Rethinking Commemorative Narratives through Exhibition: The Contact Relics of Michael Collins

Abstract

Rethinking Commemorative Narratives through Exhibition:The Contact Relics of Michael Collins Siobhán Doyle (bio) Commemorative exhibitions are practices of remembrance and communication that shape, transfer, and disseminate narratives about the past and are significant in examining the construction and reevaluation of historical narratives. These narratives constantly shift rather than remaining fixed, and material artifacts are part of these interpretive devices that cause that shift. In the immediate aftermath of Michael Collins's death at Béal na Bláth in August 1922, conscious commemorative actions began to take place. Photographs were taken of his remains, a death mask was created, and artifacts were carefully safeguarded by those close to him, but also opportunistically collected by those who encountered Collins's remains. This research examines how Collins's death transformed the meaning of his personal possessions. Their circulation, first within private circles and eventually into public-museum collections, demonstrates how they acquired a value beyond material means and have become "treasured relics" of the dead leader.1 This body of objects, based around the evidence of and proximity to Collins's death, constitutes the material culture that played a significant role in creating and reinterpreting narratives of commemoration. Commemorative exhibitions are part of the commemorative process and a "cultural system of representation" whereby past events are represented as meaningful through messages conveyed to visitors in the display of images and artifacts.2 Many of these artifacts, [End Page 147] including Collins's scapular and greatcoat, have been displayed publicly for many years in both permanent exhibitions and temporary displays. A substantial collection of artifacts relating to his death has survived, and each one within this collection has varying display histories. Notably, the military cap he wore at the time of his death, which has visible signs of blood and "organic" brain matter, was removed from display in the National Museum of Ireland (NMI) for ethical and conservation reasons. The cap is among several artifacts that occupy a position at the edge of commemorative narratives, and their entry into the public domain is sometimes to the antipathy of Collins's descendants. This research reflects on how decisions over the display of Collins's contact relics reveal the challenges and complexities of commemorating the Irish Civil War, including the highly politicized remembrance of the past in the public sphere, the conservation requirements of artifacts, and the ethics of display. The motivation for this research is to explain how the display of artifacts associated with the death of Collins gives a dynamic insight into developments of commemorative narratives in museums. The practices of commemoration associated with Collins's contact relics discussed here are spread across different temporalities, from the creation of a death mask in the days after his killing to the first public display in 2014 of a coin believed to have been in his pocket at the time of his death. The distinctive commemorative gestures at different historical distances from Collins's death all contribute to the formation of varying representations and display cultures of the Civil War in museums. In theorizing the relationship between history and collective memory, Pierre Nora asserts that collective memory does not function in an organic, natural way but instead transforms itself according to temporal continuities, progressions, and the relations between things.3 Edward Said implies a similar reasoning in his consideration of how methods of collective memory are selectively used by "manipulating certain bits of the national past, suppressing others, elevating [End Page 148] still others in an entirely functional way."4 The decisions over whether to confine Collins's contact relics to private collections, donate them to museums, or display them to the public relates to the suppression and elevation of commemorative narratives of the Civil War, yet such narratives can generate dissatisfaction and condemnation. This subject will be discussed later. The various forms, genres, and media of Collins's contact relics in commemorative exhibitions are examined through exploring three themes: narrative in museums, indexicality, and display cultures. Narratives in museums are particularly meaningful within complex and rapidly changing political and cultural contexts, such as Ireland during the Decade of Centenaries. Indexicality is based around the evidence and immediacy of conflict, whether through...