Private John McPeak – the armoured car gunner

Private John McPeak

Private Jock McPeak was the machine-gun operator in the armored car; which followed immediately behind Commander-in-Chief Michael Collins’ touring car, during the fatal ambush at Béal na mBláth. A British soldier himself right up until the Truce, he has been the subject of considerable speculation, for his central position at the much-disputed Vickers machine gun; as well as for extraordinary turncoat adventures and criminal convictions, in the wake of Collins’ death.  Following excerpts from the book “The Assassination of Michael Collins: What Happened at Béal na mBláth?” offer a nutshell of McPeak’s enigmatic story:

As the gunner who operated the Vickers machine gun in the turret of the armoured car, McPeak, his conduct, and the performance of that gun, are most central to events at Béal na mBláth. Upon close scrutiny, his actions and words cast conspicuous doubt upon his veracity and character; including the key question of whether McPeak’s gun worked fine, or malfunctioned.

McPeak was one of those most directly responsible for the protection of the C-in-C’s invaluable life, and physically nearest to him at the moment of his suspicious death. He was reportedly the object of acute suspicion among fellow Free State soldiers; suspicion which seemed justified soon after by his desertion and theft of the armoured car.

In view of all the mysterious factors connected with him, hardly any other conclusion would be reasonable but that, if Collins met his fate through the agency of traitors in his own bodyguard, then McPeak was either involved, or had some knowledge of what happened. If so, his account published in 1971 might be expected to contain inaccuracies, calculated to conceal something he knew. (That is, he would be one who may have lied, had more reason to lie than others, etc.)

There are a number of wild rumours about McPeak, ostensibly coming from former Free State soldiers. These include reports that he was accused, interrogated, beaten, and charged with Michael Collins’ murder (but that charges were dropped for lack of evidence.) Others said that, in his cups, McPeak boasted that he had killed Collins. Another witness claims that McPeak admitted the C-in-C fell “accidentally” to “friendly fire”.

The truth is the strangest tale of all: three months after the ambush, the Irish Civil War still raging, McPeak deserted the Free State Army, and joined the anti-Treaty side. In doing so, he just happened to drive away, not with just any armoured car, but that one in particular, which took such an important part in the ambush where Collins died.

A number of plausible explanations were offered for this extraordinary theft of army property. But none of them are nearly so likely, as that his absconding with that great hulking piece of evidence had to do with that single most important event connected with it, and with him: the C-in-C’s untimely demise.

Could an examination of the armoured car and its machine gun turret have cast doubt on someone’s version of what happened?

Read more
“The Assassination of Michael Collins:
What Happened At Béal na mBláth?”

by S M Sigerson

Paperback or Kindle edition here:
www.amazon.com/dp/1493784714

All other e-reader formats:
www.smashwords.com/books/view/433954

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http://www.rabidreaders.com/2014/12/03/assassination-michael-collins-s-m-sigerson-2/

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Oliver St John Gogarty: Witness Statement #700 – Bureau of Military History

Oliver St John Gogarty (image courtesy of prabook.com)

Dr Oliver St John Gogarty cut an enigmatic figure in Ireland’s early 20th century renaissance; turning up in the background of great works (such as James Joyce’ “Ulysses”) and great deeds (in the War of Independence.) A medical doctor, he counted W B Yeats among his patients.  After meeting Arthur Griffith, he became a founding member of Sinn Fein. A poet of the Irish literary revival, he also served as a Senator in Dublin’s early Senate; and was still writing and publishing in the 1950s.

His comments on the death of Michael Collins (included below) are particularly interesting to historians, not only as Collins’s personal friend and physician.  It was Gogarty’s melancholy duty to prepare Collins’ remains for burial.  Witnesses recount his penetrating remarks, as he pointed out to Collins’ family and friends the young General’s fatal wounds, before the lying-in-state.  Although reputed to have performed an autopsy as well, no report by him as medical examiner seems to have survived.  (One of many startling mysteries concerning records of the Commander-in-Chief’s untimely loss.)

Gogarty’s own views on this topic have been difficult to pin down; until the recent release of the Bureau of Military History’s files on the War of Independence and Civil War.  His Witness Statement (below) is the only official documentation of his assessment of Collins’ end.  It must carry considerable weight; especially in view of its having been made in strictest confidence, as not to be released in his lifetime.

(The text below constitutes Doctor Gogarty’s Witness Statement in its entirety.  Note the Bureau’s notation of his “Identity”.)

