Overview:

- Béal na Bláth is a location in Ireland close to the town of Cork. It was the location of a celebrated ambush of the Irish Republican Army (IRA) on August 22, 1922. The ambush was the single most important event in the Irish War of Independence (1919-1921) and marks a significant milestone in Irish history. The ambush was a success for the IRA as it killed one of the most iconic British military figures in Ireland, General Michael Collins. The ambush resulted in a surge of nationalist support in Ireland and ultimately helped to propel the peace process which resulted in the formation of the Irish Free State in 1922. It is one of the most beautiful monuments in Ireland
Prominent Features:

Béal na Bláth is a historic site located in Cork, Ireland, where the assassination of Michael Collins, a leader of the Irish Republican Army, occurred on August 22, 1922. The ambush took place along a narrow hollow road, surrounded by small trees and bushes, on the border of Cork and Kerry. This site is now a historical memorial to commemorate the ambush and the brief ceasefire among Irish paramilitary forces that led to Collins' death— and the subsequent Irish civil war. It features a large marker stone, a bronze memorial, and a monument surrounded by trees. Béal na Bláth has become an important pilgrimage site for many Irish people and tourists, and serves as a reminder of one of the most tragic events in modern Irish history. You can learn history, culture, and heritage through these magnificent monuments in Ireland.

History:

Béal na Bláth, Irish for "the mouth of the flowers", is an area near Macroom, County Cork, Ireland where one of the most significant events in Irish history occurred in August 1922. This was the ambush and death of Michael Collins, one of the key figures of the Irish War of Independence. Collins was a strong believer in a peaceful unification of Ireland and in 1922 he had just signed a peace treaty with the British enlisting Northern Ireland to remain in the United Kingdom while the rest of Ireland was accepted into the British Commonwealth. This treaty was known as the Anglo-Irish Treaty. Although this ended the War of Independence, it caused a rift in the Irish population between those who wanted to unite Ireland with a completely independent state and those who wanted to accept the Treaty’s terms. The Irish Civil War eventually broke out between the two groups and Collins became a target for those who opposed him. On 22 August 1922, Collins was travelling in an armoured car from Cork to Dublin. At Béal na Bláth his car was ambushed by anti-treaty troops who had set up a hidden machine-gun nest. In the ensuing skirmish, Collins was killed along with two of his bodyguards. This event marked a turning point in the Irish Civil War and signaled the eventual victory of the Pro-Treaty forces, thus preserving the Anglo-Irish Treaty. Today Béal na Bláth has been declared a National Monument to commemorate Michael Collins’s contribution to Irish independence and his sacrifice at Béal na Bláth. A memorial cross marks the spot where the ambush occurred. Visit one of the famous monuments of Ireland with your friends and family.

Interesting facts:

1.It was the scene of a famous ambush in 1922 when Michael Collins, an Irish revolutionary leader, was fatally wounded. 2.Béal na Bláth is located in county Cork,Ireland 3.The name Béal na Bláth literally translates to ‘mouth of the flowers’ 4.The ambush happened at the same crossroads where Collins and his father had posed for a photograph 18 years earlier. 5.Béal na Bláth is now the site of a memorial garden to commemorate those who were killed in the ambush. 6.The gardens include a plaque with a map of the ambush site, a plaque with the final words of Michael Collins and a history of the event displayed on display boards and plinths. 7.The ambush site is now a pilgrimage site for thousands of visitors each year who come to remember the events of that fateful day. One of the historical monuments of Ireland, it tells the story of a bygone era