TAOISEACH SIMON HARRIS this afternoon delivered a wide-ranging speech remembering Irish revolutionary Michael Collins at a commemoration event at Béal na Bláth in Cork.

His speech touched on misinformation, education, housing, the Middle East and Ukraine, but had a core message that like Collins’ generation, forces that seek to divide in society will not be allowed to win.

The event today marks the 102nd anniversary of Collins’ death, who was ambushed and killed there during the Irish Civil War. The commander-in-chief of the National Army was just 31 at the time of his death.

Harris is just the third serving Taoiseach to speak at the commemoration ceremony. 

In his speech, Harris remarked that Collins’ killing deprived Ireland of the vision and leadership of someone who had done so much to bring the state into existence. 

He remembered him as a peacemaker and a person whose idealism still inspires today. 

“The genius of Michael Collins was that he was so many people in one. He cannot be viewed simply through a single lens, because his roles and responsibilities went beyond any simple categorisation.

“Believing that ‘people who are busy are never so busy that they cannot do something extra’, he kept taking on more work, more responsibility, to further the cause of Irish freedom. His energy and enthusiasm was infectious, and it proved unstoppable, ” the Taoiseach said. 

Describing Collins as a “statesman who believed in democracy”, the Taoiseach said democracy is under threat today, in Ireland and across the globe. 

“Misinformation and lies are the greatest risk of democracy and peace in our time,” Harris said. 

He said this was nowhere more evident than in the area of migration.

“There is a small group of people who want a country whose history has been woven by mass emigration to diminish the value of migration.

“They seek to create a division among those who were once forced to leave their home in search of a better life with others who are now seeking to do the same.

There are some who wave a tricolour and claim patriotism while betraying the founding principles this country prides itself on – freedom, equality, opportunity.

“It is up to each of us, and especially those in leadership positions, to be the solution we seek,” the Taoiseach said. 

He added: “It is up to each of us to use our voice to call out the racism, the hate, the ugliness we see.”

“Like Collins’ generation, we will fight those forces, and we will win.”

On education, Harris said that it is the “bedrock” of a successful democracy and that his aim is to guarantee an education for all in Irish society. 

On housing, Harris said it is Fine Gael’s view that every generation should be better off than the one before and once again pledged that 250,000 homes will be delivered over the next five years. 

He said Collins was a person who “dared to dream beyond the limits of his time” and that he “today demands of us to do the same”.