Michael Collins

Posted by administrator on Wednesday 25 September 2024 at 14:59

Michael Collins born 16th October 1890-22nd August 1922 was an Irish Revolutionary,soldier and politician who was a leading figure in the early 20th century struggle for Irish Independance.During the War Of Independance he was a Director of Intelligence of the Irish Republican Army and a government minister of the self-declared Irish Republic. He was then Chairman of the Provisional Government of the Irish Free State 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.

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.He was a member of the London GAA,through which he became associated with the Irish Republican Brotherhood and the Gaelic League.He returned to Ireland in January 1916 and fought in the Easter Rising.He was taken prisoner and held in the Frongoch Internment Camp as a prisoner of war, but he was released in December 1916.

Collins subesequently rose through the ranks of the Irish Volunteers and Sinn Fein.He was elected as a Teachta Dala for South Cork in December 1918.Sinn Feins elected members formed an Irish Parliament, the First Dail,in January 1919 and declared independance of the Irish Republic. Collins was appointed Minister of Finance.In the ensuing War of Idependance, he was Director of Organisation and Adjutant General for the Irish Volunteers, and Director of Intelligence of the IRA. He gained fame as a guerilla warfare strategist, planning many successful attacks on the British forces together with ''the squad'', such as the 'Bloody Sunday'' assassinations of key British interlligence agaents in Novemer 1920.

After the Julu 1921 ceasefire, Collins was one of five plenipotentiaries sent by the Dail cabinet at the request of Eamon De Valera,to negotiate peace terms in London.The resulting Anglo-Irish Treaty,signed in December 1921 would establish the Irish Free State but depended on an oath of allegiance to the Crown.This was the clause in the treaty De Valera and other republican leaders found hardest to accept.Collins viewed the treaty as offering ''the freedom to achieve freedom'', and helped persuade a majority of the Dail to ratify the treaty. A provisional goverment 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 on 22nd August 1922.