Michael Collins (leader)
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Michael Collins (; 16 October 1890 – 22 August 1922) was an Irish revolutionary, soldier and politician who was a leading figure in the early-20th century struggle for Irish independence. During the
War of Independence Wars of national liberation, also called wars of independence or wars of liberation, are conflicts fought by nations to gain independence. The term is used in conjunction with wars against foreign powers (or at least those perceived as foreign) ...
he was Director of Intelligence of the
Irish Republican Army The Irish Republican Army (IRA) is a name used by various Resistance movement, resistance organisations in Ireland throughout the 20th and 21st centuries. Organisations by this name have been dominantly Catholic and dedicated to anti-imperiali ...
(IRA) and a government minister of the self-declared
Irish Republic The Irish Republic ( or ) was a Revolutionary republic, revolutionary state that Irish Declaration of Independence, declared its independence from the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland in January 1919. The Republic claimed jurisdict ...
. He was then
Chairman of the Provisional Government of the Irish Free State The Chairman of the Provisional Government of the Irish Free State was a transitional post established in January 1922, lasting until the creation of the Irish Free State in December 1922. The Anglo-Irish Treaty of December 1921 was passed by t ...
from January 1922 and commander-in-chief of the National Army from July until his death in an ambush in August 1922, during the
Civil War A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...
. Collins was born in Woodfield, County Cork, the youngest of eight children. He moved to London in 1906 to become a clerk in the Post Office Savings Bank at
Blythe House Blythe House is a listed building located at 23 Blythe Road, West Kensington, London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham, UK. Originally built as the headquarters of the Post Office Savings Bank, it is next used as a store and archive by the V ...
. He was a member of the
London GAA The London County Board of the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) or London GAA is one of the County (Gaelic games), county boards outside Ireland, and is responsible for Gaelic games in London. The county board is also responsible for the London ...
, through which he became associated with the
Irish Republican Brotherhood The Irish Republican Brotherhood (IRB; ) was a secret oath-bound fraternal organisation dedicated to the establishment of an "independent democratic republic" in Ireland between 1858 and 1924.McGee, p. 15. Its counterpart in the United States ...
and the
Gaelic League (; historically known in English as the Gaelic League) is a social and cultural organisation which promotes the Irish language in Ireland and worldwide. The organisation was founded in 1893 with Douglas Hyde as its first president, when it eme ...
. He returned to Ireland in January 1916 and fought in the
Easter Rising The Easter Rising (), also known as the Easter Rebellion, was an armed insurrection in Ireland during Easter Week in April 1916. The Rising was launched by Irish republicans against British rule in Ireland with the aim of establishing an ind ...
. He was taken prisoner and held in the
Frongoch internment camp Frongoch is a village located in Gwynedd, Wales. It lies close to the market town of Bala, on the A4212 road. It was the home of the Frongoch internment camp, used to hold German prisoners-of-war during First World War, and then Irish ...
as a
prisoner of war A prisoner of war (POW) is a person held captive by a belligerent power during or immediately after an armed conflict. The earliest recorded usage of the phrase "prisoner of war" dates back to 1610. Belligerents hold prisoners of war for a ...
, but he was released in December 1916. Collins subsequently rose through the ranks of the
Irish Volunteers The Irish Volunteers (), also known as the Irish Volunteer Force or the Irish Volunteer Army, was a paramilitary organisation established in 1913 by nationalists and republicans in Ireland. It was ostensibly formed in response to the format ...
and
Sinn Féin Sinn Féin ( ; ; ) is an Irish republican and democratic socialist political party active in both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. The History of Sinn Féin, original Sinn Féin organisation was founded in 1905 by Arthur Griffit ...
. He was elected as MP for South Cork in December 1918. Sinn Féin's elected members (later known as TDs) formed an Irish parliament, the
First Dáil First most commonly refers to: * First, the ordinal form of the number 1 First or 1st may also refer to: Acronyms * Faint Images of the Radio Sky at Twenty-Centimeters, an astronomical survey carried out by the Very Large Array * Far Infrared a ...
, in January 1919 and declared the independence of the Irish Republic. Collins was appointed Minister for Finance. In the ensuing War of Independence, he was Director of Organisation and Adjutant General for the Irish Volunteers, and Director of Intelligence of the IRA. He gained fame as a
guerrilla warfare Guerrilla warfare is a form of unconventional warfare in which small groups of irregular military, such as rebels, partisans, paramilitary personnel or armed civilians, which may include recruited children, use ambushes, sabotage, terrori ...
strategist, planning many successful attacks on British forces together with ' the Squad', such as the "Bloody Sunday" assassinations of key British intelligence agents in November 1920. After the July 1921 ceasefire, Collins was one of five
plenipotentiaries A ''plenipotentiary'' (from the Latin ''plenus'' "full" and ''potens'' "powerful") is a diplomat who has full powers—authorization to sign a treaty or convention on behalf of a sovereign. When used as a noun more generally, the word can also r ...
sent by the Dáil cabinet at the request of
Éamon de Valera Éamon de Valera (; ; first registered as George de Valero; changed some time before 1901 to Edward de Valera; 14 October 1882 – 29 August 1975) was an American-born Irish statesman and political leader. He served as the 3rd President of Ire ...
, to negotiate peace terms in London. The resulting
Anglo-Irish Treaty The 1921 Anglo-Irish Treaty (), commonly known in Ireland as The Treaty and officially the Articles of Agreement for a Treaty Between Great Britain and Ireland, was an agreement between the government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain an ...
, signed in December 1921, would establish the
Irish Free State The Irish Free State (6 December 192229 December 1937), also known by its Irish-language, Irish name ( , ), was a State (polity), state established in December 1922 under the Anglo-Irish Treaty of December 1921. The treaty ended the three-ye ...
but depended on an
oath of allegiance An oath of allegiance is an oath whereby a subject or citizen acknowledges a duty of allegiance and swears loyalty to a monarch or a country. In modern republics, oaths are sworn to the country in general, or to the country's constitution. For ...
to
the Crown The Crown is a political concept used in Commonwealth realms. Depending on the context used, it generally refers to the entirety of the State (polity), state (or in federal realms, the relevant level of government in that state), the executive ...
. This was the clause in the treaty de Valera and other republican leaders found most difficult to accept. Collins viewed the treaty as offering "the freedom to achieve freedom", and helped persuade a majority of the Dáil to ratify the treaty. A
provisional government A provisional government, also called an interim government, an emergency government, a transitional government or provisional leadership, is a temporary government formed to manage a period of transition, often following state collapse, revoluti ...
was formed under his chairmanship in early 1922. During this time he secretly provided support for an IRA offensive in Northern Ireland. It was soon disrupted by the Irish Civil War, in which Collins was commander-in-chief of the National Army. He was shot and killed in an ambush by anti-Treaty forces in August 1922.


Early years

Collins was born in Woodfield, Sam's Cross, near
Rosscarbery Rosscarbery () is a village and census town in County Cork, Ireland. The village is on a shallow estuary, which opens onto Rosscarbery Bay. Rosscarbery is in the Cork South-West (Dáil Éireann) constituency, which has three seats. History The ...
,
County Cork County Cork () is the largest and the southernmost Counties of Ireland, county of Republic of Ireland, Ireland, named after the city of Cork (city), Cork, the state's second-largest city. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster ...
, on 16 October 1890, the third son and youngest of eight children. His father, Michael John (1815–1897), was a farmer and amateur mathematician, who had been a member of the
Irish Republican Brotherhood The Irish Republican Brotherhood (IRB; ) was a secret oath-bound fraternal organisation dedicated to the establishment of an "independent democratic republic" in Ireland between 1858 and 1924.McGee, p. 15. Its counterpart in the United States ...
(IRB). The elder Collins was 60 years old when he married Mary Anne O'Brien, then 23, in 1876. The marriage was apparently happy. They brought up eight children on a farm called Woodfield, which the Collins family had held as tenants for several generations. Michael was six and a half years old when his father died. After the death of her husband, Mary Anne had the small family home rebuilt in 1899–1900 as Woodfield House, a much larger dwelling. Michael Collins (the younger) believed his family were descendants of the Uí Chonaill Gabra. He was a bright and precocious child with a fiery temper and a passionate feeling of Irish patriotism. He named a local
blacksmith A blacksmith is a metalsmith who creates objects primarily from wrought iron or steel, but sometimes from #Other metals, other metals, by forging the metal, using tools to hammer, bend, and cut (cf. tinsmith). Blacksmiths produce objects such ...
, James Santry, and his headmaster at Lisavaird National School, Denis Lyons, as the first nationalists to personally inspire his "pride of Irishness". Lyons was a member of the IRB, while Santry's family had participated in, and forged arms for, the rebellions of
1798 Events January–June * January – Eli Whitney contracts with the U.S. federal government for 10,000 muskets, which he produces with interchangeable parts. * January 4 – Constantine Hangerli enters Bucharest, as Prince of ...
,
1848 1848 is historically famous for the wave of revolutions, a series of widespread struggles for more liberal governments, which broke out from Brazil to Hungary; although most failed in their immediate aims, they significantly altered the polit ...
and
1867 There were only 354 days this year in the newly purchased territory of Alaska. When the territory transferred from the Russian Empire to the United States, the calendric transition from the Julian to the Gregorian Calendar was made with only 1 ...
.Coogan, T. P. (1991) ''Michael Collins'', London: Arrow Books. pp. 9-10. . There are a number of anecdotal explanations for the origin of his nickname "the Big Fellow". His family claim that he was called this as a child, as a term of endearment for an adventurous and bold youngest brother. The nickname was established in his teens, long before he became a political or military leader. At the age of thirteen he attended
Clonakilty Clonakilty (; ), sometimes shortened to Clon, is a town in County Cork, Ireland. The town is at the head of the tidal Clonakilty Bay. The rural hinterland is used mainly for dairy farming. The town's population was 5,112 at the 2022 census. T ...
National School. During the week he stayed with his sister
Margaret Collins-O'Driscoll Margaret Collins-O'Driscoll (18 August 1876 – 17 June 1945) was an Irish Cumann na nGaedheal politician who served as a Teachta Dála (TD) for the Dublin North constituency from 1923 to 1933. Early life Margaret Mary Collins was born in Wo ...
and her husband
Patrick O'Driscoll Patrick Florence O'Driscoll (14 January 1878 – 8 August 1949) was an Irish Clann na Talmhan politician. A farmer by profession, he was elected to Dáil Éireann as a Clann na Talmhan Teachta Dála (TD) for the Cork West (Dáil constituency), C ...
, while at weekends he returned to the family farm. Patrick O'Driscoll founded the newspaper ''West Cork People'' and Collins helped out with general reporting and preparing the issues. Leaving school at fifteen, Collins took the
British Civil Service In the United Kingdom, the Civil Service is the permanent bureaucracy or secretariat of Crown employees that supports His Majesty's Government, the Scottish Government and the Welsh Government, which is led by a cabinet of ministers chosen ...
examination in Cork in February 1906"Examining Irish leader's youthful past"
,
BBC News BBC News is an operational business division of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) responsible for the gathering and broadcasting of news and current affairs in the UK and around the world. The department is the world's largest broad ...
and moved to the home of his sister Hannie in
London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...
, where he became a boy clerk in the Post Office Savings Bank at
Blythe House Blythe House is a listed building located at 23 Blythe Road, West Kensington, London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham, UK. Originally built as the headquarters of the Post Office Savings Bank, it is next used as a store and archive by the V ...
. In 1910 he became a messenger at a London firm of
stockbrokers A stockbroker is an individual or company that buys and sells stocks and other investments for a financial market participant in return for a commission, markup, or fee. In most countries they are regulated as a broker or broker-dealer and m ...
, Horne and Company. While living in London he studied law at
King's College London King's College London (informally King's or KCL) is a public university, public research university in London, England. King's was established by royal charter in 1829 under the patronage of George IV of the United Kingdom, King George IV ...
but did not finish. He joined the
London GAA The London County Board of the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) or London GAA is one of the County (Gaelic games), county boards outside Ireland, and is responsible for Gaelic games in London. The county board is also responsible for the London ...
and, through this, the IRB.
Sam Maguire Samuel Maguire (also , 11 March 1877 – 6 February 1927) was an Irish republican and Gaelic football player. He is chiefly remembered as the eponym of the Sam Maguire Cup, given to the All-Ireland Senior Champions of Gaelic football each yea ...
, a republican from
Dunmanway Dunmanway (, official Irish name: ) is a market town in County Cork, in the southwest of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is the geographical centre of the region known as West Cork. It is the birthplace of Sam Maguire, an Irish Protestant repub ...
, County Cork, introduced the 19-year-old Collins to the IRB. In 1915 he moved to work in the Guaranty Trust Company of New York where he remained until his return to Ireland the following year joining part-time ''Craig Gardiner & Co'', a firm of accountants in
Dawson Street Dawson Street (; ) is a street on the southern side of central Dublin, running from St Stephen's Green to the walls of Trinity College Dublin. It is the site of the residence of the Lord Mayor of Dublin, the Mansion House, Dublin, Mansion House. ...
,
Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...
.