“Identity: Close associate of Michael Collins

Subject: Placing of his home at Michael Collins’ disposal as a hiding place

June 19th, 1952

When the Black and Tans behaved in such an excited and unsoldierly way by endangering my daughter’s life when she was playing in St Stephen’s Green, I resolved to give all the help in my power to the Resistance movement headed by Michael Collins. His confidante, Batt O’Connor was a patient of mine. To him I gave whatever gold I could come by for his reserve which was in a metal box cemented into a wall at Donnybrook where Batt O’Connor was building at the time. I also gave him a latch key of my house, 15 Ely Place and prepared that apparently impassible cul de sac so that Collins, if hard pressed, could use my garden and appear in St Stephen’s Green. There was a passage between the Board of Works and the Church Representative Body house that, through a wicket, gave on to the Green. In order to facilitate the scaling of the wall I had some cases of petrol placed against it under a large ash tree in the garden. These preparations were passed on by Batt O’Connor to Michael Collins and his thanks conveyed.

Collins was an infrequent caller at my house. Emmet Dalton handed me back the latch key which he took from the blood-stained tunic of General Collins, who was murdered by the instigator of the Civil War.

You are at liberty to make whatever use of this you may find good.
Believe me to remain
With every good wish for you and the work
Yours sincerely,
Oliver St J Gogarty (signature)”

Read more
“The Assassination of Michael Collins:
What Happened At Béal na mBláth?”

by S M Sigerson
Paperback or Kindle edition here:
www.amazon.com/dp/1493784714

All other e-reader formats:
www.smashwords.com/books/view/433954

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Béal na mBláth Annual Commemoration

(Note: This post may be updated annually, with the date of the current year’s commemoration & other info.  Thanks for visiting!)

Michael Collins was one of the founding fathers of modern Ireland: soldier and statesman, chief strategist of the War of Independence, and co-author of the Constitution.  His official titles at various times included Chairman of the Provisional Government, Minister for Finance, Director of Intelligence, and Commander-in-Chief of the armed forces.

Why have people gathered at Béal na mBláth, every year, since he died there in August 1922?

While his birth, in a remote country farmhouse, caused no stir, yet his death sent shockwaves around the world and down generations; which reverberate to this day.

Annual Michael Collins Commemoration
2019
Sunday 25 August 3PM
by the monument, at the ambush site
Béal na mBláth
near Crookstown, County Cork
Republic of Ireland

“…I grew up with a rich lore of family history and virtually total silence outside the family. … There was never a mention of his name in the discussion of national life, except on the occasion of a visit to Béal na mBláth in August. All of that changed …”
–  Mary Banotti (grand-niece of Michael Collins) **

The anniversary of one’s passing is an occasion very much observed in Irish culture; perhaps more than in any other country. Collins’ belongs to the nation. Yet he also belongs to people all over the world. “Because a story like his is for all people, everywhere, in all times.” ***

The Commemoration’s annual oration is always delivered by a national figure of note. These have included Former President Mary Robinson, as well as (Collns’ grandnieces) former legislator Helen Collins, and former Minister for Justice Nora Owen (now presenter of TV3’s “Midweek”). Recent years have seen the first time the oration has been given by Ireland’s serving President and by the Taoiseach (Prime Minister).

If you’re a Michael Collins fan, and you’re in Ireland in August, it’s not to be missed.

Visit the Commemoration website:
http://www.bealnamblathcommemoration.com

 

Commemorative edition: 90th Anniversary pictorial history
http://www.bealnamblathcommemoration.com/buy-the-book/

 

 

** Read the rest of Mary Banotti’s chapter in
“Michael Collins and the Making of the Irish State”
(Gabriel Doherty & Dermot Keogh, editors)
http://www.mercierpress.ie/irish-books/michael_collins_and_the_making_of_the_irish_state/

 

 

Read more: ***
“The Assassination of Michael Collins:
What Happened At Béal na mBláth?”
by S M Sigerson
www.amazon.com/dp/1493784714 
(Paperback or Kindle)

For all other e-reader formats:
www.smashwords.com/books/view/433954

 OR ASK AT YOUR LOCAL BOOKSHOP

 

Harry Boland and Michael Collins: were their deaths connected?

Harry Boland

 

Harry Boland TD, a Volunteer since 1913, was a close friend and associate of Michael Collins; and, like him, a member of the Irish Republican Brotherhood (“IRB”) Supreme Council. He played a leading role in the War of Independence, and would have been expected to hold a Cabinet seat or other high office in the post-war government.

