The History of Michael Collins
Born on a small farm in Sam’s Cross outside Clonakilty, County Cork on the 18th October 1890, Michael Collins was destined to be a name that would be put down in Irish history. The youngest of eight children, Michael was only 6 years old when his father took to his deathbed. It was on this that he told the other members of the family to look after Michael as “One day he’ll be a great man. He’ll do great work for Ireland.” Michael’s father was a great influence on his life in those early years by encouraging the children to learn patriotic ballads and poetry.
The younger years of Michael Collins
West Cork was steeped in Fenianism, an Irish Nationalist movement that was founded in the 19th century. Young Michael was surrounded by strong, proud Irish men who were involved with the ‘movement’, for example, his teacher, Denis Lyons, was a member of the Irish Republican Brotherhood (IRB), and the local blacksmith, James Santry, was also a Fenian. Michael was said to have visited the Forge to hear tales of the rebellions of 1798 and 1848. Later on Collins would say that:
“In Denis Lyons and James Santry I had my first tutors capable of, because of their personalities alone, infusing into me pride of the Irish as a race.”
At the age of 15, Collins emigrated in July of 1906 to London and soon found himself a job as a boy clerk in West Kensington Post Office. Whilst in London Michael became heavily involved with the expatriate Irish community and their clubs or associations: the GAA, Gaelic League, and the IRB. It wasn’t until 1916 that Collins returned home to Ireland. There he found himself in the midst of an uprising, and fought in the Easter Rising of 1916 alongside its leaders, Padraig Pearse and James Connolly who were to be eventually executed by firing squad.
Collin’s himself was captured but escaped the death penalty and instead was sent to a prison in England along with 
other Irishmen. After being released a few months later, Collins returned to Ireland and began to breathe life back into the floundering IRB. January 1919 Collins was elected to be the first Dáil and served as minister for home affairs, and then from April 1919 he was minister of finance.
Through all of this, Collins became increasingly powerful in the IRA and waged his terror campaign on the British Intelligence in Dublin that came to a head in the early hours of morning on the 21st November 1920, which is known as ‘Bloody Sunday’. Eventually in 1921, Treaty negotiations took place and Collins was a reluctant member of the Irish Delegation, however at 2.10am signed the treaty because he could not see it possible for the IRA to go back to war against the British. A lot of people felt that Collins was a traitor for signing and Michael Collins was only too aware of this. As he signed he is said to have turned to Lord Birkenhead and said ‘I have signed my death warrant’.
The death of Michael Collins
Unfortunately for Collins it wasn’t to be long before his death would occur. On the 22nd of August 1922, while on tour of an inspection, he was killed by a republican ambush party in Co. Cork by a single gunshot wound to the head. The funeral took place in Dublin and thousands of people took to the streets to pay their respects to one who they considered as a great man.