Easter Rising

The struggle for
Home Rule Home rule is the government of a colony, dependent country, or region by its own citizens. It is thus the power of a part (administrative division) of a state or an external dependent country to exercise such of the state's powers of governan ...
, along with labour unrest, had led to the formation in 1913 of two major nationalist paramilitary groups which later launched the
Easter Rising The Easter Rising (), also known as the Easter Rebellion, was an armed insurrection in Ireland during Easter Week in April 1916. The Rising was launched by Irish republicans against British rule in Ireland with the aim of establishing an ind ...
: the
Irish Citizen Army The Irish Citizen Army (), or ICA, was a paramilitary group first formed in Dublin to defend the picket lines and street demonstrations of the Irish Transport and General Workers' Union (ITGWU) against the police during the Great Dublin Lock ...
was established by
James Connolly James Connolly (; 5 June 1868 – 12 May 1916) was a Scottish people, Scottish-born Irish republicanism, Irish republican, socialist, and trade union leader, executed for his part in the Easter Rising, 1916 Easter Rising against British rule i ...
,
James Larkin James Larkin (28 January 1874 – 30 January 1947), sometimes known as Jim Larkin or Big Jim, was an Irish republicanism, Irish republican, socialist and trade union leader. He was one of the founders of the Irish Labour Party (Ireland), Labou ...
and his
Irish Transport and General Workers Union The Irish Transport and General Workers Union (ITGWU) was a trade union representing workers, initially mainly labourers, in Ireland. History The union was founded by James Larkin and James Fearon (trade unionist), James Fearon in January 1909 ...
(ITGWU) to protect strikers from the
Dublin Metropolitan Police The Dublin Metropolitan Police (DMP) was the police force of Dublin in History of Ireland (1801–1923), British-controlled Ireland from 1836 to 1922 and then the Irish Free State until 1925, when it was absorbed into the new state's Garda Sío ...
during the
1913 Dublin Lockout The Dublin lock-out was a major industrial dispute between approximately 20,000 workers and 300 employers that took place in Dublin, Ireland. The dispute, lasting from 26 August 1913 to 18 January 1914, is often viewed as the most severe and ...
. The
Irish Volunteers The Irish Volunteers (), also known as the Irish Volunteer Force or the Irish Volunteer Army, was a paramilitary organisation established in 1913 by nationalists and republicans in Ireland. It was ostensibly formed in response to the format ...
were created in the same year by nationalists in response to the formation of the
Ulster Volunteers The Ulster Volunteers was an Irish unionist, loyalist paramilitary organisation founded in 1912 to block domestic self-government ("Home Rule") for Ireland, which was then part of the United Kingdom. The Ulster Volunteers were based in the ...
(UVF), an
Ulster loyalist Ulster loyalism is a strand of Unionism in Ireland, Ulster unionism associated with working class Ulster Protestants in Northern Ireland. Like other unionists, loyalists support the continued existence of Northern Ireland (and formerly all of I ...
body pledged to oppose Home Rule by force. An organiser of considerable intelligence, Collins had become highly respected in the IRB. This led to his appointment as financial advisor to
Count Plunkett Count George Noble Plunkett (3 December 1851 – 12 March 1948) was an Irish nationalist politician, museum director and biographer, who served as Minister for Fine Arts from 1921 to 1922, Minister for Foreign Affairs from 1919 to 1921 and Cean ...
, father of one of the Easter Rising's organisers,
Joseph Plunkett Joseph Mary Plunkett ( Irish: ''Seosamh Máire Pluincéid''; 21 November 1887 – 4 May 1916) was an Irish republican, poet and journalist. As a leader of the 1916 Easter Rising, he was one of the seven signatories to the Proclamation of the I ...
. Collins took part in preparing arms and drilling troops for the insurrection. The Rising was Collins' first appearance in national events. When it commenced on
Easter Monday Easter Monday is the second day of Eastertide and a public holiday in more than 50 predominantly Christian countries. In Western Christianity it marks the second day of the Octave of Easter; in Eastern Christianity it marks the second day of Br ...
1916, Collins served as Joseph Plunkett's aide-de-camp and bodyguard at the rebellion's headquarters in the
General Post Office The General Post Office (GPO) was the state postal system and telecommunications carrier of the United Kingdom until 1969. Established in England in the 17th century, the GPO was a state monopoly covering the dispatch of items from a specific ...
(GPO) in Dublin. There he fought alongside
Patrick Pearse Patrick Henry Pearse (also known as Pádraig or Pádraic Pearse; ; 10 November 1879 – 3 May 1916) was an Irish teacher, barrister, Irish poetry, poet, writer, Irish nationalism, nationalist, Irish republicanism, republican political activist a ...
, James Connolly and other members of the Rising leadership. The Rising was put down after six days, but the insurgents achieved their goal of holding their positions for the minimum time required to justify a claim to independence under international criteria. Following the surrender, Collins was arrested and taken into British custody. He was processed at Dublin's
Richmond Barracks Richmond Barracks was a British Army barracks in Inchicore, Dublin, Ireland. It is now a cultural centre. History The barracks, which were named after Charles Lennox, 4th Duke of Richmond, were completed in 1810 and first occupied by the Brit ...
by " G-Men", plain-clothes officers from Dublin Metropolitan Police. During his screening, Collins was identified as someone who should be selected for further interrogation, harsher treatment or execution. However, he overheard his name being called out so he moved to the other side of the building to identify the speaker. In doing so, he joined the group that was later transferred to
Frongoch internment camp Frongoch is a village located in Gwynedd, Wales. It lies close to the market town of Bala, on the A4212 road. It was the home of the Frongoch internment camp, used to hold German prisoners-of-war during First World War, and then Irish ...
in Wales after two months captivity in
Stafford Gaol HM Prison Stafford is a Category C men's prison, located in Stafford, Staffordshire, England. The prison is operated by His Majesty's Prison Service. In 2014 it became a sex offender-only jail. History His Majesty's Prison at Stafford was orig ...
. Historian
Tim Pat Coogan Timothy Patrick "Tim Pat" Coogan (born 22 April 1935) is an Irish journalist, writer and broadcaster. He served as editor of ''The Irish Press'' newspaper from 1968 to 1987. He has been best known for such books as ''The IRA'', ''Ireland Since t ...
describes Collins' fortuitous move across the detention room in Richmond Barracks as "one of the luckiest escapes of his life". Collins first began to emerge as a major figure in the vacuum created by the executions of the 1916 leadership. He began hatching plans for "next time" even before the prison ships left Dublin. At Frongoch he was one of the organisers of a programme of protest and non-cooperation with authorities. The camp proved an excellent opportunity for networking with physical-force republicans from all over the country, of which he became a key organiser. While some celebrated the fact that a rising had happened at all, believing in Pearse's theory of "blood sacrifice" (namely that the deaths of the Rising's leaders would inspire others), Collins railed against the military blunders made. He cited the seizure of indefensible and very vulnerable positions like
St Stephen's Green St Stephen's Green () is a garden square and public park located in the city centre of Dublin, Ireland. The current landscape of the park was designed by William Sheppard. It was officially re-opened to the public on Tuesday, 27 July 1880 by ...
which were impossible to escape from and difficult to supply. Public outcry placed pressure on the British government to end the internment and, in December 1916, the Frongoch prisoners were sent home.


1917–1918

Before his death, Tom Clarke, first signatory of the 1916 Proclamation and widely considered the Rising's foremost organiser, had designated his wife
Kathleen Clarke Kathleen Clarke (; ; 12 April 1878 – 29 September 1972) was a founder member of Cumann na mBan, a women's paramilitary organisation formed in Ireland in 1914, and one of very few privy to the plans of the Easter Rising in 1916. She was the w ...
as the official caretaker of Rising official business, in the event that the leadership did not survive. By June 1916, Mrs. Clarke had sent out the first post-Rising communiqué to the IRB, declaring the Rising to be only the beginning and directing nationalists to prepare for "the next blow". Soon after his release Mrs. Clarke appointed Collins Secretary to the National Aid and Volunteers Dependents Fund and subsequently passed on to him the secret organisational information and contacts which she had held in trust for the independence movement. Collins became one of the leading figures in the post-Rising independence movement spearheaded by
Arthur Griffith Arthur Joseph Griffith (; 31 March 1871 – 12 August 1922) was an Irish writer, newspaper editor and politician who founded the political party Sinn Féin. He led the Irish delegation at the negotiations that produced the 1921 Anglo-Irish Trea ...
, editor/publisher of the main
nationalist Nationalism is an idea or movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the State (polity), state. As a movement, it presupposes the existence and tends to promote the interests of a particular nation,Anthony D. Smith, Smith, A ...
newspaper
The United Irishman ''The United Irishman'' was an Irish nationalist newspaper co-founded by Arthur Griffith and William Rooney.Arthur Griffith
, (which Collins had read avidly as a boy.)Coogan, TP. ''Michael Collins'', 1990 Griffith's organisation
Sinn Féin Sinn Féin ( ; ; ) is an Irish republican and democratic socialist political party active in both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. The History of Sinn Féin, original Sinn Féin organisation was founded in 1905 by Arthur Griffit ...
was founded in 1905 as an
umbrella group An umbrella organization is an association of (often related, industry-specific) institutions who work together formally to coordinate activities and/or pool resources. In business, political, and other environments, it provides resources and iden ...
to unify all the various factions within the nationalist movement. Under Griffith's policy, Collins and other advocates of the "physical-force" approach to independence gained the cooperation of Sinn Féin, while agreeing to disagree with Griffith's moderate ideas of a dual monarchy solution based on the Hungarian model.Feeney, Brian. ''Sinn Fein: a Hundred Turbulent Years'', Dublin; O'Brien Press Ltd., 2002 The British government and mainstream Irish media had wrongly blamed Sinn Féin for the Rising. This attracted Rising participants to join the organisation in order to exploit the reputation with which such British propaganda had imbued the organisation. By October 1917 Collins had risen to become a member of the executive of Sinn Féin and director of organisation for the Irish Volunteers.
Éamon de Valera Éamon de Valera (; ; first registered as George de Valero; changed some time before 1901 to Edward de Valera; 14 October 1882 – 29 August 1975) was an American-born Irish statesman and political leader. He served as the 3rd President of Ire ...
, another veteran of 1916, stood for the presidency of Sinn Féin against Griffith, who stepped aside and supported de Valera's presidency.


First Dáil

In the 1918 general election Sinn Féin swept the polls throughout much of Ireland, with many seats uncontested, and formed an overwhelming parliamentary majority in Ireland. Like many senior Sinn Féin representatives Collins was elected as an MP (for Cork South) with the right to sit in the
House of Commons of the United Kingdom The House of Commons is the lower house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the upper house, the House of Lords, it meets in the Palace of Westminster in London, England. The House of Commons is an elected body consisting of 650 memb ...
in London. Unlike their rivals in the
Irish Parliamentary Party The Irish Parliamentary Party (IPP; commonly called the Irish Party or the Home Rule Party) was formed in 1874 by Isaac Butt, the leader of the Nationalist Party, replacing the Home Rule League, as official parliamentary party for Irish nati ...
, Sinn Féin MPs had announced that they would not take their seats in
Westminster Westminster is the main settlement of the City of Westminster in Central London, Central London, England. It extends from the River Thames to Oxford Street and has many famous landmarks, including the Palace of Westminster, Buckingham Palace, ...
but instead would set up an Irish Parliament in Dublin. Before the new body's first meeting, Collins, tipped off by his network of spies, warned his colleagues of plans to arrest all its members in overnight raids. De Valera and others ignored the warnings on the argument that, if the arrests happened, they would constitute a
propaganda Propaganda is communication that is primarily used to influence or persuade an audience to further an agenda, which may not be objective and may be selectively presenting facts to encourage a particular synthesis or perception, or using loaded l ...
coup. The intelligence proved accurate and de Valera, along with Sinn Féin MPs who followed his advice, were arrested; Collins and others evaded incarceration. Collins reportedly spent time hiding among Dublin's Jewish community, even posing as an
Orthodox Jew Orthodox Judaism is a collective term for the traditionalist branches of contemporary Judaism. Theologically, it is chiefly defined by regarding the Torah, both Written and Oral, as literally revealed by God on Mount Sinai and faithfully tran ...
and once cursing at the
Black and Tans The Black and Tans () were constables recruited into the Royal Irish Constabulary (RIC) as reinforcements during the Irish War of Independence. Recruitment began in Great Britain in January 1920, and about 10,000 men enlisted during the conflic ...
in his best imitation of
Yiddish Yiddish, historically Judeo-German, is a West Germanic language historically spoken by Ashkenazi Jews. It originated in 9th-century Central Europe, and provided the nascent Ashkenazi community with a vernacular based on High German fused with ...
. The new parliament, called
Dáil Éireann Dáil Éireann ( ; , ) is the lower house and principal chamber of the Oireachtas, which also includes the president of Ireland and a senate called Seanad Éireann.Article 15.1.2° of the Constitution of Ireland reads: "The Oireachtas shall co ...
(meaning "Assembly of Ireland", see
First Dáil First most commonly refers to: * First, the ordinal form of the number 1 First or 1st may also refer to: Acronyms * Faint Images of the Radio Sky at Twenty-Centimeters, an astronomical survey carried out by the Very Large Array * Far Infrared a ...
) met in the
Mansion House, Dublin The Mansion House () is a house on Dawson Street, Dublin, which has been the official residence of the Lord Mayor of Dublin since 1715, and was also the meeting place of the Dáil Éireann from 1919 until 1922. History The first dedicated mayor ...
in January 1919. In de Valera's absence,
Cathal Brugha Cathal Brugha (; born Charles William St John Burgess; 18 July 1874 – 7 July 1922) was an Irish republican politician who served as Minister for Defence from 1919 to 1922, Ceann Comhairle of Dáil Éireann in January 1919, the first presid ...
was elected Príomh Aire ('First' or 'Prime' Minister but often translated as 'President of Dáil Éireann'). The following April, Collins engineered de Valera's escape from Lincoln Prison in England, after which Brugha was replaced by de Valera. No
state State most commonly refers to: * State (polity), a centralized political organization that regulates law and society within a territory **Sovereign state, a sovereign polity in international law, commonly referred to as a country **Nation state, a ...
gave diplomatic recognition to the Irish Republic, despite sustained lobbying in
Washington Washington most commonly refers to: * George Washington (1732–1799), the first president of the United States * Washington (state), a state in the Pacific Northwest of the United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A ...
by de Valera and prominent
Irish-Americans Irish Americans () are Irish ethnics who live within in the United States, whether immigrants from Ireland or Americans with full or partial Irish ancestry. Irish immigration to the United States From the 17th century to the mid-19th c ...
and at the
Paris Peace Conference Agreements and declarations resulting from meetings in Paris include: Listed by name Paris Accords may refer to: * Paris Accords, the agreements reached at the end of the London and Paris Conferences in 1954 concerning the post-war status of Germ ...
in 1919.


Minister for Finance

De Valera appointed Collins as Minister for Finance in the
Ministry of Dáil Éireann The ministry of Dáil Éireann () was the cabinet of the 1919–1922 Irish Republic during the Irish War of Independence. The ministry was originally established by the Dáil Constitution adopted by the First Dáil on 21 January 1919, after i ...
in 1919. At this time, most of the Dáil Éireann's ministries existed only on paper or as one or two individuals working in a room of a private house, as large gatherings of Irish republican politicians would be vulnerable to raid attempts by British Crown forces. Despite that, Collins managed to produce a Finance Ministry that was able to organise a large bond issue in the form of a "National Loan" to fund the new Irish Republic. According to Batt O'Connor, the Dáil Loan raised almost £400,000, of which £25,000 was in gold. The loan, which was declared illegal by the British, was lodged in the individual bank accounts of the trustees. The gold was kept under the floor of O'Connor's house until 1922. The
Russian Republic The Russian Republic,. referred to as the Russian Democratic Federative Republic in the 1918 Constitution, was a short-lived state which controlled, ''de jure'', the territory of the former Russian Empire after its proclamation by the Rus ...
, in the midst of its own civil war, ordered
Ludwig Martens Ludwig Christian Alexander Karl Martens (or Ludwig Karlovich Martens; ; – 19 October 1948) was a Russian Marxist revolutionary, Soviet diplomat and engineer. Biography Early years Ludwig Martens was born on in Bachmut, in the Yekaterinoslav ...
the head of the
Soviet Bureau The Russian Soviet Government Bureau (1919–1921), sometimes known as the "Soviet Bureau," was an unofficial diplomatic organization established by the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic in the United States during the Russian Civil War. ...
in
New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
to acquire a "national loan" from the Irish Republic through
Harry Boland Harry Boland (27 April 1887 – 1 August 1922) was an Irish republican politician who served as President of the Irish Republican Brotherhood from 1919 to 1920. He served as a Teachta Dála (TD) from 1918 to 1922. He was elected at the 191 ...
, offering some jewels as collateral. The jewels remained in a Dublin house until 1938, when they were handed over to de Valera.


