Tribute to Co Longford's Kitty Kiernan, who died 80 years ago

Catherine ‘Kitty’ Kiernan, Michael Collins’ fiancee, will be reaching the 80th anniversary of her death, which took place on July 24, 1945. Born in Granard, Co Longford, Kitty and Collins were known for their correspondence between 1919 and 1922.

According to 'In Great Haste: The Letters of Michael Collins and Kitty Kiernan' by León Ó Broin, they met in 1917, when Michael stayed in the Greville Arms, Granard, which was owned by Kitty’s family. The journal described her as a lover of races, dances and hunting. She was part of a large family.

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Her older twin sisters (1907 and 1909) died, and her parents died in 1908. Kitty and her siblings were then raised by a Granard draper until he, too, passed. The siblings began to run the family business themselves. Laurence Kiernan became chairman of Granard county council.

The Kiernans were a merchant family, who also had a store, as well as a bakery, which was occupied by the family to run. Collins was initially interested in Kitty’s elder sister, Helen. A double wedding between Kitty and her sister, Maud, was intended to happen until Michael Collins was assassinated. She went on to marry Felix Cronin. Kitty is now buried in Glasnevin Cemetery, Dublin, near where Michael Collins was, and also where Felix lies.