An iconic photograph of Michael Collins riding a Pierce bicycle. Public Domain

A statue of Michael Collins will be placed at the site where the famous revolutionary delivered a pro-treaty rally to more than 50,000 people in Cork City in 1922. 

The statue, which is based on an iconic photograph of Collins riding a Pierce bicycle, will be located on the Grand Parade, close to the city library. Collins used the bicycle to get around Dublin while leading the resistance against British rule in Ireland during the War of Independence. 

The statue has been funded by the Michael Collins 100 Committee - a non-profit organization dedicated to honoring Collins' legacy. 

Renowned local sculptor Kevin Holland has been commissioned to make the statue. 

Cork City Council approved the statue in September last year shortly after the centenary of Collins' death and has now decided on a location for the new statue. 

The Grand Parade location has historic ties to Collins, who gave a stirring pro-treaty rally there on March 12, 1922, just months before the outbreak of the Irish Civil War. 

Tim Crowley, the Chairman of the Michael Collins 100 Committee, said the statue will be placed in almost exactly the same spot where Collins gave the address. 

"We discovered when lining up the buildings from the photographs and film footage that the site the Council is giving us is actually more or less on the spot of where he made the speech, which is incredible," Crowley told Echo Live. 

Crowley said the group has decided to make the statue slightly larger than life, adding that a smaller statue would be "lost in such an open space". 

"Since we learned that this site is available – it’s a big open site obviously on the Grand Parade – we’ve been talking to the Council and we’ve come to the decision to make the statue slightly bigger so it will actually be 7ft to the top of the hat." 

Cork councilor Shane O'Callagher, who is one of the organizers of the new statue, described the Grand Parade location as the "perfect site". 

The new statue is set to be unveiled on August 20, 2023, two days before the 101st anniversary of Collins' death.