War of Independence

The
Irish War of Independence The Irish War of Independence (), also known as the Anglo-Irish War, was a guerrilla war fought in Ireland from 1919 to 1921 between the Irish Republican Army (1919–1922), Irish Republican Army (IRA, the army of the Irish Republic) and Unite ...
in effect began on the day that the First Dáil convened, 21 January 1919. On that date, an ambush party of IRA Volunteers from the
3rd Tipperary Brigade The 3rd Tipperary Brigade () was one of the most active of approximately 80 such units that constituted the Irish Republican Army (1919–1922), IRA during the Irish War of Independence. The brigade was based in southern County Tipperary, Tippe ...
including Séumas Robinson,
Dan Breen Daniel Breen (11 August 1894 – 27 December 1969) was a volunteer in the Irish Republican Army during the Irish War of Independence and the Irish Civil War. In later years he was a Fianna Fáil politician. Background Breen was born in Grange ...
, Seán Treacy and
Seán Hogan Seán Hogan (; 13 May 1901 – 24 December 1968) was one of the leaders of the 3rd Tipperary Brigade of the Irish Republican Army during the War of Independence. Early life Hogan was born on 13 May 1901, the elder child of Matthew Hogan of G ...
, attacked a pair of
Royal Irish Constabulary The Royal Irish Constabulary (RIC, ; simply called the Irish Constabulary 1836–67) was the police force in Ireland from 1822 until 1922, when all of the island was part of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom. A sep ...
(RIC) men who were escorting a consignment of
gelignite Gelignite (), also known as blasting gelatin or simply "jelly", is an explosive material consisting of collodion-cotton (a type of nitrocellulose or guncotton) dissolved in either nitroglycerine or nitroglycol and mixed with wood pulp and Potassi ...
to a quarry in Soloheadbeg,
County Tipperary County Tipperary () is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster and the Southern Region, Ireland, Southern Region. The county is named after the town of Tipperary (tow ...
. The two policemen were shot dead during the engagement, known as the Soloheadbeg ambush. This ambush is considered the first action in the Irish War of Independence. The engagement had no advance authorisation from the nascent government. The legislature's support for the armed struggle soon after became official, with the Dáil ratifying the IRA's claim to be the army of the
Irish Republic The Irish Republic ( or ) was a Revolutionary republic, revolutionary state that Irish Declaration of Independence, declared its independence from the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland in January 1919. The Republic claimed jurisdict ...
. From that time Collins filled a number of roles in addition to his legislative duties. On 7 April 1919,
Eamon Broy Eamon "Ned" Broy (also called ''Edward Broy''; 22 December 1887 – 22 January 1972) was successively a member of the Dublin Metropolitan Police, the Irish Republican Army, the National Army, and the Garda Síochána of the Irish Free State. H ...
smuggled Collins into G Division's archives in
Great Brunswick Street Pearse Street () is a major street in Dublin. It runs from College Street in the west to MacMahon Bridge in the east, and is one of the city's longest streets. It has several different types of residential and commercial property along its le ...
, enabling him to identify "G-Men", six of whom would be killed by the IRA. That summer he was elected president of the IRB (and therefore, in the doctrine of that organisation, President of the Irish Republic). In mid-1919, he was made Director of
Intelligence Intelligence has been defined in many ways: the capacity for abstraction, logic, understanding, self-awareness, learning, emotional knowledge, reasoning, planning, creativity, critical thinking, and problem-solving. It can be described as t ...
for the
Irish Republican Army The Irish Republican Army (IRA) is a name used by various Resistance movement, resistance organisations in Ireland throughout the 20th and 21st centuries. Organisations by this name have been dominantly Catholic and dedicated to anti-imperiali ...
which now had a mandate to pursue an armed campaign, as the official military of the Irish nation. With Cathal Brugha as Minister of Defence, Collins became Director of Organisation and Adjutant General of the Volunteers. Collins spent much of this period helping to organise the Volunteers as an effective military force, and concentrating on forcing the RIC – which represented British authority in Ireland – out of isolated barracks and seizing their weapons. Collins was determined to avoid the massive destruction, military and civilian losses for merely symbolic victories that had characterised the 1916 Rising. Instead, he directed a guerrilla war against the British, suddenly attacking and then just as quickly withdrawing, minimising losses and maximising effectiveness.Barry, Tom. ''Guerrilla Days in Ireland'', Dublin, Irish Press 1949 The Crown responded with an escalation of the war, with the importation of special forces such as the "
Auxiliaries Auxiliaries are combat support, support personnel that assist the military or police but are organised differently from regular army, regular forces. Auxiliary may be military volunteers undertaking support functions or performing certain duties ...
", the "
Black and Tans The Black and Tans () were constables recruited into the Royal Irish Constabulary (RIC) as reinforcements during the Irish War of Independence. Recruitment began in Great Britain in January 1920, and about 10,000 men enlisted during the conflic ...
", the "
Cairo Gang The Cairo Gang was a group of British military intelligence agents who were sent to Dublin during the Irish War of Independence to identify prominent members of the Irish Republican Army (IRA) with, according to information gathered by the IRA I ...
", and others. Officially or unofficially, many of these groups were given a free hand to institute a reign of terror, shooting Irish people indiscriminately, invading homes, looting and burning. As the war began in earnest, de Valera travelled to the United States for an extended speaking tour to raise funds for the outlawed Republican government. It was in publicity for this tour that de Valera (who had been elected Príomh Aire by the Dáil) was first referred to as "President". While financially successful, grave political conflicts followed in de Valera's wake there which threatened the unity of Irish-American support for the rebels. Some members of the IRB also objected to the use of the presidential title because their organisation's constitution had a different definition of that title. Back in Ireland, Collins arranged the "National Loan", organised the IRA, effectively led the government, and managed arms-smuggling operations. Robert Briscoe, an Irish Jew was sent by Collins to Germany in 1919 to be the chief agent for procuring arms for the IRA. While in Germany in 1921 Briscoe purchased a small tug boat named Frieda to be used in transporting guns and ammunition to Ireland. On 28 October 1921 the Frieda slipped out to sea with
Charles McGuinness Charles John 'Nomad' McGuinness (6 March 1893 – 7 December 1947) was an Irish adventurer supposed to have been involved with a myriad of acts of patriotism and nomadic impulses. Due to a habitual trait of embellishing his own life story mixe ...
at the helm and a German crew with a cargo of leftover World War I weapons – 300 guns and 20,000 rounds of ammunition. Other sources cite this shipment as "the largest military shipment ever to reach the I.R.A." consisting of 1,500 rifles, 2,000 pistols and 1.7 million rounds of ammunition smuggled hidden in potatoes. Local guerrilla units received supplies, training and had largely a free hand to develop the war in their own region. These were the "flying columns" who comprised the bulk of the War of Independence rank and file in the southwest. Collins,
Dick McKee Richard "Dick" McKee (; 4 April 1893 – 21 November 1920) was a prominent member of the Irish Republican Army (IRA). He was also friend to some senior members in the republican movement, including Éamon de Valera, Austin Stack and Michael ...
and regional commanders such as Dan Breen and Tom Barry oversaw tactics and general strategy. There were also regional organisers, such as
Ernie O'Malley Ernest Bernard Malley (; 26 May 1897 – 25 March 1957) was an Irish republican and writer. After a sheltered upbringing, as a young medical student he witnessed and participated in the Easter Rising of 1916, an event that changed his outlook ...
and
Liam Mellows William Joseph Mellows (, 25 May 1892 – 8 December 1922) was an Irish republicanism, Irish republican and Sinn Féin politician. Born in England to an English father and Irish mother, he grew up in Ashton-under-Lyne before moving to Ireland, ...
, who reported directly to Collins at St Ita's secret basement GHQ in central Dublin. They were supported by a vast intelligence network of men and women in all walks of life that reached deep into the British administration in Ireland. It was at this time that Collins created a special
assassination Assassination is the willful killing, by a sudden, secret, or planned attack, of a personespecially if prominent or important. It may be prompted by political, ideological, religious, financial, or military motives. Assassinations are orde ...
unit called The Squad expressly to kill British agents and informers. Collins was criticised for these tactics but cited the universal war-time practice of executing enemy spies who were, in his words, "hunting victims for execution." Campaigning for Irish independence, even non-violently, was still targeted both by prosecutions under British law entailing the death penalty and also by extrajudicial killings such as that of
Tomás Mac Curtain Tomás Mac Curtain (20 March 1884 – 20 March 1920) was an Irish Sinn Féin politician who served as the Lord Mayor of Cork until he was assassinated by the Royal Irish Constabulary. He was elected in January 1920. Background Tomás Mac Curt ...
, nationalist mayor of Cork City. In 1920, the British offered £10,000 (equivalent to £300,000 / €360,000 in 2010) for information leading to Collins' capture or death. He evaded capture and continued to strike against British forces, often operating from
safe-house A safe house (also spelled safehouse) is a dwelling place or building whose unassuming appearance makes it an inconspicuous location where one can hide out, take shelter, or conduct clandestine activities. Historical usage It may also refer to ...
s near government buildings, such as Vaughan's and
An Stad An Stad was a guest house located at 30 North Frederick Street, Rotunda, Dublin 1, which was frequented by notable historical figures, including Douglas Hyde, the first President of Ireland, Arthur Griffith, founder of Sinn Féin, author James ...
. In 1920, following Westminster's prominent announcements that it had the Irish insurgents on the run, Collins and his Squad killed several people in a series of coordinated raids, including a number of British secret service agents. Members of the Royal Irish Constabulary went to Croke Park, where a G.A.A. football match was taking place between Dublin and Tipperary. The police officers opened fire on the crowd, killing twelve and wounding sixty. This event became known as
Bloody Sunday Bloody Sunday may refer to: Historical events Canada * Bloody Sunday (1923), a day of police violence during a steelworkers' strike for union recognition in Sydney, Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia * Bloody Sunday (1938), police violence agai ...
. Many British operatives sought the shelter of
Dublin Castle Dublin Castle () is a major Government of Ireland, Irish government complex, conference centre, and tourist attraction. It is located off Dame Street in central Dublin. It is a former motte-and-bailey castle and was chosen for its position at ...
next day. About the same time, Tom Barry's 3rd Cork Brigade took no prisoners in a bitter battle with British forces at Kilmichael. In many regions, the RIC and other crown forces became all but confined to the strongest barracks in the larger towns as rural areas came increasingly under rebel control. These republican victories would have been impossible without widespread support from the Irish population, which included every level of society and reached deep into the British administration in Ireland. In May 1921, elections were held in the Northern part of Ireland under the 1920 Government of Ireland Act which separated the governance of six counties in Ulster from the rest of Ireland. Collins was elected to a seat in Armagh, demonstrating popular support for the republican movement. At the time of the ceasefire in July 1921 a major operation was allegedly in planning to execute every British secret service agent in Dublin, while a major ambush involving eighty officers and men was also planned for
Templeglantine Templeglantine (pronounced "Temple-glan-tin"), officially Templeglentan (), is a village in west County Limerick, Ireland between Newcastle West and Abbeyfeale on the N21 national primary route – the main road from Limerick to Tralee. The ...
, County Limerick.Page at generalmichaelcollins.com


Truce

In 1921 General Macready, commander of British forces in Ireland, reported to his government that the Empire's only hope of holding Ireland was by
martial law Martial law is the replacement of civilian government by military rule and the suspension of civilian legal processes for military powers. Martial law can continue for a specified amount of time, or indefinitely, and standard civil liberties ...
, including the suspension of "all normal life". Westminster's foreign policy ruled out this option: Irish-American public opinion was important to British agendas in Asia. In addition, Britain's efforts at a military solution had already resulted in a powerful peace movement, which demanded an end to the unrest in Ireland. Prominent voices calling for negotiation included the Labour Party, ''
The Times ''The Times'' is a British Newspaper#Daily, daily Newspaper#National, national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its modern name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its si ...
'' and other leading periodicals, members of the
House of Lords The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the lower house, the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster in London, England. One of the oldest ext ...
,
English Catholics The Catholic Church in England and Wales (; ) is part of the worldwide Catholic Church in full communion with the Holy See. Its origins date from the 6th century, when Pope Gregory I through a Roman missionary and Benedictine monk, Augustine, ...
, and famous authors such as
George Bernard Shaw George Bernard Shaw (26 July 1856 – 2 November 1950), known at his insistence as Bernard Shaw, was an Irish playwright, critic, polemicist and political activist. His influence on Western theatre, culture and politics extended from the 188 ...
. Still, it was not the British government that initiated negotiations. Individual English activists, including clergy, made private overtures which reached Arthur Griffith. Griffith expressed his welcome for dialogue. The British MP Brigadier General Cockerill sent an open letter to Prime Minister
David Lloyd George David Lloyd George, 1st Earl Lloyd-George of Dwyfor (17 January 1863 – 26 March 1945) was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1916 to 1922. A Liberal Party (United Kingdom), Liberal Party politician from Wales, he was known for leadi ...
that was printed in the Times, outlining how a peace conference with the Irish should be organised.
Pope Benedict XV Pope Benedict XV (; ; born Giacomo Paolo Giovanni Battista della Chiesa, ; 21 November 1854 – 22 January 1922) was head of the Catholic Church from 1914 until his death in January 1922. His pontificate was largely overshadowed by World War I a ...
made an urgent public appeal for a negotiated end to the violence. Whether or not Lloyd George welcomed such advisors, he could no longer hold out against this tide. In July, Lloyd George's government offered a truce. Arrangements were made for a conference between the British government and the leaders of the yet-unrecognised Republic. There remains uncertainty as to the two sides' capability to have carried on the conflict much longer. Collins told Hamar Greenwood after signing the Anglo-Irish Treaty: "You had us dead beat. We could not have lasted another three weeks. When we were told of the offer of a truce we were astonished. We thought you must have gone mad". However he stated on the record that "there will be no compromise and no negotiations with any British Government until Ireland is recognised as an independent republic. The same effort that would get us Dominion Home Rule will get us a republic." At no time had the Dáil or the IRA asked for a conference or a truce.Deasy, Liam. ''Brother Against Brother'' However, the Dáil as a whole was less uncompromising. It decided to proceed to a peace conference, although it was ascertained in the preliminary stages that a fully independent republic would not be on the table and that the loss of some northeastern counties was a foregone conclusion.Phoenix, Eamonn. ''Michael Collins – The Northern Question 1916–22'', in. ''Michael Collins and the Making of the Irish State'', (Doherty & Keogh, editors) Many of the rebel forces on the ground first heard of the Truce when it was announced in the newspapers and this gave rise to the first fissures in nationalist unity, which had serious consequences later on. They felt they had not been included in consultations regarding its terms. De Valera was widely acknowledged as the most skilful negotiator on the Dáil government side and he participated in the initial parlays, agreeing the basis on which talks could begin. The first meetings were held in strict secrecy soon after the Custom House battle, with Andrew Cope representing Dublin Castle's British authorities. Later, de Valera travelled to London for the first official contact with Lloyd George. The two met one-on-one in a private meeting, the proceedings of which have never been revealed.Neligan, David. ''The Spy in the Castle'', London, Prendeville Publishing 1999 During this Truce period, de Valera sued for official designation as President of the Irish Republic and obtained it from the Dáil in August 1921, in place of the title which had previously been used of President of Dáil Éireann. Not long after, the Cabinet was obliged to select the delegation that would travel to the London peace conference and negotiate a treaty. In a departure from his usual role, de Valera adamantly declined to attend, insisting instead that Collins should take his place there, along with Arthur Griffith. Collins resisted the appointment, protesting that he was "a soldier, not a politician" and that his exposure to the London authorities would reduce his effectiveness as a guerrilla leader should hostilities resume. (He had kept his public visibility to a minimum during the conduct of the war; up to this time the British still had very few reliable photographs of him.)O'Connor, Batt. ''With Michael Collins in the Fight For Irish Independence'', 1929 The Cabinet of seven split on the issue, with de Valera casting the deciding vote. Many of Collins' associates warned him not to go, that he was being set up as a political scapegoat.