(Following are excerpts from the book “The Assassination of Michael Collins: What happened at Beal na mBlath?“)

Chances are about a million to one against there having been anything either “accidental”, “random”, or “natural” about the sudden death, within days of each other, of Michael Collins, Arthur Griffith, and Harry Boland…

Boland’s death took place in the very opening days of the Civil War. According to Deasy, it was attended by “mysterious circumstances” and “was another serious blow to the moderate wing” of the anti-Treaty side. That is, it drove another nail into the coffin of hopes for a swift reunification of Ireland’s victorious War of Independence army…

Harry Boland and Michael Collins

TDs are not to be shot  **

“During the dreadful first week of civil war [Boland] was constantly moving between DeValera and Collins trying to patch up a truce.” And the Free State authorities were still pursuing a “policy of moderation” in “hopes of a negotiated settlement.”

On 17 July 1922, shortly before Boland’s death, the Provisional Government had made a unanimous decision “on advice from Collins“, not to arrest elected representatives, propagandists, nor “mere political suspects … except of course, those actually captured in arms.” The date of this resolution, particularly urged by Collins, was just days before the incident which took Boland’s life.

Official policy was in place: no arrests of TDs, nor of unarmed political opponents. Boland was unarmed when taken. This was never disputed by either side. Why then was a military manoeuvre mounted to seize him?

Collins’ well-known letter to Harry of 28 July explicitly states that he “cannot” bring himself to have his friend arrested.

Yet two days later, on the 30th, Boland was taken: apparently as part of an elaborately well-planned siege, which could not have been mounted without considerable advance preparation.

What happened is only discernible through a haze of conflicting reports. (A confusion which resonates disturbingly with the tangle of tales around Béal na mBláth.)

[ ** “TD” is the abbreviation for the Irish term “Teachta Dalá“, which means deputy to the Dáil, a member of the Irish national legislature: equivalent to a Member of Parliament (MP) in Britain, or Congressman in the USA.]

Read more

“The Assassination of Michael Collins:
What Happened At Béal na mBláth?”
by S M Sigerson

Paperback or Kindle edition here:
www.amazon.com/dp/1493784714

All other e-reader formats:
www.smashwords.com/books/view/433954

Read reviews:

http://www.rabidreaders.com/2014/12/03/assassination-michael-collins-s-m-sigerson-2/

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Also see:
“Harry Boland’s Irish Revolution“

by David Fitzpatrick

https://www.corkuniversitypress.com/Harry-Bolands-Irish-Revolution-p/9781859183861.htm

 

Related post at this blog: “Arthur Griffith and Michael Collins: were their deaths connected?”

https://collinsassassination.wordpress.com/2015/08/12/arthur-griffith-…deaths-connected/ ‎

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The coverup of Michael Collins’ assassination continues

courtesy of Collins Press

Like myths, books can either illuminate facts, or obscure them.  In the run-up to the Centenaries of Ireland’s War of Independence (1919-1921) & Civil War (1922-1923), the battle of ideas has begun.
Are some new books part of the same old coverup? How to tell good books from other kinds? S M Sigerson, author of “The Assassination of Michael Coliins: What Happened at Béal na mBláth?” (and of this blog) asks and answers these questions; and talks about the experience of chronicling the death of Collins.

Writing about Michael Collins tends to fall into three categories: The first (and best) is by authors whose aim is to enable the public, and future historians, to better understand what happened: by providing information, perspective, analysis, and other investigative tools. Such authors present their own opinions on the case in this context, as opinions, while encouraging further research and critique.

The second category would be by authors whose chief purpose is to focus on their own particular theory of what happened; who aim to persuade us that their theory is the right one. Whether it is or not, they, too, often unearth valuable research and raise important issues.

Within the second is a third, more suspect group, such as often crops up where politics are concerned: written with intent to discredit an individual, a political movement, etc. Created, that is, in order to obscure the facts. These may come disguised, to attract an unsuspecting public: proclaiming themselves as fearless exposés; and/or masking their intent with dulcet language of objectivity, scientific method, etc.  Some have even come decorated by academic credentials from lofty institutions.

As we approach the 2022 Centenary of Michael Collins’ death, this third type of commentary has begun to rear its ugly head. Much in the style of “fake news” and outrageous fabrications with which powerful and dangerous elements have lately bombarded the public, from the highest places, such sprurious studies aim to create general confusion. Confusion which, in turn, disarms criticism and resistance. Resistance to … most questionable proceedings indeed.

