Michael Collins' Sliabh na mBan Rolls Royce

mb1725

Back in Cork for the first time in 90 years today:



http://www.military.ie/info-centre/defence-forces-history/sliabh-na-mban

Tin Lizzy

It was supposed to be at the stradbally steam rally this year but it never turned up..

bbsrs

mb1725 wrote: »

Back in Cork for the first time in 90 years

I wonder how different Ireland would be today if it had never at all been in Cork ?

hi5

Taken from the link.

w124man

Tin Lizzy wrote: »

It was supposed to be at the stradbally steam rally this year but it never turned up..

Are you surprised? Look at who 'restored' it ........

PanhardPL

w124man wrote: »

Are you surprised? Look at who 'restored' it ........

You should be ashamed of yourself making such a comment. The Rolls is now better than first day and recently did a run from the Curragh to Cork and back in record time.

V480

That is the car that took Collins' body from Beal na Blath to Cork but there is a sad story regarding the actual vehicle that he was travelling in when the convoy was ambushed. The story was told to me by Tim Crowley of the Michael Collins Centre in Clonakilty.

Apparently it was also a Rolls Royce, one of only 14 (I think) of that particular model built. After the ambush it got stuck in mud in a field near Beal na Blath and had to be abandoned while Collins body was taken to Shanakiel hospital. There are many different storys about what actually happened to it. There was a report that the car was seen in Liverpool docks, bullet holes still in the windscreen, and was later scrapped. There was another far fetched report that it ended up in Africa where it was used by people hunting game. More than likely it just ended up in a scrapyard somewhere.

However, bits of the car, such as the speedometer, were taken from it while it was idle and have turned up subsequently. Sad that it wasn't saved

Grimreaper666

hi5 wrote: »

Taken from the link.

It's a wonder they found the money to restore it with all the cutbacks!! The Irish government are woeful at preserving our heritage when it comes to cars, boats or planes. All that interest them is the bloody GAA! :rolleyes:

V480

Grimreaper666 wrote: »

It's a wonder they found the money to restore it with all the cutbacks!! The Irish government are woeful at preserving our heritage when it comes to cars, boats or planes. All that interest them is the bloody GAA! :rolleyes:

Very true. There was a thread on here about DeValera's car which was sitting neglected in Ennis...I wonder is it still there?

Another example would be the gunboat that shelled Dublin in 1916 that was scrapped in the 50's.

Grimreaper666

And the poor Asgard 2, such a bloody shame, under insured and left to rot in the bay of Biscay. Any decent salvage team would have raised her in a week but O'Dea bungled his way through that too and by the time they decided what to do it was too late.:mad:

I think Dev's car was restored eventually but by a private individual iirc.

Anan1

Grimreaper666 wrote: »

And the poor Asgard 2, such a bloody shame, under insured and left to rot in the bay of Biscay. Any decent salvage team would have raised her in a week but O'Dea bungled his way through that too and by the time they decided what to do it was too late.:mad:

I'm sure she was a nice boat, but was Asgard 2 of any historic value? I could be wrong here, but I thought she was only named after the Asgard.

Grimreaper666

Anan1 wrote: »

I'm sure she was a nice boat, but was Asgard 2 of any historic value? I could be wrong here, but I thought she was only named after the Asgard.

It was, but just another example of how unsentimental our government are towards cars/boats/planes. No doubt she would have been of some historic merit if she survived long enough.

Anan1

Grimreaper666 wrote: »

It was, but just another example of how unsentimental our government are towards cars/boats/planes.

I agree with you on this.

Grimreaper666 wrote: »

No doubt she would have been of some historic merit if she survived long enough.

Although that's probably true of any boat.

snafuk35

V480 wrote: »

That is the car that took Collins' body from Beal na Blath to Cork but there is a sad story regarding the actual vehicle that he was travelling in when the convoy was ambushed. The story was told to me by Tim Crowley of the Michael Collins Centre in Clonakilty.