Anglo-Irish Treaty

The Irish delegates sent to London were designated as "plenipotentiaries", meaning that they had full authority to sign an agreement on behalf of the Dáil government. The Treaty would then be subject to approval by the Dáil. The majority of the delegates, including Arthur Griffith (leader),
Robert Barton Robert Childers Barton (14 March 1881 – 10 August 1975) was an Anglo-Irish politician, Irish nationalist and farmer who participated in the negotiations leading up to the signature of the Anglo-Irish Treaty. His father was Charles William Bar ...
and
Eamonn Duggan Eamonn Seán Duggan (; 2 March 1878 – 6 June 1936) was an Irish lawyer and politician who served as Government Chief Whip and Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Defence from 1927 to 1932, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for ...
(with Erskine Childers as Secretary General to the delegation) set up headquarters at 22
Hans Place Hans Place (usually pronounced ) is a garden square in the Knightsbridge district of the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, central London, London, immediately south of Harrods in SW postcode area, SW1. It is named after Sir Hans Sloane, ...
in
Knightsbridge Knightsbridge is a residential and retail district in central London, south of Hyde Park, London, Hyde Park. It is identified in the London Plan as one of two international retail centres in London, alongside the West End of London, West End. ...
on 11 October 1921. Collins shared quarters at 15
Cadogan Gardens Cadogan Gardens is a street in Chelsea, London, that is part of the Cadogan Estate. Layout It forms a rough square, with arms leading off the east side to Sloane Street and Pavilion Road. It also connects with Cadogan Square, Cadogan Street, ...
with the delegation's publicity department, secretary
Diarmuid O'Hegarty Diarmuid O'Hegarty (Irish: ''Ó hÉigeartaigh''; 1892–1958) was an Ireland, Irish revolutionary and civil servant. He was a member of the Irish Volunteer executive (June 1916 – November 1921), IRA Director of Communications (July 1918 – Ma ...
, Joseph McGrath as well as substantial intelligence and bodyguard personnel including Liam Tobin,
Tom Cullen Thomas Cullen (born 17 July 1985) is a Welsh actor and director. He had roles in the independent film ''Weekend'' (2011), as Anthony Foyle, Viscount Gillingham in the television series ''Downton Abbey'', and as Sir Landry in the historical dr ...
, Eamon Broy,
Emmet Dalton James Emmet Dalton MC (4 March 1898 – 4 March 1978) was an Irish soldier and film producer. He served in the British Army in the First World War, reaching the rank of captain. However, on his return to Ireland he became one of the senior fi ...
and Joseph Dolan of The Squad. The British team were led by their Prime Minister
Lloyd George David Lloyd George, 1st Earl Lloyd-George of Dwyfor (17 January 1863 – 26 March 1945) was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1916 to 1922. A Liberal Party (United Kingdom), Liberal Party politician from Wales, he was known for leadi ...
, the Colonial Secretary
Winston Churchill Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 1874 – 24 January 1965) was a British statesman, military officer, and writer who was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1940 to 1945 (Winston Churchill in the Second World War, ...
and F. E. Smith. During two months of arduous negotiations, the Irish delegates made frequent crossings between London and Dublin to confer with their Dáil colleagues, and Collins' correspondence reflects his frustration at Dáil debates and the Irish delegate's inability to agree to clear instructions as to whether or not they should accept a treaty. In November, with the London peace talks still in progress, Collins attended a large meeting of regional IRA commanders at Parnell Place in Dublin. In a private conference, he informed
Liam Deasy Liam Deasy (6 May 1896 – 20 August 1974) was an Irish Republican Army officer who fought in the Irish War of Independence and the Irish Civil War. In the latter conflict, he was second-in-command of the Anti-Treaty forces for a period in ...
,
Florence O'Donoghue Florence O'Donoghue (22 July 1894–18 December 1967) was an Irish revolutionary who served as head of intelligence of the Cork No. 1 Brigade of the Irish Republican Army during the Irish War of Independence. While opposed to the Anglo-Iris ...
and Liam Lynch that there would have to be some compromise in the current negotiations in London. "There was no question of our getting all the demands we were making." He was advised by Lynch not to bring this out in the full assembly. Reviewing subsequent events, Deasy later doubted the wisdom of that advice. The negotiations ultimately resulted in the
Anglo-Irish Treaty The 1921 Anglo-Irish Treaty (), commonly known in Ireland as The Treaty and officially the Articles of Agreement for a Treaty Between Great Britain and Ireland, was an agreement between the government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain an ...
which was signed on 6 December 1921. The agreement provided for a
Dominion A dominion was any of several largely self-governance, self-governing countries of the British Empire, once known collectively as the ''British Commonwealth of Nations''. Progressing from colonies, their degrees of self-governing colony, colon ...
status "
Irish Free State The Irish Free State (6 December 192229 December 1937), also known by its Irish-language, Irish name ( , ), was a State (polity), state established in December 1922 under the Anglo-Irish Treaty of December 1921. The treaty ended the three-ye ...
", whose relationship to the British
Commonwealth A commonwealth is a traditional English term for a political community founded for the common good. The noun "commonwealth", meaning "public welfare, general good or advantage", dates from the 15th century. Originally a phrase (the common-wealth ...
would be modelled after Canada's. This was a compromise, halfway between an independent republic and a province of the Empire. The Treaty was signed under considerable pressure from the British. The negotiators had agreed at the cabinet meeting in Dublin that they would not sign the Treaty without bringing it back for the Dáil cabinet to ratify. But once back in London on 5 December at 7:30 pm, Lloyd George told them it was immediate signature or "immediate and terrible war" and that he had to know by the next day. Winston Churchill recalled Collins's reaction: "Michael Collins rose as if he was going to shoot someone, preferably himself. In all my life I have never seen so much passion and suffering in restraint." The Treaty was signed at 2:20 am, 6 December 1921. The settlement overturned the Act of Union by recognising the native Irish legislature's independence. Under a
bicameral parliament Bicameralism is a type of legislature that is divided into two separate assemblies, chambers, or houses, known as a bicameral legislature. Bicameralism is distinguished from unicameralism, in which all members deliberate and vote as a single ...
, the executive authority would remain vested in the king, represented in Ireland by a
Governor General Governor-general (plural governors-general), or governor general (plural governors general), is the title of an official, most prominently associated with the British Empire. In the context of the governors-general and former British colonies, ...
, but exercised by an Irish government elected by Dáil Éireann as a "
lower house A lower house is the lower chamber of a bicameral legislature, where the other chamber is the upper house. Although styled as "below" the upper house, in many legislatures worldwide, the lower house has come to wield more power or otherwise e ...
". British forces would depart the Free State forthwith and be replaced by an Irish army. Along with an independent judiciary, the Treaty granted the new Free State greater
independence Independence is a condition of a nation, country, or state, in which residents and population, or some portion thereof, exercise self-government, and usually sovereignty, over its territory. The opposite of independence is the status of ...
than any Irish state, and went well beyond the Home Rule which had been sought by
Charles Stewart Parnell Charles Stewart Parnell (27 June 1846 – 6 October 1891) was an Irish nationalist politician who served as a Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), Member of Parliament (MP) in the United Kingdom from 1875 to 1891, Leader of the Home Rule Leag ...
or by his Irish Parliamentary Party successors
John Redmond John Edward Redmond (1 September 1856 – 6 March 1918) was an Irish nationalism, Irish nationalist politician, barrister, and Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), MP in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom. He was best known as leader ...
and
John Dillon John Dillon (4 September 1851 – 4 August 1927) was an Irish politician from Dublin, who served as a Member of Parliament (MP) for over 35 years and was the last leader of the Irish Parliamentary Party. By political disposition, Dillon was a ...
. The Treaty acknowledged the partition of Ireland. Before Treaty negotiations had concluded, executive powers had already been passed to the government of
Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ; ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, part of the United Kingdom in the north-east of the island of Ireland. It has been #Descriptions, variously described as a country, province or region. Northern Ireland shares Repub ...
created under the Government of Ireland Act in 1920. Northern Ireland, which had a majority unionist population, could opt out of the Free State, a year after the signing of the Treaty. An
Irish Boundary Commission The Irish Boundary Commission () met in 1924–25 to decide on the precise delineation of Republic of Ireland – United Kingdom border, the border between the Irish Free State and Northern Ireland. The 1921 Anglo-Irish Treaty, which ended the I ...
was to be established to draw a border, "in accordance with the wishes of the inhabitants' and 'economic and geographic conditions". Collins anticipated a redrawing of the border would result in much of the south and west of Northern Ireland becoming part of the Free State, making Northern Ireland economically non-viable, and facilitating the reunification of the 32 counties in the near future. Collins argued that he had signed the Treaty as the alternative was a war that the Irish people did not want. "I say that rejection of the Treaty is a declaration of war until you have beaten the British Empire, apart from any alternative document. Rejection of the Treaty means your national policy is war…. The Treaty was signed by me, not because they held up the alternative of immediate war. I signed it because I would not be one of those to commit the Irish people to war without the Irish people committing themselves to war." While the Treaty fell short of the republic for which he had fought, Collins concluded that the Treaty offered Ireland "not the freedom that all nations desire and develop to, but the freedom to achieve it." Nonetheless, he knew that elements of the Treaty would cause controversy in Ireland. Upon signing the treaty, F. E. Smith remarked "I may have signed my political death warrant tonight". Collins replied "I may have signed my actual death warrant".


Treaty debates

This remark encapsulated his acknowledgement that the Treaty was a compromise that would be vulnerable to charges of "sell-out" from purist Republicans. It did not establish the fully independent republic that Collins himself had shortly before demanded as a non-negotiable condition. The "physical force republicans" who made up the bulk of the army which had fought the British to a draw would be loath to accept dominion status within the
British Empire The British Empire comprised the dominions, Crown colony, colonies, protectorates, League of Nations mandate, mandates, and other Dependent territory, territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It bega ...
or an
Oath of Allegiance An oath of allegiance is an oath whereby a subject or citizen acknowledges a duty of allegiance and swears loyalty to a monarch or a country. In modern republics, oaths are sworn to the country in general, or to the country's constitution. For ...
that mentioned the King. Also controversial was the British retention of
Treaty Ports Treaty ports (; ) were the port cities in China and Japan that were opened to foreign trade mainly by the unequal treaties forced upon them by Western powers, as well as cities in Korea opened up similarly by the Qing dynasty of China (before th ...
on the south coast of Ireland for the
Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...
. These factors diminished Irish sovereignty and threatened to allow British interference in Ireland's foreign policy. Collins and Griffith were well aware of these issues and strove tenaciously, against British resistance, to achieve language which could be accepted by all constituents. They succeeded in obtaining an oath to the Irish Free State, with a subsidiary oath of fidelity to the King, rather than to the king unilaterally. Éamon de Valera, the President of the Dáil objected to the Treaty on the grounds that it had been signed without cabinet consent and that it secured neither the full independence of Ireland nor Irish unity. Collins and his supporters argued that de Valera had refused strenuous pleas from Collins, Griffith and others to lead the London negotiations in person. He had refused the delegates' continual requests for instruction, and in fact, had been at the centre of the original decision to enter negotiations without the possibility of an independent republic on the table.O'Broin, Leon. ''Michael Collins'', Dublin, Gill & MacMillan 1980 The Treaty controversy split the entire nationalist movement. Sinn Féin, the Dáil, the IRB and the army each divided into pro- and anti-Treaty factions. The Supreme Council of the IRB had been informed in detail about every facet of the Treaty negotiations and had approved many of its provisions, and all but one voted to accept the Treaty – the single exception being Liam Lynch, later Chief-of-Staff of the anti-Treaty IRA. The Dáil debated the Treaty bitterly for ten days until it was approved by a vote of 64 to 57. Having lost this vote, de Valera announced his intent to withdraw his participation from the Dáil and called on all deputies who had voted against the Treaty to follow him. A substantial number did so, officially splitting the government. A large part of the Irish Republican Army opposed the Treaty and in March 1922 voted at an Army Convention to reject the authority of the Dail, Collins' GHQ and to elect their own Executive. Anti-Treaty IRA units began to seize buildings and take other guerrilla actions against the Provisional Government. On 14 April 1922, a group of 200 anti-Treaty IRA men occupied the
Four Courts The Four Courts () is Ireland's most prominent courts building, located on Inns Quay in Dublin. The Four Courts is the principal seat of the Supreme Court, the Court of Appeal, the High Court and the Dublin Circuit Court. Until 2010 the build ...
in Dublin under Rory O'Connor, a hero of the War of Independence. The Four Courts was the centre of the Irish courts system, originally under the British and then the Free State. Collins was charged by his Free State colleagues with putting down these insurgents, however, he resisted firing on former comrades and staved off a shooting war throughout this period.Provisional Government minutes, Public Records Office, DublinO'Donoghue, Florence. ''No Other Law'', Dublin, Irish Press, 1954 While the country teetered on the edge of civil war, continuous meetings were carried on among the various factions from January to June 1922. In these discussions, the nationalists strove to resolve the issue without armed conflict. Collins and his close associate,
Teachta Dála A Teachta Dála ( ; ; plural ), abbreviated as TD (plural ''TDanna'' in Irish language, Irish, TDs in English), is a member of Dáil Éireann, the lower house of the Oireachtas, the parliament of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. The official Engli ...
(TD) Harry Boland were among those who worked desperately to heal the rift. To foster military unity, Collins and the IRB established an "army re-unification committee", including delegates from pro- and anti-Treaty factions. The still-secret Irish Republican Brotherhood continued to meet, fostering dialogue between pro- and anti-Treaty IRA officers. In the IRB's stormy debates on the subject, Collins held out the Constitution of the new Free State as a possible solution. Collins was then in the process of co-writing that document and was striving to make it a republican constitution that included provisions that would allow anti-Treaty TDs to take their seats in good conscience, without any oath concerning the Crown.


