Béal na Bláth is famous for being the site of the ambush and assassination of Michael Collins, a leading figure in the Irish struggle for independence.
You can read more about his ambush here.
Collins had been one of the negotiators of the Anglo-Irish Treaty, which marked the end of the Irish War of Independence, but the beginning of the Irish Civil War.
On 22 August 1922, Collins, who was Chairman of the Provisional Government and Commander-in-chief of the National Army, was killed in an ambush by anti-treaty forces while traveling in a convoy from Bandon.
A memorial cross (seen above) stands at the site of the shooting about 1 km from the village.
This was a dirt road at the time when Collins was shot.
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