Such works and the writers thereof, being otherwise beneath our notice, shall remain nameless here.

Writing about the death of Collins

What I here make public has, after a long and scrupulous inquiry, seemed to me evidently true … Whether it be so or no, I am content the reader should impartially examine.      – George Berkeley

This writer came to Michael Collins’ story with a mind as nearly completely open as could be found, in anyone who cares enough to write about it at all. Not having grown up in Ireland, there was no pressure of Civil War loyalties to either side, in my background.

Nor had I any preconception whatever as to how he died. At first, I accepted the sketchy standard version which appears in most biographies of him. As my interest and acquaintance with the topic grew deeper, I gradually became dissatisfied with that version. Initially, only a little dissatisfied; until at last I grew convinced that his death had not been adequately investigated; neither at the time it happened, nor subsequently by historians.

It also became clear that Collins’ end can only be discussed intelligently, with a working understanding of both sides in the Civil War. In my own writing, I sought to present both sides, in a style digestible not only for general readers, but also for enthusiasts who might sympathize with either the pro-Treaty or anti-Treaty viewpoints: trying to give equal time to both, and letting them speak for themselves in their own words, as much as possible.

It is the practice of some more cynical commentators (described above,) to attack anyone who tries to do so, as a dangerous, wild-eyed partisan; that is, anyone who does not participate in silencing one side of the discussion.

People in Ireland are well-used to this technique; with which they have been sadly acquainted ad nauseum throughout The Troubles of the 20th century; and in the surrounding debate, ever since.

S M Sigerson’s work, obviously written from the heart, is a valuable contribution to the literature on Michael Collins and should be available in any self-respecting Irish library.             – Tim Pat Coogan

I trust in the public, in future generations, and in the passage of time, to ultimately sort true from false, among conflicting claims about the life and death of Michael Collins.

I call for a full catalog and compendium of Collins’ own letters and writings, which are infinitely more valuable to history than anything that subsequent writers can say about him. Looking forward to the 2022 Centenary, I again urge all individuals and institutions holding such materials, to cooperate in realizing this, with speed.

I also repeat my call for an independent forensic examination of his remains; which could conclusively answer many points now debated in theory.

I encourage those with an interest to examine all writings about Michael Collins.
Then, you be the judge.

Read more:
“The Assassination of Michael Collins:
What Happened At Béal na mBláth?”

by
S M Sigerson

Paperback or Kindle edition here:
www.amazon.com/dp/1493784714

All other e-reader formats:
www.smashwords.com/books/view/433954

Read reviews:
http://www.rabidreaders.com/2014/12/03/assassination-michael-collins-s-m-sigerson-2/

Or ask at your local book shop

Also see:
“Studying the death of Michael Collins:
Deception, evasion, and perception”
www.academia.edu/34795377/Studying_the_death_of_Michael_Collins_1890_-_1922_.rtf

 

May 1922 – Leaders strive to prevent Civil War in Ireland

Photo 1922 meeting of pro- & anti-Treaty army officers, to avert Civil War: left to right Sean McEoin, Sean Moylan, Eoin O’Duffy, Liam Lynch, Gearóid O’Sullivan, and Liam Mellows

(Excerpts from the book
“The Assassination of Michael Collins: What Happened at Béal na mBlath?“) 

The following statement, known as “The Army Document” was published on 1 May 1922, and signed by equal numbers of both pro- and anti-Treaty officers of the Irish Volunteers / IRA:

“We, the undersigned officers of the IRA, realising the gravity of the present situation in Ireland, and appreciating the fact that if the present drift is maintained a conflict of comrades is inevitable, declare that this would be the greatest calamity in Irish history, and would leave Ireland broken for generations.

“To avert this catastrophe we believe that a closing of the ranks all round is necessary.

“We suggest to all leaders, Army and political, and all citizens and soldiers of Ireland the advisability of a unification of forces on the basis of the acceptance and utilisation of our present national position in the best interests of Ireland, and we require that nothing shall be done that would prejudice our position or dissipate our strength.