Northern Ireland

Since June 1920, communal conflict had been raging in north-east
Ulster Ulster (; or ; or ''Ulster'') is one of the four traditional or historic provinces of Ireland, Irish provinces. It is made up of nine Counties of Ireland, counties: six of these constitute Northern Ireland (a part of the United Kingdom); t ...
between the
Protestant Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that emphasizes Justification (theology), justification of sinners Sola fide, through faith alone, the teaching that Salvation in Christianity, salvation comes by unmerited Grace in Christianity, divin ...
unionist majority there, who wanted to remain part of the UK, and the
Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...
Irish nationalist minority, who backed Irish independence.
Belfast Belfast (, , , ; from ) is the capital city and principal port of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan and connected to the open sea through Belfast Lough and the North Channel (Great Britain and Ireland), North Channel ...
saw "savage and unprecedented" sectarian violence. Protestant
loyalists Loyalism, in the United Kingdom, its overseas territories and its former colonies, refers to the allegiance to the British crown or the United Kingdom. In North America, the most common usage of the term refers to loyalty to the British Cr ...
attacked the Catholic community in retaliation for IRA actions. More than 500 people were killed, more than 8,000 workers were driven out of their jobs, and more than 10,000 became refugees – mostly from the Catholic minority (see
The Troubles in Ulster (1920–1922) The Troubles in Ulster of the 1920s was a period of conflict in the Irish province of Ulster, from June 1920 until June 1922, during and after the Irish War of Independence and the partition of Ireland (and specifically of Ulster). In Ulster, ...
). After the death of Collins, his concern for the plight of northern Catholics was made clear by the Belfast IRA commander
Seamus Woods Seamus Woods commanded a division of the Irish Republican Army (IRA) during a period of intense conflict and was a senior leader of the newly formed Irish Free State army. Northern IRA leadership Seamus Woods was born in Ballyhornan, County Down, ...
"Of all the Dublin government ministers, Collins had been most deeply concerned about the fate of northern Catholics." In May 1921, Ireland was partitioned under British law, creating Northern Ireland, and unionists formed a Northern government. In early 1922, there were clashes along the new border between the IRA on the Southern side and
Ulster Special Constabulary The Ulster Special Constabulary (USC; commonly called the "B-Specials" or "B Men") was a quasi-military Military reserve, reserve special constable police force in what would later become Northern Ireland. It was set up in October 1920, short ...
(USC) on the Northern side, as well as a resurgence of sectarian violence in Belfast. Collins strongly opposed partition, but he was ambiguous about his policy for undoing it. On one hand, he told the Dáil during the Treaty debates: "We have stated we would not coerce the North-East … Surely we recognise that the North-East corner does exist … The Treaty has made an effort to deal with it … on lines that will lead very rapidly to goodwill, and the entry of the North-East under the Irish Parliament". The pro-Treaty side argued that the proposed Irish Boundary Commission would give large swathes of Northern Ireland to the Free State, leaving the remaining territory too small to be economically viable. However, in private Collins told the northern divisions of the IRA, early in 1922 that, "although the Treaty might have seemed an outward expression of partition, the
rish Rish ( Riš) is a village in Smyadovo Municipality, Shumen Province, Bulgaria, with a population of 6931 as of 2024. Population According to the 2011 Census, the population of Rish consists mainly of Bulgarian Turks (72.6%), followed by a ...
Government plans to make it impossible … Partition would never be recognised, even if it meant smashing the Treaty". In January 1922, six months after the ceasefire (truce), Collins helped to form an 'Ulster Council' within the IRA, which included the commanders of its five northern divisions, to co-ordinate IRA activity in the North.Moore, Cormac
"Partition at 100: IRA's Northern Offensive of May 1922 was doomed to disastrous failure"
''
The Irish News ''The Irish News'' is a Compact (newspaper), compact daily newspaper based in Belfast, Northern Ireland. It is Northern Ireland's largest-selling morning newspaper and is available throughout Ireland. It is broadly Irish nationalist in its viewp ...
'', 25 May 2022.
Collins' Provisional Government also funded Northern county councils and paid the salaries of teachers in Northern Ireland who recognised the Free State. In March, Collins met Sir James Craig, Prime Minister of Northern Ireland, in London. They signed an agreement declaring peace in the North, which promised cooperation between Catholics and Protestants in policing and security, and a generous budget for restoring Catholics to homes which had been destroyed. To some northern Republicans Collins had formally recognized partition and had done so without consulting them. The day after the agreement was published, violence erupted again in the
Arnon Street killings The Arnon Street killings, also referred to as the Arnon Street murders or the Arnon Street massacre, took place on 1 April 1922 in Belfast, Northern Ireland. Six Roman Catholicism, Catholic civilian men and boys, three in Arnon Street, were s ...
. A policeman was shot dead in Belfast and in reprisal, police broke into Catholic homes nearby and shot residents in their beds, including children (see
McMahon killings The McMahon killings or the McMahon murders occurred on 24 March 1922 when six Catholic civilians were shot dead at the home of the McMahon family in Belfast, Northern Ireland. A group of police officers broke into their house at night and sho ...
). There was no response to Collins' demands for an inquiry. He and his Cabinet warned that they would deem the agreement broken unless Craig took action. In his continual correspondence with Churchill over violence in the North, Collins protested repeatedly that such breaches of the truce threatened to invalidate the Treaty entirely. The prospect was real enough that on 3 June 1922 Churchill presented to the Committee of Imperial Defence his plans "to protect Ulster from invasion by the South". In spring 1922, Collins, along with other IRB and IRA leaders, developed secret plans for a guerrilla offensive in Northern Ireland.Coleman, ''The Irish Revolution'', pp.110–111McMahon, Paul (2008). ''British Spies and Irish Rebels: British Intelligence and Ireland, 1916-1945''. Boydell & Brewer, p.143 It was to involve ''both'' pro- and anti-Treaty IRA units. Collins hoped the offensive would undermine the Northern Ireland government and unite the pro- and anti-treaty IRA in a shared goal. Collins and National Army GHQ secretly supplied weaponry and equipment for the offensive, and some British arms that had been supplied to the Provisional Government were passed on to the IRA. Because of this, most northern IRA units supported Collins and 524 individual volunteers came south to join the National Army in the Irish Civil War. The offensive was to begin on 2 May 1922, but most of the IRA divisions had to postpone until later in the month. The 1st, 4th and 5th divisions, based in Southern territory, did not take part. This, and the staggered start to the offensive, made it easier for the Northern authorities to tackle. The Northern government launched a massive security crackdown and introduced
internment Internment is the imprisonment of people, commonly in large groups, without Criminal charge, charges or Indictment, intent to file charges. The term is especially used for the confinement "of enemy citizens in wartime or of terrorism suspects ...
, which would cripple the IRA in Northern Ireland.McMahon, ''British Spies and Irish Rebels'', p.151 The offensive saw the Battle of Pettigo and Belleek in early June, which ended with British troops shelling IRA positions on the border. Collins chided pro-Treaty IRA units who became embroiled in the fighting and the Provisional Government issued an order that their policy was "peaceful obstruction … and no troops from the twenty- six counties either official or attached to the executive nti-Treatyshould be permitted to invade the six county area". However, in early August Collins wrote to
Cosgrave Cosgrave is an Irish surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Fran Cosgrave (born 1977), Irish nightclub owner * James Cosgrave (1865–1936), Irish politician * James Cosgrave (cricketer) (born 1932), Australian cricketer * John B. C ...
: "I am forced to the conclusion that we may yet have to fight the British in the north-east". At the same time he told northern IRA officers he would "use the political arm against Craig so long as it is of use. If that fails, the treaty can go to hell and we will all start again". After the death of Collins, aid from the Provisional Government to the northern IRA was cut off. Belfast Brigade (IRA) leader
Roger McCorley Roger McCorley (6 September 1901 – 13 November 1993) was an Irish republican activist. Early life Roger Edmund McCorley was born into a Roman Catholic family at 67 Hillman Street in Belfast on 6 September 1901, one of three children born to ...
stated: "When Collins was killed the northern element f the IRAgave up all hope".


Provisional government

De Valera resigned the presidency and sought re-election but Arthur Griffith replaced him after a close vote on 9 January 1922. Griffith chose as his title President of Dáil Éireann, rather than President of the Republic as de Valera had favoured. The Dáil Éireann government did not hold legal status in British
constitutional law Constitutional law is a body of law which defines the role, powers, and structure of different entities within a state, namely, the executive, the parliament or legislature, and the judiciary; as well as the basic rights of citizens and, in ...
. The provisions of the Treaty required the formation of a ''new'' government established under British law with royal assent, which would be recognised by Westminster as pertaining to the Free State dominion that had been agreed under the Treaty. Despite the abdication of a large part of the Dáil, the Provisional Government (Rialtas Sealadach na hÉireann) was formed with Michael Collins as Chairman of the Cabinet (effectively
Prime Minister A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...
). The Provisional Government operated concurrently with the Dáil Éireann government under Griffith. Collins retained his position as Minister for Finance in both governments. In British legal tradition, Collins was now a Crown-appointed prime minister of a Commonwealth dominion, installed under the
Royal Prerogative The royal prerogative is a body of customary authority, Privilege (law), privilege, and immunity recognised in common law (and sometimes in Civil law (legal system), civil law jurisdictions possessing a monarchy) as belonging to the monarch, so ...
. To be so installed he had to formally meet the
Lord Lieutenant of Ireland Lord Lieutenant of Ireland (), or more formally Lieutenant General and General Governor of Ireland, was the title of the chief governor of Ireland from the Williamite Wars of 1690 until the Partition of Ireland in 1922. This spanned the K ...
Viscount FitzAlan Edmund Bernard FitzAlan-Howard, 1st Viscount FitzAlan of Derwent (1 June 1855 – 18 May 1947), known as The Honourable Edmund Fitzalan-Howard between 1855 and 1856, Lord Edmund Fitzalan-Howard between 1856 and 1876, and Lord Edmund Talbot betw ...
, the head of the British administration in Ireland. The republican view of the same meeting is that Collins met FitzAlan to accept the surrender of Dublin Castle, the official seat of the British government in Ireland. Having surrendered, FitzAlan still remained in place as viceroy until December 1922. The Provisional Government's first obligation was to create a Constitution for the Free State. This was undertaken by Collins and a team of solicitors. The outcome of their work became the Irish Constitution of 1922. He drew up a republican constitution which, without repudiating the Treaty, would include no mention of the British King. His object was that the Constitution would allow participation in the Dáil by dissenting TDs who opposed the Treaty and refused to take any oath recognising the Crown. Under the Treaty, the Free State was obliged to submit its new Constitution to Westminster for approval. Upon doing so, in June 1922, Collins and Griffith found Lloyd George determined to veto the provisions they had fashioned to prevent civil war. The meetings with Lloyd George and Churchill were bitter and contentious. Collins, although less diplomatic than Griffith or de Valera, had no less penetrating comprehension of political issues. He complained that he was being manipulated into "doing Churchill's dirty work", in a potential civil war with his own former troops.


Pact elections

Negotiations to prevent civil war resulted in, among others, "The Army Document" published in May 1922 which was signed by an equal number of pro- and anti-Treaty IRA officers including Collins, Dan Breen, and
Gearóid O'Sullivan Gearóid O'Sullivan (28 January 1891 – 25 March 1948) was an Irish teacher, Irish language scholar, army officer, barrister and Sinn Féin and Fine Gael politician. Early life and education Jeremiah O'Sullivan was born in Coolnagurrane near S ...
. This manifesto declared that "a closing of ranks all round is necessary" to prevent "the greatest catastrophe in Irish history". It called for new elections, to be followed by the re-unification of the government and army, whatever the result. In this spirit and with the organising efforts of moderates on both sides, the Collins–de Valera "Pact" was created. This pact agreed that new elections to the Dáil would be held with each candidate running as explicitly pro- or anti-Treaty and that, regardless of which side obtained a majority, the two factions would then join to form a coalition government of national unity. A referendum on the Treaty was also planned but it never took place. The Pact elections on 16 June 1922 therefore comprise the best quantitative record of the Irish public's response to the Treaty. The results were pro-Treaty 58 seats, anti-Treaty 36, Labour Party 17, Independents 6, Farmers Party 7, plus 4 Unionists from Trinity College Dublin.