Apparently it was also a Rolls Royce, one of only 14 (I think) of that particular model built. After the ambush it got stuck in mud in a field near Beal na Blath and had to be abandoned while Collins body was taken to Shanakiel hospital. There are many different storys about what actually happened to it. There was a report that the car was seen in Liverpool docks, bullet holes still in the windscreen, and was later scrapped. There was another far fetched report that it ended up in Africa where it was used by people hunting game. More than likely it just ended up in a scrapyard somewhere.

However, bits of the car, such as the speedometer, were taken from it while it was idle and have turned up subsequently. Sad that it wasn't saved

Jock McPeake, the Scottish born machine gunner on the day Collins was killed, defected to the Anti-Treaty side in November 1922 taking the armoured car with him. Conspiracy theorists would claim that the jamming of his gun at the crucial moment during the ambush was too convenient allowing the IRA to shoot Collins. Sonny O'Neill who many consider to have been the man who fired the fatal shot did not know until later the identity of the officer he claimed to have shot which proves that theory is nonsense. Many die hard Fine Gael supporters today would undoubtedly claim at that Dev himself was directing the ambush by means of crystal ball. Another laughable conspiracy theory that did the rounds was that there was no ambush at all and that Emmet Dalton under orders from Cosgrave, Higgins, Mulcahy et al shot Collins through the head with his pistol.

The armoured car was returned minus its Vickers machine gun which is believed to have been still in use by the Provisional IRA during the Troubles.

obrecki

You can see it being driven here http://youtu.be/DV7sW6mjIvA

straps

is it possible to visit this car?

Silvera

straps wrote: »

is it possible to visit this car?

I presume that it is normally stored in The Curragh Military Museum - so visiting would be no problem during 'visiting hours'.

winnie the schtink

hi5 wrote: »

Taken from the link.

Which one of them is the army?

John Larkin

V480 wrote: »

That is the car that took Collins' body from Beal na Blath to Cork but there is a sad story regarding the actual vehicle that he was travelling in when the convoy was ambushed. The story was told to me by Tim Crowley of the Michael Collins Centre in Clonakilty.

Apparently it was also a Rolls Royce, one of only 14 (I think) of that particular model built.(

I recall reading somewhere that it was a Leyland Eight.

Silvera

winnie the schtink wrote: »

Which one of them is the army?

???
..the guys wearing the army uniforms?!

The team would comprise of army personnel, army-employed civilian mechanics and outside advisors/mechanics. Restoring a veteran Rolls Royce involves some specialist knowledge so 'outside' advise would be essential.

SpitfireIV

John Larkin wrote: »

I recall reading somewhere that it was a Leyland Eight.

Leyland Thomas Straight Eight.......

whisky_galore

Grimreaper666 wrote: »

It's a wonder they found the money to restore it with all the cutbacks!! The Irish government are woeful at preserving our heritage when it comes to cars, boats or planes. All that interest them is the bloody GAA! :rolleyes:

It was only that Army personnel took an interest in it and 'hid' it, listing it as Scrap (when it actually was in full working order) to avoid it being sold off like the others, that it survived at all.

TBF there is an interest in cars/boats/trains/planes etc in the general population, but only a tiny % are inclined to get off their ar*ses and actually knuckle down to preserve anything of historic interest. The "Someone should do something..." attitude. The interest of the govt and other bodies only reflects that of the population.

winnie the schtink

whisky_galore wrote: »

It was only that Army personnel took an interest in it and 'hid' it, listing it as Scrap (when it actually was in full working order) to avoid it being sold off like the others, that it survived at all.

TBF there is an interest in cars/boats/trains/planes etc in the general population, but only a tiny % are inclined to get off their ar*ses and actually knuckle down to preserve anything of historic interest. The "Someone should do something..." attitude. The interest of the govt and other bodies only reflects that of the population.

for their own benefit :rolleyes:

whisky_galore

winnie the schtink wrote: »

for their own benefit :rolleyes:

Who cares? It's all in one piece, in working order, of national importance and we're not shaving with it.

68deville

It must be over 20 years ago I remember that armoured car or one similar
Parked amongst the Garda cars being auctioned off by Gunne auctions
Down on Sir John Rogersons quay , no for auction but stored there