A medical swab used to clean the face of the corpse of Michael Collins has been withdrawn from an auction of historical memorabilia in Dublin next week.
The sale had been publicly criticised by descendants of Michael Collins. A spokesman for the vendor said he had “approached the National Museum, other national institutions, experts and a number of individuals” during recent years about finding “an appropriate repository” for the swab but “unfortunately the institutions concerned refused to accept the items”.
Raghnall Ó Floinn, head of collections at the National Museum, told The Irish Times that the museum would not be interested in the swab “either to purchase or as a donation”.
He explained that it was not the type of item the museum would normally display and that “it doesn’t shed any additional light on Michael Collins’s life or activities”.