MICHAEL COLLINS has gone from being a historic figure associated with one political party to an iconic figure embraced by all Irish people, according to Minister for Finance Michael Noonan.
“A very significant watershed in that was my predecessor, the late Brian Lenihan, speaking at Béal na mBláth in 2010, when he paid tribute to Collins, and said that the spirit of Collins was the spirit of the nation and we should bear that in mind.”
Mr Noonan was speaking yesterday at Collins Barracks in Cork, where he unveiled two commemorative coins issued by the Central Bank to mark the 90th anniversary of Collins’s death at Béal na mBláth on August 22nd, 1922.
The Central Bank is issuing 8,000 of a €10 silver proof coin which it is selling for €48, and 12,000 of a €20 gold proof coin which is selling for €50, and 6,000 of both in a two-coin set which is selling for €95.
The designer is Thomas Ryan.
