AUDIENCES will have the chance to experience Michael Collins’ last day through virtual reality technology thanks to the video production company, Wombat Media.

The production company will present Michael Collins: The Ambush at Béal na Bláth, a virtual reality documentary, in Clonakilty Library on Tuesday, August 22, marking the 101st anniversary of Collins’ assassination.

Tim Crowley is an expert on Collins and founder of the Michael Collins Centre Museum, Clonakilty. He runs tours on Collins’ history, which last approximately four hours. The VR documentary condenses Crowley’s tour to 13 minutes and focuses on the events surrounding Collins’ last day.

Dave Slowo and Ciara Buckley run Wombat Media, a production company based in Cork. Buckley, who is from Castletownshend, met Slowo from Melbourne when they both worked in television in Central Australia and, since relocating to Cork, have made numerous documentaries about Cork’s history.

The couple specialises in virtual reality, and Buckley says it was an exciting challenge to create a snapshot of Collins to mark his anniversary.

“We have worked in virtual reality for a few years; our first VR presentation was about Cape Clear, and we made it for the county council. Since then, we have produced quite a few, mostly focusing on local history.”

“For this, we used a VR camera that films 360 degrees. We filmed Tim talking at multiple locations connected to Collins, which we edited with special software. Most people have watched VR videos on YouTube, but they don’t have the same impact as using a headset which the audience can do next Tuesday. You can turn around when you wear the headset, giving a fully immersive experience.”

Michael Collins. Photo by Hulton Archive/Getty Images

The documentary briefly introduces Collins before virtually taking viewers to places like The Michael Collins Centre Museum and Béal na Bláth.

There are several chances to take part in the VR on Tuesday, and the 4pm showing will be attended by the mayor of Cork, Kieran McCarthy, who is due to give a speech, Cork’s heritage officer, Conor Nelligan, and the star of the documentary, Tim Crowley.

The screenings take place in the library, tomorrow from 11am – 5pm. Booking through Eventbrite.ie