Assassination of Sir Henry Wilson

Six days after the Pact elections,
Sir Henry Wilson Field marshal (United Kingdom), Field Marshal Sir Henry Hughes Wilson, 1st Baronet, (5 May 1864 – 22 June 1922) was one of the most senior British Army staff officers of the First World War and was briefly an Unionism in Ireland, Irish unio ...
was assassinated by
Reginald Dunne Reginald William Dunne (June 1898 – 10 August 1922) was Battalion Commandant of the London Battalion, IRA and one of two men hanged for the murder of Field Marshal Sir Henry Wilson. Dunne, the only child of Robert and Mary Dunne, was born (as ...
and
Joseph O'Sullivan Joseph O'Sullivan (25 January 1897 – 10 August 1922), along with fellow Irish Republican Army (IRA) (London Battalion) volunteer Reginald Dunne, shot dead Field Marshal Sir Henry Wilson outside Wilson's home at 36 Eaton Place, Belgravia, Lo ...
—two London-based IRA volunteers, who had served in World War I, in which O'Sullivan had lost a leg—outside Wilson's home at 36 Eaton Place at approximately 2:20 pm. He was in full uniform as he was returning from unveiling the Great Eastern Railway War Memorial at
Liverpool Street station Liverpool Street station, also known as London Liverpool Street, is a major central London railway terminus and connected London Underground station in the north-eastern corner of the City of London, in the ward of Bishopsgate Without. It i ...
at 1:00 pm. Shot while he crossed the pavement from a parked taxi to the door of his house, Wilson suffered six wounds - two of them fatal - to the chest.Jeffery 2006, pp. 281–3. Two police officers and a chauffeur were also shot as the two assassins sought to avoid capture. They were then surrounded by a crowd and arrested by other policemen after a struggle. Dunne and O'Sullivan were convicted of murder and
hanged Hanging is killing a person by suspending them from the neck with a noose or ligature strangulation, ligature. Hanging has been a standard method of capital punishment since the Middle Ages, and has been the primary execution method in numerou ...
on 10 August 1922. A British Army
field marshal Field marshal (or field-marshal, abbreviated as FM) is the most senior military rank, senior to the general officer ranks. Usually, it is the highest rank in an army (in countries without the rank of Generalissimo), and as such, few persons a ...
, Wilson had recently resigned his commission and been elected an MP for a constituency in Northern Ireland. He had a long history as one of the chief British leaders opposing Collins in the Irish conflict. At that time Wilson had served as military advisor to the Northern Ireland government led by
James Craig James or Jim Craig may refer to: Entertainment * James Humbert Craig (1877–1944), Irish painter * James Craig (actor) (1912–1985), American actor * James Craig (''General Hospital''), fictional character on television, a.k.a. Jerry Jacks * J ...
, in which role he was seen to be responsible for the B-Specials and for other sources of loyalist violence in the north. The debate concerning Collins' involvement continued in the 1950s when a number of statements and rebuttals on the subject were published in periodicals. These were reprinted with additions in Rex Taylor's 1961 book, ''Assassination: the death of Sir Henry Wilson and the tragedy of Ireland''. Participants in that discussion were Joe Dolan, Florence O'Donoghue, Denis P. Kelleher, Patrick O'Sullivan, and others.


Civil War

The death of Sir Henry Wilson caused a furor in London. Lloyd George, the Prime Minister, sent a letter to Collins saying that the 'ambiguous position' of the Provisional Government with regard to the IRA in the Four Courts could no longer be tolerated. The British cabinet met the day after the assassination and agreed that Collins' reply had not given a 'definite enough commitment' to disperse the Four Courts occupation. They ordered Nevil Macready, commander of the British garrison still in Dublin, to attack the Four Courts, whose republican garrison they blamed for the shooting of Wilson. The plan was put on hold at the last minute when Macready advised the government, on 26 June, to give Collins' Provisional Government one more chance to act against the Four Courts. Collins himself was in Cork at the time of the crisis. President Arthur Griffith and military officer Emmet Dalton met with British officials to discuss 'the continued occupation of the Four Courts by the Irregulars under Rory O'Connor'. There is little documentation of the decision taken by the Provisional Government, headed by Collins, to attack the Four Courts; Historian Michael Hopkinson writes, 'the scarcity of evidence is explained by the acute sensitivity of the subject, both at the time and since'. When Collins arrived back in Dublin, his forces began to act against the anti-Treatyites. On 27 June they arrested anti-Treaty IRA officer Leo Henderson as he was enforcing the Belfast Boycott by seizing cars. In retaliation the anti-Treaty IRA men abducted J. J. "Ginger" O'Connell, a Free State general, and held him in the Four Courts.Charles Townshend, The Republic, The Fight for Irish Independence (2013), p.406 These two developments led to the Provisional Government's 27 June 1922 order serving notice on the Four Courts garrison to surrender the building, their arms and release O'Connell, that night or face military action "at once". According to historian Charles Townsend, 'Collins must have consented to this though the actual decision seems to have been taken by Griffith'. Peter Hart similarly writes, 'it was Griffith rather than Collins who took the lead in this decision'. However a contemporary observer of events, cabinet member Ernest Blythe, contradicts the historians recalling that, 'the decision to attack the Four Courts was almost automatic once Collins had agreed to it'. Collins' position in this conflict was extraordinary indeed. A majority of the IRA he had helped lead in the War of Independence, were now ranged against the Provisional Government, which he led. In addition, the force which by the will of the electorate he was obliged to lead had been re-organised since the Truce. Formed from a nucleus of pro-Treaty IRA men, it had evolved into a more formal, structured, uniformed National Army that was armed and funded by Britain. Many of the new members were World War I veterans and others who had not fought on the nationalist side before. Collins' profoundly mixed feelings about this situation are recorded in his private and official correspondence.Kee, Robert. ''The Green Flag: The Turbulent History of the Irish National Movement''. . p. 739Feehan, John M. ''The Shooting of Michael Collins: Murder or Accident?'' Cork, Mercier 1981 Artillery was provided to Richard Mulcahy, as Minister for Defence and the Free State Army by the British for the purposes of attacking the Four Courts. Emmet Dalton, an Irishman who had served in the British Army and the IRA, who was now a leading Free State commander and close associate of Collins, was placed in charge of it. The Four Courts surrendered after three days of fighting. Heavy fighting broke out in Dublin between the anti-Treaty IRA Dublin Brigade and the Free State troops. Much of O'Connell Street suffered heavy damage; the Gresham Hotel was burned and the Four Courts reduced to a ruin. Still, under Collins' direction, the Free State rapidly took control of the capital. By July 1922 anti-Treaty forces held much of the southern province of Munster and several other areas of the country. At the height of their success, they administered local government and policing in large regions. Collins, Richard Mulcahy, and Eoin O'Duffy decided on a series of seaborne landings into republican-held areas, which re-took Munster and the west in July–August. That July, Collins became Commander-in-Chief of the National Army while also retaining his civilian roles as Minister of Finance and Chairman of the Provisional Government. However, according to Charles Townshend, he became 'a kind of generalissimo, combining military and political supremacy. Griffith had no desire or capacity to dispute the day-to-day conduct of government with him and while Mulcahy had great administrative capacity, he deferred to Collins as a strategist and thinker'. He also
prorogued A legislative session is the period of time in which a legislature, in both parliamentary and presidential systems, is convened for purpose of lawmaking, usually being one of two or more smaller divisions of the entire time between two elections. ...
the meeting of the Dail until the end of hostilities, a move that historians such as John M. Regan have seen as an unconstitutional concentration of power in Collins himself and his military colleagues. On 12 July, the pro-treaty army formed a 'War Council of Three' led by Collins with Richard Mulcahy and Eoin O'Duffy. At the same time martial law was introduced but not proclaimed until January 1923. At this time Collins was President of the IRB Supreme Council which claimed to be the legitimate government of the Irish Republic, commander-in-chief of the pro-treaty army, while retaining control of the Provisional Government which remained unaccountable to any government in September. On the pro-treaty side, Collins controlled civil, military, and the extra constitutional powers of the IRB. The IRB Executive, which acted as the IRB government when the supreme council was not sitting, closely resembled the 'War Council of Three' with Collins and O'Duffy sitting on both. The third member of the IRB Executive was Sean O'Muithile, who Collins appointed as the commissioner of the new police force shortly before Collins was killed in action. The appointment was later rescinded.


Civil War peace moves

Roughly two weeks after Cork city had been taken by Provisional Government forces, Collins travelled there to attempt to seize large sums of money that the anti-Treaty Republicans had lodged in various banks, under the account of the Land Bank. There is also considerable evidence that Collins' journey to Cork in August 1922 was made in order to meet republican leaders with a view to ending the war.Feehan, John M. ''The Shooting of Michael Collins: Murder or Accident?'', Cork, Mercier 1981 Collins also conducted a series of meetings, regarding the possibility of peace talks in Cork on 21–22 August 1922. In Cork city, Collins met with neutral IRA members
Seán O'Hegarty Seán O'Hegarty (21 March 1881 – 31 May 1963) was a prominent member of the Irish Republican Army in County Cork during the Irish War of Independence. He served as O/C of the Cork No. 1 Brigade of the IRA after the deaths of Tomás Mac Curtain ...
and Florence O'Donoghue with a view to contacting Anti-Treaty IRA leaders Tom Barry and Tom Hales to propose a truce. The anti-Treaty side had called a major convocation of officers to Béal na Bláth, a remote crossroads, with ending the war on the agenda. De Valera was present there. However, Michel Hopkinson writes that 'there is no evidence that there was any prospect of a meeting between de Valera and Collins.Hopkinson, Green Against Green, p.177 The People's Rights Association, a local initiative in Cork City, had been mediating a discussion of terms between the Provisional Government and the anti-Treaty side for some weeks. Collins' personal diary outlined his proposals for peace. Republicans must "accept the People's Verdict" on the Treaty, but could then "go home without their arms. We don't ask for any surrender of their principles". He argued that the Provisional Government was upholding "the people's rights" and would continue to do so. "We want to avoid any possible unnecessary destruction and loss of life. We do not want to mitigate their weakness by resolute action beyond what is required". But if Republicans did not accept his terms, "further blood is on their shoulders".


Assassination

In August 1922, it seemed as though the Civil War was winding down. The Free State had regained control of most of the country, and Collins was making frequent trips to inspect areas recently recovered from anti-Treaty forces. His plan to travel to his native Cork on 20 August was considered particularly dangerous, and he was strenuously advised against it by several trusted associates. County Cork was an IRA stronghold as much of it was still held by anti-Treaty forces. Yet he was determined to make the trip without delay. He had fended off a number of attempts on his life in the preceding weeks and had acknowledged more than once, in private conversation, that the Civil War might end his life at any moment. On several occasions, Collins assured his advisors "they won't shoot me in my own county," or words to that effect. On 22 August 1922, Collins set out from Cork City on a circuitous tour of West Cork. He passed first through
Macroom Macroom (; ) is a market town in County Cork, Ireland, located in the valley of the River Sullane, halfway between Cork (city), Cork city and Killarney. Its population has grown and receded over the centuries as it went through periods of war, ...
and then took the Bandon road via Crookstown. This led through
Béal na Bláth Béal na Bláth or Béal na Blá (anglicised Bealnablath or Bealnabla) is a small village on the R585 road in County Cork, Ireland. The area is best known as the site of the ambush and death of the Irish revolutionary leader Michael Collins i ...
, an isolated crossroads. There they stopped at a local pub named 'Long's Pub', now known as The Diamond Bar, to ask a question of a man standing at the crossroad. The man turned out to be an anti-Treaty sentry. He and an associate recognised Collins in the back of the open-top car. As a result, an ambush was laid by an anti-Treaty column at that point, on the chance that the convoy might come through again on their return journey. Between 7:30 and 8:00 pm, Collins' convoy approached Béal na Bláth for the second time. By then most of the ambush party had dispersed and gone for the day, leaving just five or six men on the scene. Two were disarming a mine in the road, while three on a laneway overlooking them, provided cover. A dray cart, placed across the road, remained at the far end of the ambush site. The 'Irregulars' in the laneway opened fire with rifles on the convoy. Emmet Dalton, the Free State commander for the county, ordered the driver of the touring car to 'drive like hell', but Collins said 'no, stop and we'll fight 'em'. He then jumped from the vehicle along with the others. At first, the group took cover behind a low grass bank bordering the road, but Collins then jumped up and ran back along the road to begin firing with his Lee Enfield rifle from behind the armoured car. The
Vickers machine gun The Vickers machine gun or Vickers gun is a Water cooling, water-cooled .303 British (7.7 mm) machine gun produced by Vickers Limited, originally for the British Army. The gun was operated by a three-man crew but typically required more me ...
in that car had also been firing at the attackers but then stopped because a badly loaded ammunition belt caused it to jam. Apparently, to get a better view of the laneway up which he had seen the enemy running, Collins left the protection of the armoured car and moved even farther back around a bend in the road out of sight of his comrades. Now standing in the open, he fired a couple of shots and as he was once more working the bolt of his rifle he was struck in the head by a bullet believed to have been fired by one of the ambushing party – Denis "Sonny" O'Neill, a former
British Army The British Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of the United Kingdom. the British Army comprises 73,847 regular full-time personnel, 4,127 Brigade of Gurkhas, Gurkhas, 25,742 Army Reserve (United Kingdom), volunteer reserve perso ...
sniper A sniper is a military or paramilitary marksman who engages targets from positions of concealment or at distances exceeding the target's detection capabilities. Snipers generally have specialized training and are equipped with telescopic si ...
. Collins was the only man killed in the ambush, although another member of his party suffered a neck wound. After he was shot the fire from the ambushing party quickly fell off and they withdrew from the scene. Collins was found, face down, on the roadway. One of his men whispered an Act of Contrition into his ear, but Collins was clearly close to death if not already dead. He was lifted into the back of the touring car with his head resting against Dalton's shoulder. The convoy cleared the dray cart obstruction and resumed its journey to Cork. The lengthy time the convoy took to cover the back to Cork City was because many of the roads were blocked and the convoy had to travel across muddy fields and through farms to circumnavigate the obstacles, all in darkness. At times, when the vehicles became bogged down, members of the convoy had to carry Collins' body on their shoulders. The touring car eventually had to be abandoned because of mechanical trouble. There was no autopsy. Collins' field diary was taken by Dalton who had been with him during his tour of the south. The body was first presented at Shanakiel Hospital in Cork, a small military establishment, and then shipped around the coast to Dublin where it was laid out in St Vincent's Hospital. From there it was removed to the City Hall beside Dublin Castle where it was laid in state.


