glasnevin Cemetery, Hannah Murphy is one of the few people who can say they lived through Ireland’s most turbulent times, witnessing firsthand many dramatic historical events.
An RTÉ News report broadcast on 26 June 2015. The reporter is Jennie O'Sullivan.
