Jordan Khan

Tuesday, June 12, 2018

Michael Collins
History 4U Major Research Essay

Prior to the leadership of Michael Collins, Ireland was under full British control as part of the

United Kingdom. Irish nationalists fought for their country’s rights but the home rule bills they

attempted to pass were shut down by British parliament and suspended due to the events of the

first World War. With Collins’ involvement in the Easter Rising and attacks against the British,

Ireland was finally able to gain some leverage over the British. In his role as a leader in the war,

he became the one to sign the Anglo-Irish treaty for their independence. From this sparked

further conflict such as the Irish Civil War initiated by Eamon De Valera. Collins’ actions

allowed for De Valera to rise to power and bring more rights to Ireland. Michael Collins’ efforts

as a leader in Ireland were very significant to the history of the country and were instrumental

stepping stones on the road for independence in Ireland.

Michael Collins’ first involvement in the Irish Republic began with the Easter Rising in 1916 in

which he fought as a rebel soldier (History). This event was key in setting up the revolution that

would lead to Ireland’s independence. The Irish Republican Brotherhood manage to capture two

key locations in Dublin, however the public did not even support them and the rebels were

imprisoned or killed (History). The British took very harsh actions against them, imposing

martial law, many arrests, and rushed executions against rebel leaders (History). This made the
public more supportive of the IRB and gave Michael Collins the opportunity to step up and gain

status as an influential leader of the rebellion. Collins was able to inspire many young Irish men

in the fight and orchestrated urban guerilla warfare tactics. The attacks dubbed ‘Bloody Sunday’

resulted in the assassinations of 13 British officers by Irish troops as a result of planning and

intelligence gathering done by Michael Collins (BBC). These attacks were essential in

demonstrating the threat of the IRA and inspiring fear in the British ranks which was part of the

build up to the eventual treaty.

The Anglo-Irish Treaty was Michael Collins’ most significant accomplishment. He went to

London along with the rest of the Irish delegation and signed it on December 6, 1921 (Dorney).

Eamon De Valera encouraged Collins to go instead of him, a decision he would soon regret as he

along with many others disagreed with the treaty with the vote only differing by seven votes at

64 to 57 (O’Neill). As part of this treaty Ireland was given a 26 county Free State while the 6

counties that made up Northern Ireland were kept by Great Britain (O’Neill). Northern Ireland

was established in 1920 by the Government of Ireland Act and was largely populated by

protestant unionists who accepted the division of the country (Dorney). The Irish Free State was

given the right to their own army (O’Neill). British troops departed the country after a time

although they retained three naval bases there including one in Lough Swilly, Bearhaven, and

Cobh (Dorney). The Free State were also allowed to raise taxes, regulate foreign trade, and have

independence in internal affairs such as the Civil War that followed the implementation of the

treaty (O’Neill). In the terms of the treaty, Ireland had to leave out mention of its republic, so it

was called the Irish Free State (Dorney). Ireland remained a part of the British commonwealth
despite its independence, thus the British monarch was still symbolically the head of state and

represented by a Governor General (Wilson).

“it gives us freedom, not the ultimate freedom that all nations desire... but the freedom

to achieve it.” – Michael Collins

While the treaty did not offer full separation from Britain, Michael Collins knew that there would

be mass casualties and a quick defeat for Ireland if it was not accepted. Still, most of the Irish

Republic Army were against the treaty and reacted violently in refusal of it.