Conspiracy and collusion

Numerous questions remain about the events surrounding the death of Collins because the only witnesses to his death were the members of the Free State Army convoy and the anti-Treaty ambushers. As no two stories match and participant statements from both sides are contradictory and inconsistent, unanswered questions linger about what happened that day. The man generally believed to have fired the fatal shot at Béal na Bláth, Denis "Sonny" O'Neill, was a former officer from the
Royal Irish Constabulary The Royal Irish Constabulary (RIC, ; simply called the Irish Constabulary 1836–67) was the police force in Ireland from 1822 until 1922, when all of the island was part of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom. A sep ...
who served as a sniper in the British Army during the
First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
. O'Neill had joined the IRA in 1918 and had met Collins on more than one occasion, but when the
Irish Civil War The Irish Civil War (; 28 June 1922 – 24 May 1923) was a conflict that followed the Irish War of Independence and accompanied the establishment of the Irish Free State, an entity independent from the United Kingdom but within the British Emp ...
started in June 1922, O'Neill joined the
Anti-Treaty IRA The 1921 Anglo-Irish Treaty (), commonly known in Ireland as The Treaty and officially the Articles of Agreement for a Treaty Between Great Britain and Ireland, was an agreement between the government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain an ...
. O'Neill remains a mysterious figure because of the contradictions in his biography, such as serving in the British Army but then joining the IRA. He provided them with information concerning the
Igoe Gang The Cairo Gang was a group of British military intelligence agents who were sent to Dublin during the Irish War of Independence to identify prominent members of the Irish Republican Army (IRA) with, according to information gathered by the IRA I ...
that worked for the British Army Intelligence Centre. In the 1940s, twenty years after Collins' death, the Irish State granted O'Neill a captain's military pension.


Aftermath

Collins
lay in state Lying in state is the tradition in which the body of a deceased official, such as a head of state, is placed in a state building, either outside or inside a coffin, to allow the public to pay their respects. It traditionally takes place in a m ...
for three days. Tens of thousands of mourners filed past his
coffin A coffin or casket is a funerary box used for viewing or keeping a corpse, for burial, entombment or cremation. Coffins are sometimes referred to as caskets, particularly in American English. A distinction is commonly drawn between "coffins" a ...
to pay their respects, including many British soldiers departing Ireland who had fought against him. His funeral mass took place at Dublin's
St Mary's Pro-Cathedral St Mary's Church (), known also as St Mary's Pro-Cathedral or simply the Pro-Cathedral, the Chapel in Marlborough Street or the Pro, is a pro-cathedral and is the episcopal seat of the Archbishop of Dublin (Catholic Church), Catholic Archbisho ...
where a number of foreign and Irish dignitaries were in attendance. Some 500,000 people attended his funeral, almost one-fifth of the country's population at that time. No official inquiry was ever undertaken into Collins' death and consequently, there is no official version of what happened, nor are there any authoritative, detailed contemporary records. De Valera is alleged to have declared in 1966, "It is my considered opinion that in the fullness of time history will record the greatness of Michael Collins; and it will be recorded at my expense." However, there is no evidence he ever made this remark.


Personal life

Collins' elderly father, who was 75 when his youngest child was born, inspired his fondness and respect for older people. His mother, who had spent her youth caring for her own invalid mother and raising her own brothers and sisters, was a powerful influence. The entire management of the Collins farm fell to her, as her husband succumbed to old age and died. In a society which honoured hospitality as a prime virtue, Mrs Collins was eulogised as "a hostess in ten thousand". Her five daughters avowedly doted on their youngest brother. He enjoyed rough-housing and outdoor sports. Having won a local wrestling championship while he was still a boy, he is said to have made a pastime of challenging larger, older opponents, with frequent success. A very fit, active man throughout life, in the most stressful times he continued to enjoy wrestling as a form of relaxation and valued friendships which afforded opportunities to share athletic pursuits. He could be abrasive, demanding, and inconsiderate of those around him, but frequently made up for it with gestures such as confectionery and other small gifts. Unlike some of his political opponents, he had many close personal friendships within the movement. It has been justly said that while some were devoted to "the idea of Ireland", Collins was a people person whose patriotism was rooted in affection and respect for the people of Ireland around him. Among his famous last words is the final entry in his pocket diary, written on the journey that ended his life, "The people are splendid." In 1921–22, he became engaged to Kitty Kiernan. Under Kiernan's influence, he would resume Catholic religious practice (though retaining secularism as a political position), despite his previous hostility to the Irish Catholic hierarchy. He made a general confession before his departure for London to negotiate the Anglo-Irish Treaty. While in London, his practice of lighting votive candles for Kiernan developed a habit of attending mass daily, usually at the
Brompton Oratory Brompton Oratory, also known as the London Oratory, is a neo-classical late-Victorian Catholic parish church in the Brompton area of the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, neighbouring Knightsbridge, London. Its name stems from Oratorian ...
. In letters between the two, he credits Kiernan as having given him a newfound appreciation of
Confession A confession is a statement – made by a person or by a group of people – acknowledging some personal fact that the person (or the group) would ostensibly prefer to keep hidden. The term presumes that the speaker is providing information that ...
and Communion. Collins attended Mass regularly throughout the ensuing civil war. Collins was a complex man whose character abounded in contradictions. He seems never to have pursued personal profit. This characteristic was exemplified by a letter he wrote on 4 August 1922 to his canvassing agent; offering to pay half the bill for a hired election car because some of the journeys had been for personal trips. While clearly fond of command and keen to take charge, he had an equal appetite for input and advice from people at every level of the organisation, prompting the comment that "he took advice from his chauffeur." Although acknowledged by friends and foes as "head centre" of the movement, he continually chose a title just short of actual head of state; becoming Chairman of the Provisional Government only after the abdication of half the Dáil forced him to do so. While his official and personal correspondence records his solicitous care for the wants of insurgents in need, during the war he showed no hesitation in ordering the death of opponents who threatened nationalist lives. While mastermind of a clandestine military, he remained a public figure. When official head of the Free State government, he continued to cooperate in the IRA's secret operations. He was capable of bold, decisive actions on his own authority, which caused friction with his colleagues, such as his falling out with Cathal Brugha; but at critical junctures, he could also bow to majority decisions which were profoundly disadvantageous and dangerous to his own interests, such as his appointment to the Treaty negotiating team.


Commemoration

An annual commemoration ceremony takes place each year in August near the ambush site at Béal na Bláth, County Cork, organised by The Béal na mBláth Commemoration Committee. In 2009, the former President of Ireland
Mary Robinson Mary Therese Winifred Robinson (; ; born 21 May 1944) is an Irish politician who served as the president of Ireland from December 1990 to September 1997. She was the country's first female president. Robinson had previously served as a senato ...
gave the oration. In 2010 the Minister for Finance
Brian Lenihan Jnr Brian Joseph Lenihan (21 May 1959 – 10 June 2011) was an Irish Fianna Fáil politician who served as Minister for Finance from 2008 to 2011, Deputy leader of Fianna Fáil from March 2011 to June 2011, Minister for Justice, Equality and Law ...
became the first
Fianna Fáil Fianna Fáil ( ; ; meaning "Soldiers of Destiny" or "Warriors of Fál"), officially Fianna Fáil – The Republican Party (), is a centre to centre-right political party in Ireland. Founded as a republican party in 1926 by Éamon de ...
person to give the oration. In 2012 on the 90th anniversary of the death of Collins, the
Taoiseach The Taoiseach (, ) is the head of government or prime minister of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. The office is appointed by the President of Ireland upon nomination by Dáil Éireann (the lower house of the Oireachtas, Ireland's national legisl ...
Enda Kenny Enda Kenny (born 24 April 1951) is an Irish former Fine Gael politician who served as Taoiseach from 2011 to 2017, Leader of Fine Gael from 2002 to 2017, Minister for Defence (Ireland), Minister for Defence from May to July 2014 and 2016 to 201 ...
gave the oration, the first serving head of government to do so. There is also a remembrance ceremony at Collins' grave in
Glasnevin Cemetery Glasnevin Cemetery () is a large cemetery in Glasnevin, Dublin, Ireland which opened in 1832. It holds the graves and memorials of several notable figures, and has a museum. Location The cemetery is located in Glasnevin, Dublin, in two part ...
on the anniversary of his death every year. Michael Collins House museum in Clonakilty, Cork is a museum dedicated to Michael Collins and the history of Irish Independence. Situated in a restored Georgian House on Emmet Square, where Collins once lived, the museum, tells the life story of Collins through guided tours, interactive displays, audiovisuals and historical artefacts. The
Central Bank of Ireland The Central Bank of Ireland () is the national central bank for Ireland within the Eurosystem. It was the Irish central bank from 1943 to 1998, issuing the Irish pound. It is also the country's main financial regulatory authority, and since 2 ...
released gold and silver commemorative coins on 15 August 2012 which feature a portrait of Michael Collins designed by Thomas Ryan based on a photograph taken not long before his death.


Legacy

Collins bequeathed to posterity a considerable body of writing: essays, speeches and tracts, articles and official documents in which he outlined plans for Ireland's economic and cultural revival, as well as a voluminous correspondence, both official and personal. Selections have been published in ''The Path to Freedom'' (Mercier, 1968) and in ''Michael Collins in His Own Words'' (Gill & Macmillan, 1997). In the 1960s, Taoiseach Seán Lemass, himself a veteran of the 1916 Rising and War of Independence, credited Collins' ideas as the basis for his successes in revitalizing Ireland's economy. Nine years after his death, the UK Parliament passed the Statute of Westminster, which removed virtually all of London's remaining authority over the Free State and the other dominions. This had the effect of granting the Free State internationally recognised independence, thus fulfilling Collins' vision of having "the freedom to achieve freedom". Collins and the IRA were a major source of inspiration for the leader of the
Zionist Zionism is an Ethnic nationalism, ethnocultural nationalist movement that emerged in History of Europe#From revolution to imperialism (1789–1914), Europe in the late 19th century that aimed to establish and maintain a national home for the ...
insurgent Lehi group and future
Prime Minister of Israel The prime minister of Israel (, Hebrew abbreviations, Hebrew abbreviation: ; , ''Ra'īs al-Ḥukūma'') is the head of government and chief executive of the Israel, State of Israel. Israel is a parliamentary republic with a President of Isra ...
Yitzhak Shamir Yitzhak Shamir (, ; born Yitzhak Yezernitsky; October 22, 1915 – June 30, 2012) was an Israeli politician and the seventh prime minister of Israel, serving two terms (1983–1984, 1986–1992). Before the establishment of the State of Israel, ...
. During the
1948 Palestine War The 1948 Palestine war was fought in the territory of what had been, at the start of the war, British-ruled Mandatory Palestine. During the war, the British withdrew from Palestine, Zionist forces conquered territory and established the Stat ...
Shamir adopted "Michael" as his ''
nom de guerre A ''nom de guerre'' (, 'war name') is a pseudonym chosen by someone to use when they are involved in a particular activity, especially fighting in a war. In Ancien régime, ''ancien régime'' Kingdom of France, France it would be adopted by each n ...
''. Chinese leader
Mao Zedong Mao Zedong pronounced ; traditionally Romanization of Chinese, romanised as Mao Tse-tung. (26December 18939September 1976) was a Chinese politician, revolutionary, and political theorist who founded the People's Republic of China (PRC) in ...
also studied Collins' practices of
guerrilla warfare Guerrilla warfare is a form of unconventional warfare in which small groups of irregular military, such as rebels, partisans, paramilitary personnel or armed civilians, which may include recruited children, use ambushes, sabotage, terrori ...
. The Collins 22 Society established in 2002 is an international organisation dedicated to keeping the name and legacy of Michael Collins in living memory. The patron of the society is Ireland's former Minister for Justice and TD
Nora Owen Nora Owen (; born 1 June 1945) is an Irish former Fine Gael politician who served as Minister for Justice (Ireland), Minister for Justice from 1994 to 1997 and Leader of Fine Gael#Deputy leaders, Deputy leader of Fine Gael from 1993 to 2001. She ...
, grand-niece of Michael Collins.


Quotations

"That volley which we have just heard is the only speech which it is proper to make over the grave of a dead
Fenian The word ''Fenian'' () served as an umbrella term for the Irish Republican Brotherhood (IRB) and their affiliate in the United States, the Fenian Brotherhood. They were secret political organisations in the late 19th and early 20th centuries ...
." Said by Collins at the funeral of
Thomas Ashe Thomas Patrick Ashe (; 12 January 1885 – 25 September 1917) was an Irish revolutionary and politician. He was a member of the Gaelic League, the Gaelic Athletic Association, the Irish Republican Brotherhood (IRB) and a founding member of th ...
in Glasnevin Cemetery on 30 September 1917.
The Oxford Dictionary of Quotations ''The Oxford Dictionary of Quotations'' is the Oxford University Press's dictionary of commonly known quotations and proverbs in the English language and culture. The 1st edition was published in 1941. The 8th edition, expanded to over 1150 pa ...
. 8th Edition. Page 231
"Think—what I have got for Ireland? Something which she has wanted these past 700 years. Will anyone be satisfied at the bargain? Will anyone? I tell you this—early this morning I signed my death warrant". Written in a letter dated 6 December 1921 after the signing of the treaty that established the Irish Free State. When an elder Sinn Fein veteran asked Collins: "Where were you in 1904 when I and others were founding the Sinn Fein movement?" He responded bluntly. "I was playing with marbles, damn you!" "We've been waiting 700 years, you can have the seven minutes". Said by Collins on 16 January 1922 when arriving at Dublin Castle for the handover by British forces after being told that he was seven minutes late. "My own fellow countrymen won't kill me". Said by Collins on 20 August 1922 before leaving for Cork where he was ambushed and killed.


