WORK diaries owned by Irish republican leader Michael Collins have been presented by his family to the taoiseach ahead of the 100th anniversary of his death next year.
The pocket diaries, which cover 1918 to Collins' death in August 1922, include details of meetings, events, appointments and other information, much of which has never been seen publicly before.
The diaries span a pivotal time in Ireland and cover the War of Independence, the Treaty Negotiations and the Civil War.
Although the diaries mostly refer to work matters, they include some personal details about the Gaelic football and hurling matches he attended and several dental appointments.
Entries in May 1918 noted how he evaded arrest and his plans to go on the run.
Members of the Collins family presented the diaries to Taoiseach Micheál Martin at Michael Collins' birthplace at at Woodfield in Clonakilty, Co Cork, yesterday.
The diaries will go on long-term loan to the National Archives in Dublin, where they will be preserved before being archived.
The diaries will also be digitised to allow them to be read by historians and the public.
Collins was one of the most important figures in the formation of the Irish state.
As the IRA's Director of Intelligence, he ran a network of spies within the British administration.
He was a member of the first Dáil, minister of home affairs and later minister for finance.
He played a major role in negotiating the Anglo-Irish Treaty in London in 1921.
The treaty sparked a split in the republican movement which led to the Civil War.
Collins became commander-in-chief of the pro-treaty Free State Army.
He was shot and killed by anti-treaty forces in an ambush at Béal na mBláth in Co Cork on August 22 1922.
A spokesman for the Collins family said Michael's brother Johnny Collins gave the diaries to his son Liam Collins.
"We are delighted on his behalf to give these important records to the Irish people through the good offices of the National Archives," they said.
"The family hope to involve Clonakilty in the public presentation of these diaries. This would be very important to our father (Liam)."
The taoiseach said the diaries will enable people to learn more about the foundation of the Irish state.
"There are many new discoveries that will be revealed through the diaries, which will now become part of the national collection at the National Archives," Mr Martin said.
Minister for Foreign Affairs Simon Coveney said the diaries gave a unique insight into Collins's life.
"This is a significant donation to the state from the Collins family and we thank them sincerely," he said.
"The family have always been generous in sharing with the Irish people the cherished belongings, documents and mementos of their uncle and granduncle.
"These diaries will act as a major research asset for historians of 20th century Ireland about pivotal moments of change in Irish history, particularly in the context of the Cork Decade of Centenaries commemorations and the revolutionary period."
