1890-1922

Michael was born in Sams Cross,nearClonakilty, County Cork.

His date of birth is unsure because most people believed it was the 16th of October 1890 but on his tombstone it is said to say the 12th of October 1890.

He was born into a family of eight children of which he was the youngest son out of three.

When he grew up a bit he turned into a fiery young man. He was also a very bright boy and had very passionate feelings for nationalism.

His father, Michael John (1816-1896) was a

farmer to profession, his mother was Mary

Anne O’Brien. When the couple married, she

was twenty-three years old and he was sixty.

When his father was on his deathbed in 1896

he predicted that Michael was going to be a

great man and some day do great work for

Ireland. His family nicknamed him “ the big

fellow” because he was always so keen to

take on tasks before his years.

Collins was inspired by his primary school teacher, Denis Lyons, a member of a secret organization, the Irish Republican Brotherhood (IRB), whose aim was to gain Ireland's independence from Great Britain.

In 1906 Collins went to London, England, to enter the civil service as a postal clerk. For ten years Collins lived in London, where he became active in various Irish organizations, including the Gaelic League, a society that promoted the use of the Irish language.

In 1909 Collins himself became a member of the IRB.

Collins returned to Ireland in 1916 to take part in the Easter Rising, a rebellion against British rule.

After the rebellion was crushed, Collins was interned (held captive) in North Wales along with most of the other rebels from the IRB.

When the internees were released in December 1916, he went to Dublin, where he secured a leadership position in the reviving revolutionary movement.

After their victory in the general election of December 1918, the revolutionaries established an Irish Parliament (body of government), Dail Eireann, in January 1919. The Dail officially announced an Irish Republic -government elected and run by the people of Ireland

July 1921, Collins reluctantly agreed to Irish president Eamon de Valera's request to serve on the peace-making talks.

During these negotiation (talks) in London, the British government firmly rejected any settlement that involved recognising Ireland as a republic.

Instead, they offered:that we could govern the south of Ireland

it would still be part of the British Commonwealth

with a condition that Northern Ireland would be left out of this offer.

Collins decided to accept these terms. He felt rejection may lead to war.

He also felt that the proposed treaty would soon lead to unity and complete freedom for his country (Unity of North and South)

This never happened.

On August 22ND 1922 Michael Collins was

Assassinated in an ambush by anti-treaty IRA

forces while travelling in his native Cork.

He had been warned by his colleagues that it

may not be safe but he said “ Sure I’d never

be killed by my own native people of Cork”.

Up to recently no statue of Michael Collins

existed anywhere in the world, so a small

group got together in Clonakilty in 2001 to

rectify that situation.

On August 22nd 2002 the 80th anniversary of

the Big Fella’s death was picked as the date

for the unveiling and film actor Liam Neeson

(who played collins in the movie about his

life) agreed to travel from the United States

to unveil the statue.

Seven and a half thousand

people attended the event, on

a beautiful August evening and

today a statue showing Michael

Collins making a speech stands

proud in his hometown of

Clonakilty.

Rebecca Keane

Nov’14