Michael Collins: A Biography

Product Information

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. Anyway, what is great about Coogan’s book is that by pitting all these larger than life personalities, you get a glimpse of humanity in something as revered and celebrated as the Irish rebellion. On several occasions, Collins assured his advisors "they won't shoot me in my own county," or words to that effect. It is obvious from the get go that he is on Collins’ side in this simple narrative of one man pitted against another. The camp proved an excellent opportunity for networking with physical-force republicans from all over the country, of which he became a key organiser.

S. city with a large population of Irish immigrants—described Collins with adulation, describing his "contempt for danger" through several prior attempts on his life, including a separate attempt only a few days prior. Living up to his reputation “may have even cost him his life”; this was what De Valera had referred to in January 1921 as “your fame or notoriety if you prefer it”. Mackay also examines the events of ""Bloody Sunday"" 1920, when Collins's security squad assassinated the entire British Secret Service in Dublin (""I paid them back in their own coin,"" said Collins); his part in the negotiations of the Irish-Anglo peace treaty and his own assassination. In the 1918 General Election he won a seat for Sinn Féin in South Cork and was later appointed Minister of Finance in the newly formed Dáil Eireann in 1919. The settlement overturned the Act of Union by recognising the native Irish legislature's independence.

During his screening, Collins was identified as someone who should be selected for further interrogation, harsher treatment, or execution. Michael Collins: The Man and the Revolution by Diarmaid Ferriter which came out recently is another book I'm considering. For the first time all the strands of the adventure with its cast of disparate characters are woven together, resulting in a riveting account. Michael Collins and the Civil War During the Civil War, Michael Collins was commander-in-chief of the Free State Army. The execution of major players of the rising like Thomas Clarke, Patrick Pearse and James Connolly, created a vacuum that had to be filled by younger figures like De Valera and Collins.

citation needed] Michael Collins (the younger) believed his family were descendants of the Uí Chonaill Gabra.

While he wore numerous hats; minister for finance, director of intelligence for the IRA, president of the supreme council of the IRB, and was an impressive leader, his stature was also magnified by the failings of his enemies.

Some history books make an effort at appearing unbiased, though I have come across very few that actually succeed at doing so. 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. The year 2022 sees the 100th anniversary of the death of solider and politician Michael Collins, the legendary leader of Irish republicanism. The following April, Collins engineered de Valera's escape from Lincoln Prison in England, after which Brugha was replaced by de Valera. By then most of the ambush party had dispersed and gone for the day, leaving just five or six men on the scene.He has won The Last Marathon in the Antarctic and set a record time in winning both The Himalayan 100 Mile Stage Race and The Everest Challenge Marathon. To some northern Republicans Collins had formally recognized partition and had done so without consulting them. 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. page needed] Griffith's organisation Sinn Féin had been founded in 1905 as an umbrella group to unify all the various factions within the nationalist movement. The still-secret Irish Republican Brotherhood continued to meet, fostering dialogue between pro- and anti-Treaty IRA officers.

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. 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. 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 clear instruction as to whether or not they should accept a treaty. Collins was born in Woodfield, Sam's Cross, near Rosscarbery, County Cork, on 16 October 1890, [3] [note 1] the third son and youngest of eight children. 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.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". 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.