In popular culture


Film and television

The 1936 film ''
Beloved Enemy ''Beloved Enemy'' is a 1936 American drama film directed by H.C. Potter and starring Merle Oberon, Brian Aherne, and David Niven. It was loosely based on the life of Michael Collins. Plot During the Irish War of Independence in 1921, Irish ...
'' is a fictionalised account of Collins' life. Unlike the real Michael Collins, the fictionalised "Dennis Riordan" (played by
Brian Aherne William Brian de Lacy Aherne (2 May 190210 February 1986) was an English actor of stage, screen, radio and television, who enjoyed a long and varied career in Britain and the United States. His first Broadway appearance in '' The Barretts of ...
) is shot but recovers. '' Hang Up Your Brightest Colours'', a British
documentary A documentary film (often described simply as a documentary) is a nonfiction Film, motion picture intended to "document reality, primarily for instruction, education or maintaining a Recorded history, historical record". The American author and ...
by
Kenneth Griffith Kenneth Griffith (born Kenneth Reginald Griffiths, 12 October 1921 – 25 June 2006) was a Welsh actor and documentary filmmaker. His outspoken views made him a controversial figure, especially when presenting documentaries which have been ca ...
, was made for ITV in 1973, but refused transmission. It was eventually screened by the
BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...
in
Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...
in 1993 and across the United Kingdom the following year. In 1969,
Dominic Behan Dominic Behan ( ; ; 22 October 1928 – 3 August 1989) was an Irish writer, songwriter and singer from Dublin who wrote in Irish and English. He was a socialist and an Irish republican. Born into the literary Behan family, he was one of the mo ...
wrote an episode of the UK television series ''
Play for Today ''Play for Today'' is a British television anthology drama series, produced by the BBC and transmitted on BBC1 from 1970 to 1984. During the run, more than three hundred programmes, featuring original television plays, and adaptations of stage ...
'' entitled "Michael Collins". The play dealt with Collins' attempt to take the gun out of Irish politics and took the perspective of the republican argument. At the time of writing the script,
the Troubles The Troubles () were an ethno-nationalist conflict in Northern Ireland that lasted for about 30 years from the late 1960s to 1998. Also known internationally as the Northern Ireland conflict, it began in the late 1960s and is usually deemed t ...
had just begun in Northern Ireland and the BBC was reluctant to broadcast the production. An appeal by the author to
David Attenborough Sir David Frederick Attenborough (; born 8 May 1926) is an English broadcaster, biologist, natural historian and writer. He is best known for writing and presenting, in conjunction with the BBC Studios Natural History Unit, the nine nature d ...
(Director of Programming for the BBC at that time) resulted in the play eventually being broadcast; Attenborough took the view that the imperatives of free speech could not be compromised in the cause of political expediency. A 1987 film production based on Collins' life, directed by
Michael Cimino Michael Antonio Cimino ( , ; February 3, 1939 – July 2, 2016) was an American filmmaker. He achieved fame as the director of ''The Deer Hunter'' (1978), which won five Academy Awards, including Academy Award for Best Picture, Best Picture and ...
, was halted due to objections from Irish locals. An Irish documentary made by
Colm Connolly Colm Felix Connolly (born October 18, 1964) is the chief United States district judge of the United States District Court for the District of Delaware. He formerly served as United States Attorney for the District of Delaware. Biography and ...
for
RTÉ Television RTÉ Television is a department of Raidió Teilifís Éireann (RTÉ), Ireland's public service broadcaster. Its first channel was Telefís Éireann, which began broadcasting on 31 December 1961. Since the 1960s, RTÉ Television has added chan ...
in 1989 called ''The Shadow of Béal na Bláth'' covered Collins' death. A made-for-TV film, '' The Treaty'', was produced in 1991 and starred
Brendan Gleeson Brendan Gleeson (born 29 March 1955) is an Irish actor. He has received various accolades, including a Primetime Emmy Award, two British Independent Film Awards and three IFTA Awards, along with nominations for an Academy Award, three BAFTA Aw ...
as Collins and
Ian Bannen Ian Edmund Bannen (29 June 1928 – 3 November 1999) was a Scottish actor with a long film, stage and TV career. He was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor, Academy Award for his performance in ''The Flight of the Phoenix ( ...
as David Lloyd George. In 2007, RTÉ produced a documentary entitled ''Get Collins'', about the intelligence war which took place in Dublin. Collins was the subject of director
Neil Jordan Neil Patrick Jordan (born 25 February 1950) is an Irish filmmaker and writer. He first achieved recognition for his short story collection, ''Night in Tunisia (short story collection), Night in Tunisia,'' which won the Guardian Fiction Prize in ...
's 1996 film ''
Michael Collins Michael Collins or Mike Collins most commonly refers to: * Michael Collins (Irish leader) (1890–1922), Irish revolutionary leader, soldier, and politician * Michael Collins (astronaut) (1930–2021), American astronaut, member of Apollo 11 and Ge ...
'', with
Liam Neeson William John Neeson (born 7 June 1952) is an actor from Northern Ireland. He has received List of awards and nominations received by Liam Neeson, several accolades, including nominations for an Academy Award, a British Academy Film Award, BAFT ...
in the title role. Collins' great-grandnephew, Aengus O'Malley, played a student in a scene filmed in
Marsh's Library Marsh's Library, situated in St. Patrick's Close, adjacent to St. Patrick's Cathedral, Dublin, Ireland is a well-preserved library of the late Renaissance and early Enlightenment. When it opened to the public in 1707 it was the first public li ...
. In 2005
Cork Opera House Cork Opera House is a theatre and opera house in Cork in Ireland. The first venue opened in 1855 on Emmet Place (then known as Nelson's Place) to the rear of the Crawford Art Gallery. This original building was destroyed by fire in 1955, and ...
commissioned a musical drama about Collins. "Michael Collins- A Musical Drama" by Bryan Flynn had a successful run in 2009 at Cork opera house and later in the Olympia Theatre in Dublin. ''Infamous Assassinations'', a 2007 British documentary television series, devoted its eighth episode to the death of Collins. The 2016 miniseries, ''
Rebellion Rebellion is an uprising that resists and is organized against one's government. A rebel is a person who engages in a rebellion. A rebel group is a consciously coordinated group that seeks to gain political control over an entire state or a ...
'', focused on the 1916 Easter Rising. Collins appeared as a background character, taking part in the uprising, played by Sebastian Thommen. Collins was portrayed by
Gavin Drea Gavin Drea (born February 1990) is an Irish actor and comedian. He is known for his roles in the RTÉ series ''Love/Hate (TV series), Love/Hate'' (2011), ''Resistance (miniseries), Resistance'' (2019), the BBC drama ''My Mother and Other Stranger ...
in the 2019 sequel to ''Rebellion'', '' Resistance''.


Songs

Irish-American
folk rock Folk rock is a fusion genre of rock music with heavy influences from pop, English and American folk music. It arose in the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom in the mid-1960s. In the U.S., folk rock emerged from the folk music re ...
band Black 47 recorded a song entitled "
The Big Fellah Michael Collins (; 16 October 1890 – 22 August 1922) was an Irish revolutionary period, Irish revolutionary, soldier and politician who was a leading figure in the early-20th century struggle for Irish independence. During the Irish War of In ...
" which was the first track on their 1994 album ''Home of the Brave''. It details Collins' career, from the Easter Rising to his death at Béal na Bláth. Irish
folk Folk or Folks may refer to: Sociology *Nation *People * Folklore ** Folk art ** Folk dance ** Folk hero ** Folk horror ** Folk music *** Folk metal *** Folk punk *** Folk rock ** Folk religion * Folk taxonomy Arts, entertainment, and media * Fo ...
band the
Wolfe Tones The Wolfe Tones are an Irish rebel music band that incorporate Irish traditional music in their songs. Formed in 1963, they take their name from Theobald Wolfe Tone, one of the leaders of the Irish Rebellion of 1798, with the double meaning of ...
recorded a song titled "Michael Collins" on ''
A Sense of Freedom ''A Sense of Freedom'' is a 1981 Scottish crime film directed by John Mackenzie for Scottish Television. The film stars David Hayman and featured Jake D'Arcy, Sean Scanlan, Hector Nicol, Alex Norton and Fulton Mackay. It is based on the au ...
'' (1983) about Collins' life and death, although it begins when he was about 16 and took a job in London. Celtic metal band Cruachan recorded a song also titled "Michael Collins" on their 2004 album ''
Pagan Paganism (, later 'civilian') is a term first used in the fourth century by early Christians for people in the Roman Empire who practiced polytheism, or ethnic religions other than Christianity, Judaism, and Samaritanism. In the time of the ...
'' which dealt with his role in the Civil War, the treaty and his eventual death. Also a song by
Johnny McEvoy Johnny McEvoy (born 24 April 1945) is an Irish singer and entertainer of the country and Irish genre born in Banagher, County Offaly, Ireland. Personal life McEvoy was born in 1945, one of four children with two sisters and a brother to Jo ...
, simply named "Michael", depicts Collins' death and the sadness surrounding his funeral. The poem "The laughing boy" by
Brendan Behan Brendan Francis Aidan Behan (christened Francis Behan) ( ; ; 9 February 1923 – 20 March 1964) was an Irish poet, short story writer, novelist, playwright, and Irish Republican, an activist who wrote in both English and Irish. His widely ackno ...
lamenting the death of Collins was translated into Greek in 1961 by Vasilis Rotas. In October of the same year,
Mikis Theodorakis Michail "Mikis" Theodorakis ( ; 29 July 1925 – 2 September 2021) was a Greek composer and lyricist credited with over 1,000 works. He scored for the films '' Zorba the Greek'' (1964), '' Z'' (1969), and '' Serpico'' (1973). He was a three-ti ...
composed the song "Tο γελαστό παιδί" ("The laughing boy") using Rotas' translation. The song was recorded by
Maria Farantouri Maria Farantouri or Farandouri (; born 28 November 1947 in Athens) is a Greek singer and also a political and cultural activist. She has collaborated with Greek composers such as Mikis Theodorakis, who wrote the score for Pablo Neruda's ''Canto G ...
in 1966 on the album "Ένας όμηρος" ("A hostage") and became an instant success. It was the soundtrack of the movie '' Z'' (1969). "The laughing boy" became the song of protest against the
dictatorship in Greece The Greek junta or Regime of the Colonels was a right-wing military junta that ruled Greece from 1967 to 1974. On 21 April 1967, a group of colonels with CIA backing overthrew the caretaker government a month before scheduled elections wh ...
(1967–1974) and remains to date one of the most popular songs in Greek popular culture.


Plays

Journalist Eamonn O'Neill wrote the play ''God Save Ireland Cried the Hero'' about Collins' last night alive. Set in his hotel room, the one-man production started Liam Brennan in the role of Collins and was produced by the Wiseguise Company. It was performed at the
Edinburgh Festival Fringe The Edinburgh Festival Fringe (also referred to as the Edinburgh Fringe, the Fringe or the Edinburgh Fringe Festival) is the world's largest performance arts festival, which in 2024 spanned 25 days, sold more than 2.6 million tickets and featur ...
in 1996.
Mary Kenny Mary Kenny (born 4 April 1944) is an Irish journalist, broadcaster and playwright. A founding member of the Irish Women's Liberation Movement, she was one of the country's first and foremost Feminism, feminists, often contributes columns to the ...
wrote a play ''Allegiance'', about a meeting between Winston Churchill and Collins. The play premiered in 2006 for the Edinburgh Festival Fringe with
Mel Smith Melvyn Kenneth Smith (3 December 1952 – 19 July 2013) was an English comedian, actor and filmmaker. He worked on the sketch comedy shows ''Not the Nine O'Clock News'' and ''Alas Smith and Jones'' with his comedy partner, Griff Rhys Jones. Smi ...
playing Churchill and
Michael Fassbender Michael Fassbender (; born 2 April 1977) is a German-Irish actor. His accolades include nominations for two Academy Awards, four British Academy Film Awards and three Golden Globe Awards. In 2020, he was listed at number nine on ''The Irish Ti ...
, a great-great-grandnephew of Collins, playing him.OnstageScotland
"Allegiance"


See also

*
Families in the Oireachtas There is a tradition in Irish politics of having family members succeed each other, frequently in the same parliamentary seat. This article lists families where two or more members of that family have been members ( TD or Senator) of either of th ...
* F. Digby Hardy *
List of members of the Oireachtas imprisoned during the Irish revolutionary period This is a list of members of the Oireachtas (National Parliament of Republic of Ireland, Ireland)The two Houses of the Oireachtas are: Dáil Éireann (lower) and Seanad Éireann (upper). who served a Sentence (law), prison sentence or were Internm ...
*
List of people on the postage stamps of Ireland This is a list of people on stamps of Ireland, including the years when they appeared on a stamp. Because no Irish stamps were designed prior to 1929, the first Irish stamps issued by the Provisional Government of Ireland were the then-current ...
*
List of unsolved murders These lists of unsolved murders include notable cases where victims were murdered in unknown circumstances. * List of unsolved murders (before 1900) * List of unsolved murders (1900–1979) * List of unsolved murders (1980–1999) * List of unsol ...


Notes


References


Bibliography

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *


Historiography

* McCarthy, Mark. ''Ireland's 1916 Rising: Explorations of History-making, Commemoration & Heritage in Modern Times'' (Routledge, 2016). * Regan, John M. "Irish public histories as an historiographical problem." ''Irish Historical Studies'' 37.146 (2010): 265–292. * Regan, John M. "Michael Collins, General Commanding‐in‐Chief, as a Historiographical Problem." ''History'' 92.307 (2007): 318–346. * * Whelan, Kevin. "The revisionist debate in Ireland." ''Boundary'' 2 31.1 (2004): 179–205
online


External links

*
Arthur Griffith, Michael Collins
(dual memorial volume) available from th
Digital Library@Villanova University

Hang Up Your Brightest Colours: The Life And Death Of Michael Collins
on
YouTube YouTube is an American social media and online video sharing platform owned by Google. YouTube was founded on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim who were three former employees of PayPal. Headquartered in ...
* Frank Callanan
Collins, Michael
in

* ttps://web.archive.org/web/20190816193859/http://www.generalmichaelcollins.com/ Michael Collins 22 Society webpage
A Man Against an Empire

Collins family in the 1901 Irish census, Michael aged 10


Clonakilty, Co Cork * *
British Pathe British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and cultur ...
Video from 1922
''In Memory Of Michael Collins''

Papers of Michael Collins. The papers, pertaining to the period when Collins lived in London, relate primarily to Civil Service examinations, the Gaelic League and Gaelic Athletic Association in London, together with draft articles and speeches written by Collins, and several personal letters addressed to him from family and friends.
A UCD Digital Library Collection. * {{DEFAULTSORT:Collins, Michael 1890 births 1922 deaths People murdered in 1922 Alumni of King's College London Burials at Glasnevin Cemetery
Michael Michael may refer to: People * Michael (given name), a given name * he He ..., a given name * Michael (surname), including a list of people with the surname Michael Given name * Michael (bishop elect)">Michael (surname)">he He ..., a given nam ...
Deaths by firearm in Ireland Early Sinn Féin TDs Gaelic games players from London Guerrilla warfare theorists Heads of Irish provisional governments Irish nationalists Irish Republican Army (1919–1922) members Irish republicans Irish revolutionaries Members of the 1st Dáil Members of the 2nd Dáil Members of the 3rd Dáil Members of the House of Commons of Northern Ireland 1921–1925 Members of the House of Commons of Northern Ireland for County Armagh constituencies Members of the Irish Republican Brotherhood Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for County Cork constituencies (1801–1922) Ministers for finance of Ireland Ministers for justice of Ireland National Army (Ireland) generals People from Clonakilty People killed in the Irish Civil War People of the Easter Rising People of the Irish Civil War (Pro-Treaty side) Politicians from County Cork UK MPs 1918–1922 Unsolved murders in Ireland Assassinated prime ministers Assassinated Irish politicians Politicians assassinated in the 1920s People on Irish postage stamps