The Collins Brothers of Templecurraheen

In the early 1830s, Ireland was shaken by the Tithe War, when impoverished tenant farmers were forced to hand over a tenth of their produce to support the Protestant Church. This burden fell heavily on Catholic communities and gave rise to bitter resistance, protests, and, all too often, bloodshed.

One of the darkest days came on 18th December 1834 at Widow Ryan's farm near Bartlemy, Co. Cork. Archdeacon Ryder, determined to collect the hated tax, arrived with soldiers and police from Fermoy. A large crowd of local farmers, around two hundred strong, had gathered in defiance. When ordered to disperse, they stood firm. After the Riot Act was read and further warnings ignored, the troops opened fire. Twelve people were killed on that winter's day, and many more were wounded.

Among the dead were two brothers from Carrigtwohill, John Collins (32) and Michael Collins (30). Stalwart young men, they had joined their neighbours in resisting the tithe collectors. Brought back to their grieving mother, herself widowed only two years earlier, the shock of their loss was almost unbearable; tradition holds that she struggled to accept their deaths for weeks afterwards.

The brothers were laid to rest in Templecurraheen Graveyard, alongside their father Michael Collins (d.1832). Their names are inscribed on his headstone:

"His sons John Collins & Michael Collins
Died at the Battle of Gortroe, Bartlemy,
18th December 1834."

The massacre caused outrage across Munster and beyond. An inquest held afterwards found against those responsible for the shooting, and public pressure helped bring about change. Within a few years, parliament reduced the tithe by a quarter and converted the remainder into a rent charge — a first step towards dismantling the system that had caused such suffering.

To this day, the memory of the massacre is honoured. Each December, locals gather at the Gortroe monument in Bartlemy to commemorate those who fell — among them the Collins brothers, whose final resting place lies here at Templecurraheen.