Michael Collins :: essays research papers

Michael Collins played a major part in Ireland's history after 1916. Michael Collins had been involved in the Easter Uprising in 1916, but he played a relatively low key part. It was after the Uprising that Collins made his mark leading to the treaty of 1921 that gave Ireland dominion status within the British Empire. Michael Collins was born in October 1890 in County Cork. This area was a heartland of the Fenian movement. His father, also called Michael, instilled in his son a love of Irish poetry and ballads. At school, Michael was taught by a teacher called Denis Lyons who belonged to the Irish Republican Brotherhood and the village blacksmith, James Santry, was a Fenian. He told the young Michael stories of Irish patriotism and in such an environment, Michael grew up with a strong sense of pride in Ireland and of being Irish. When he was 15, Collins emigrated to London. He worked as a clerk for the Post Office and he lived within the large Irish community in London. This community was never absorbed into London's society itself. There were many people in London who felt that the Irish undercut the wages paid out to other workers and many in the Irish community felt ostracised. While in London, Collins joined Sinn Fein and the Gaelic League and in 1909, he became a member of the Irish Republican Brotherhood. In 1916, Collins returned to Ireland to take part in the Uprising in Dublin. He fought alongside others in the General Post Office. He played a relatively minor part and was not one of the leaders who was court-martialed. Collins was sent to Richmond Barracks and then to Frongoch internment camp in Wales. He was released in December 1916 and immediately went back to Ireland. His goal now was to revitalise the campaign to get independence for Ireland. Collins was elected to the executive committee of Sinn Fein and he led a violent campaign against anything that represented British authority in Ireland - primarily the Royal Irish Constabulary (RIC) and the Army. The murder of RIC officers brought a tit-for-tat policy from the British. Ireland, post-World War One, was a dangerous country to be in. The more killings that were carried out by Collins and the men he led in the newly formed Irish Republican Army (IRA), the more the British responded with like. The notorious Black and Tans and the 'Auxies' were used by the British Army to spread fear throughout Ireland (though primarily in the south and west).