[caption id="attachment_66796" align="aligncenter" width="600" caption="The Sliabh na Mban armored car arrives at the Curragh."]
One of the most famous vehicles in Irish history, now fully restored, went on display during the recent cavalry remembrance day ceremonies at the Curragh in County Kildare.
Taoiseach Enda Kenny described the specially armored Rolls Royce, which is known as Sliabh na mBan, as a "silent witness" to Ireland's turbulent formation, as the car is none other than the vehicle that carried Michael Collins' mortally wounded body from the ambush at Béal na Bláth in West Cork on August 22, 1922.
The vehicle has been restored to its original condition and was unveiled at the Curragh Camp following the annual ceremony paying tribute to deceased members of the Irish army's Cavalry Corps.
"Sliabh na mBan is the most historic and evocative vehicle in the state," Kenny said.
"It may well be an inanimate object yet it speaks to us. It shouts resistance, endurance, integrity, struggle and victory."
The 91-year-old vehicle formed part of Collins' convoy which was ambushed after venturing into anti-Treaty heartland during the Civil War. Collins, then commander-in-chief of the Irish army, returned fire. After he was shot in the head, his body was taken into the Sliabh na mBan and the vehicles escaped with no further casualties.
"It is a matter of tragic irony that Collins, who refused to take shelter in the Sliabh na mBan, was evacuated from the ambush site in this very car, having been mortally wounded moments earlier. Thus, in the loss of one of our greatest patriots and leaders, Sliabh na mBan was a silent witness," the taoiseach said.
"Therefore it takes us right back to the turbulent foundations of our nation and reminds us in no small way of the price that was paid for that independence."
Sliabh na mBan was originally intended for service with the British Army in Mesopotamia (modern day Iraq) in World War I but was diverted to Ireland during the War of Independence.
Along with 12 other armored Rolls Royce cars, it was later procured by the Irish army from the departing British forces, although it came under the control of anti-Treaty forces for a brief period during the Civil War.
