Kitty Kiernan - Correspondence

Correspondence

Kitty Kiernan and Michael Collins kept up a lengthy correspondence and while Collins was in London during the Treaty negotiations, he wrote to her every day. These letters are the subject of a book written by Leon O'Broin entitled "In Great Haste". Kitty's worst fears were realized when Collins was killed in action at the age of 31 near Béal na Bláth, County Cork, on 22 August 1922.

In 2000, some of the 300 letters sent by Kiernan and Collins to each other went on permanent display at the Cork Public Museum. These letters give a great insight into Kitty's attitude to life and into the political events of this time.

Former Fine Gael minister Peter Barry donated his collection of historic letters to the Lord Mayor of Cork, on behalf of the municipal museum. The collection, purchased from the Cronin family in 1995, was conserved at the Delmas bindery at Marsh's Library in Dublin: the letters were also catalogued and then returned to the Cork Public Museum. The Peter Barry collection contains letters from Harry Boland, a friend of Collins and former suitor of Kitty Kiernan.

There are also a number of letters to Collins from various individuals and to Kiernan from others. The bulk of the letters between Collins and Kiernan were written between 1919 and 1922, and through their almost daily contact emerges a picture of the dreams and aspirations of the man often called Ireland’s "lost leader" and the woman with whom he wanted to share a "normal" life.

"Their correspondence represents a unique and revealing portrait of a remarkable man and an ordinary woman made extraordinary by tragic circumstances," said a museum spokesperson.