THE remains of the motorbike that led Michael Collins’ convoy on the day that he was shot have been recovered, thanks to 25 years of research by Tim Crowley.
Tim, who owns and runs the Michael Collins Centre Museum at Castleview on the outskirts of Clonakilty, described it as a major find in Collins’ story, as well as being an exciting addition to his already hugely impressive collection.
The story started a quarter of a century ago when the late Conor Murphy of the Western Garage in Clonakilty made contact with Tim and mentioned that he had parts of a Triumph motorbike that were passed onto him from his father Mick Murphy.
He believed that it was Michael Collins’ motorbike.
Lieutentant John Joseph Smith with his wife Bridget, sons Bernard (behind) and Brendan. Note the shadow underneath John's chin, a scar from Béal na Bláth.
‘Conor, however, wasn’t sure what the connection to Michael Collins was, and he wondered if in fact Collins had driven the bike himself. In 2017 Conor donated the parts of what turned out to be a 1919 Triumph Model H to our museum and what followed was years of on and off research where I found a lot of evidence of Michael Collins riding a bicycle, but no evidence of him ever riding a motorbike,’ said Tim.
However, it’s now his firm belief, with evidence to support it, that they are in fact the remains of the motorbike that led the convoy on his final journey through West Cork on Tuesday, August 22nd 1922.
The motorbike was driven by scout Lieut John Joseph Smith, who during the battle at Béal na Bláth, was wounded in the neck while helping to lift the dying Michael Collins off the road.
‘Tom Hales, the officer in charge of the Anti-Treaty ambush party, took possession of the motorbike, which was abandoned on site and some years later gave it to Bruno O’Donoghue who was working as a supervisor of milk testing for Bandon Co-Op, who used the motorbike travelling around to farms in the Bandon area,’ explained Tim.
O’Donoghue was a founding member of a branch of the Fine Gael party in Bandon in 1933.
‘In 1936 he went to Spain to fight under General Eoin O’Duffy on the Nationalist side in the Spanish Civil War and gave the Triumph Model H to a friend Colonel PJ Coughlan from Manch near Ballineen, who had once been a close associate of Michael Collins. In the 1930s Coughlan was one of the national leaders of the Blueshirt movement and its associate organisations.
Col Coughlan later organised non-political annual Michael Collins commemorations at Béal na Bláth, from the mid 1930s until his death in the late 1950s.
‘Meanwhile Coughlan, who was an engineer got involved in the 1940s setting up a number of small hydro-electric schemes in places like Castletown – Kenneigh; this was before rural electrification. During that time Coughlan dismantled the motorbike and used the engine and gearbox mounted on a part of the frame to power a water pump or generator,’ said Tim.
Michael Dullea, a relative of Col Coughlan remembered as a boy being shown ‘Michael Collins’ motorbike’ by Colonel Coughlan in a shed at the back of Coughlan’s house near Ballineen.
‘Before Col Coughlan’s death in 1957 he passed on the remains of the Triumph Motorbike to his great friend in Clonakilty, Mick Murphy, who operated the Western Garage in the town. Later the parts of the famous motorbike were passed on to his son Conor,’ said Tim.
About 60% of the motorcycle has survived and it will be on display at the Museum in Castleview throughout the 2025 season, next to another more complete version of the same model H Triumph Motorbike.
Tim committed a huge amount of energy to researching the bike.
‘Last year Dominic Smith, great-grandson of Lieut John Joseph Smith made contact with us and passed on a copy of a photograph of his famous ancestor. Evidence of the neck wound he received at Béal na Blá is visible in the photograph. Col PJ Coughlan’s Pension File was released by Irish Military Archives online and it reveals the close connection Coughlan had to Michael Collins,’ he said.
‘The frame number on the motorbike tells us that it was made in late 1918 and the number on the engine tell us that it was made in early 1919, both were made for military issue. It is poignant to remember that this machine led the way for Michael Collins’ convoy on that faithful day in 1922 and was just yards away from Collins as he was dying on the roadside. In my 30 years telling the Michael Collins story, this is one of the major discoveries.’
The centre at Castleview is open year-round to groups by appointment, and to the public from June 16th.