With the implementation of the treaty by the approval of Michael Collins came the Irish Civil

War. It began with the seizure of the Four Courts which caused the destruction of nearly a

thousand years of archives (BBC). Michael Collins, who was now trying to avoid war, was

forced to resort to violence once again. The anti-treaty Irish Republic Army were at disadvantage

in comparison to the numbers and weaponry that the treaty supporters had so they had to resort

to guerilla warfare just as Michael Collins had done against the British (Kay). About 2,000 were

killed, including Michael Collins himself who was the target in an ambush (BBC). About 12,000

IRA members were imprisoned, and eventually Eamon De Valera, who became a prominent

leader of the IRA, called for a cease fire as a result of the destruction that was being caused

(Kay). Soon after, the pro-treaty party won the election. Later on in 1932, De Valera was able to

rise back into power as the president of the republican party called Fianna Fail (Gwynn). He had

the Oath of Allegiance, which had caused so much death and destruction, abolished. In 1937, the

Irish Free State officially became Ireland once again (Wilson). The Oireachtas, Ireland’s two

houses of parliament, were formed and the King’s influence was reduced (Wilson). Ireland was

considered a “sovereign independent, democratic state” by Eamon De Valera’s new constitution

bases were removed from the country. Still, Ireland was not fully free from Britain as it was a

part of its commonwealth like other countries such as Australia and Canada.

Another defining show of Irish independence was De Valera’s decision to remain as a neutral

country in World War II (Gwynn). Unlike the other commonwealth Allies, Ireland did not join

Great Britain in the fight against the Nazis in 1939 (Gwynn). While it was an act that seemed

shameful and cowardly to other countries, it was a key moment for Ireland to really show that

they were their own country. However, because the Nazis were still a threat to the country’s

independence, De Valera secretly provided the Allies with support in military and intelligence

(Gwynn). Following the war in 1948, the Fianna Fail party failed to win the election John A.

Costello rose to power (Kay). Costello officially ended Ireland’s commonwealth tie to Britain

with the formalization of the Republic of Ireland Act which repealed the previous External

Relations Act of 1936 (Kay). Many laws were introduced, repealed, and changed over the years

as Ireland distanced further and further from Britain. In 1979, Ireland introduced the Irish Pound,

separating itself from the currency of the United Kingdom (Kay). The influence of the Roman

Catholic Church was lessened. Although abortion laws still remained strong, in 1992 it became

legal to travel overseas for an abortion and was fully legalized in Ireland in 2018 (Kay). In 1997,

divorce became legal (Kay). In 2015, Ireland became the first country to legalize same-sex

marriage through a popular vote, with a 62% approval rate (Kay). Through many of these

examples of cause and effect, Ireland has truly become its own country although Northern

Ireland still remains a part of the United Kingdom.

essay, Michael Collins was the man who started it all. His actions gave Ireland the treaty they

needed to jumpstart their path to solidarity as a country. While Eamon De Valera also did many

things as a leader in the war and as president of Ireland later on, he would not have been able to

do such things without Collins to help him escape jail and prevent Britain from destroying the

country. If the treaty had not been signed, Britain would have likely completely snuffed out the

rebels and totally dominated the country without a chance at another offering of peace and

independence. Today, Ireland is still recognized as distinctly its own country with its own

culture, people, and laws, perhaps none of which would have been possible without Michael

Collins.
 Works Cited

BBC. “Michael Collins.” BBC, BBC, 2014,

Dorney, John. “Anglo-Irish Treaty.” The Irish Story, WordPress, 24 Mar. 2015,
www.theirishstory.com/2011/12/06/today-in-irish-history-6-december-1921-the-anglo-irish-
treaty-is-signed/#.WyKgJKdKiUl.

Gwynn, Denis Rolleston. “Eamon De Valera.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica,

History.com Staff. “Easter Rising.” History.com, A&E Television Networks, 2009,

Kay, Sean, et al. “Ireland.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., 13 June 2018,
www.britannica.com/place/Ireland.

O'Neill, Brian. “The Anglo-Irish Treaty (1921).” Your Irish Culture, Your Irish Culture, 17 June 2017,
www.yourirish.com/history/20th-century/the-anglo-irish-treaty-1921.

Wilson, James. “When Did Ireland Leave the British Empire?” IrishCentral.com, IrishCentral, 20 Mar.
2017, www.irishcentral.com/roots/history/when-did-ireland-leave-the-british-empire-spoiler-it-
wasn-t-1916.