Editor:
I’m writing to share something deeply important — and something I believe many people simply don’t know. More than a century after his death, the Irish State has still never issued an official death certificate for General Michael Collins.
No inquest was held. No formal autopsy was completed. No medical certification was preserved. And to this day, no death certificate exists for one of the founders of the State.
This issue struck me personally because of my own background. I spent my career with the Port Authority Police Department, working in Times Square during its most dangerous years, confronting violence, exploitation, and the worst of human behavior.
I lost friends and colleagues on 9/11. In that world, proper documentation isn’t bureaucracy — it’s truth, accountability, and respect for the dead. When I learned that Collins had never been issued a death certificate, I wasn’t just puzzled. I was troubled.
The facts of his death are not in dispute. Collins died from a gunshot wound to the head at Béal na Bláth on 22 August 1922. Historians agree. The State agrees. Every surviving account agrees. Irish law allows late registration of a death even when original documents are missing, provided the Registrar General is satisfied as to the facts. Nothing prevents the State from acting now.
To illustrate how modest this request truly is: Ireland can analyze archaeological remains thousands of years old, reconstructing diets and causes of death from prehistory. Yet the State maintains it cannot certify the death of a man who died just over a century ago.
This is not about reopening old wounds. It is about historical completeness, transparency, and basic civic respect. Every Irish citizen is entitled to a death certificate. Michael Collins should be no exception.
I’ve launched a public petition calling on the Oireachtas Petitions Committee, the Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media, and the General Register Office to finally issue an official death certificate for General Michael Collins. You can read and sign the petition here: Petition · Issue an Official Death Certificate for Michael Collins - 100 Years Overdue - United States · Change.org.
If this matters to you, please consider signing and sharing it with others. A century of silence is long enough.
Noel P. Horkan, Venice, FL