“We feel that on this basis alone can the situation best be faced, viz.:

1) The acceptance of the fact – admitted by all sides – that the majority of the people of Ireland are willing to accept the Treaty.
2) An agreed election with a view to
3) Forming a Government which will have the confidence of the whole country.
4) Army unification on above basis ”

[Signed by:]
Dan Breen   Tom Hales    Owen O’Duffy   H Murphy     S O’Hegerty
Gearoid O’Sullivan   F O’Donoghue     Sean Boylan
Michael Collins     RJ Mulcahy

Dan Breen

The Civil War by no means broke out instantaneously or thoughtlessly. Tremendous efforts were carried on, for months on end, to avert the outbreak of hostilities. The Army Document (shown in its entirely at the head of this chapter) was only one statement, produced in one round of meetings.

Tom Hales

Florence O’Donoghue (courtesy Irish Academic Press)

Countless such parlays convened, from January (when the Dáil split) thru June 1922. The most painstaking debates were carried on interminably, by those who had risked every danger together for years. Many strove desperately to find some means of going forward without civil conflict.

Indeed, there is an awesome sense of tragedy, in reviewing the transcripts of these debates: to hear echo again the penetrating observations, poignant pleas, passionate oaths, of the greatest hearts and minds of that heroic era; many of whom would soon be silenced forever. Silenced by the outcome of their own relentless march: into the disaster which they all knew that this war would bring.

Read more
“The Assassination of Michael Collins:
What Happened At Béal na mBláth?”

by S M Sigerson

Paperback or Kindle edition here:
www.amazon.com/dp/1493784714

All other e-reader formats:
www.smashwords.com/books/view/433954

Read reviews:
http://www.rabidreaders.com/2014/12/03/assassination-michael-collins-s-m-sigerson-2/

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Tim Pat Coogan – historian of 20th century Ireland

Tim Pat Coogan at work (courtesy of independent.ie)

Tim Pat Coogan is generally recognized as Ireland’s foremost writer on its modern history; encompassing both the Revolutionary Era 1913 – 1923, and subsequent Troubles which continued throughout the 20th century. Being the leading authority in Ireland, it’s safe to say that would make him the greatest authority in the world on these topics.

Recent notorious efforts by certain academics to challenge that supremacy added nothing to their dignity; but served only to affirm Coogan’s unassailable stature as an historian, and popularity with the public.

Coogan is uniquely qualified indeed to explore this terrain. In his capacity as a journalist, he has interviewed, over decades, practically every surviving major participant from the War of Independence and Civil War. His books are the product of vast, minute original research; drawn not only from archival documents, but also from numerous personal contacts. His own family members, who themselves took part in these conflicts, included his father, Eamonn Coogan, who was active in the War of Independence, and served as a deputy commissioner in the post-Civil War government. His mother was among very few women who wrote for the Evening Herald in the 1920s, and was also active in the legendary Abbey Theatre: a hotbed of revolutionary ferment at the time.

Coogan got his start with the Irish Press, rising to the editor’s chair, which he occupied from 1968 – 1987. Yet while owing so much to the DeValera family (Irish Press owners) still his treatment of the Collins-DeValera conflict demonstrates penetrating integrity and fairness. Subsequent writers are deeply indebted to him for his sterling research, and painstaking examination of that controversy.

His landmark 1990 biography of Michael Collins remains, at this writing, head and shoulders above all others. It stands alone in being an authoritative compendium of all previous work on Collins’ life.

The mighty labour of such a detailed, full-scale biography, might necessarily preclude an exhaustive examination of any one particular day, however important. For this reason, despite the awe-inspiring stature of Coogan’s opus, this author has ventured to attempt to add something to his invaluable work, on that particular subject.

His very kind approbation of “The Assassination of Michael Collins: What Happened at Béal na mBláth?” represents for this writer the zenith of all possible praise. So much the more generous, in that the book he commends is by no means entirely uncritical of his own conclusions on the same subject.

 

 

www.timpatcoogan.com

http://timpatcoogan.com/books.htm

 

Read more
“The Assassination of Michael Collins:
What Happened At Béal na mBláth?”

by S M Sigerson

Paperback or Kindle edition here:

www.amazon.com/dp/1493784714

All other e-reader formats:

www.smashwords.com/books/view/433954

Read reviews:

http://www.rabidreaders.com/2014/12/03/assassination-michael-collins-s-m-sigerson-2/

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Martin McGuinness, Northern Ireland, & Michael Collins: the unfinished business of Irish independence

It was through the lessons of Collins’ life & death, that Former Deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness, with his colleagues & community, survived to achieve so much: in a lifetime struggle to repair what happened to northern* Ireland, following Collins’ death.

 

Michael Collins in Armagh 1921

In 1922, Dublin’s fledgling independent government was headed by the representative for Armagh in northern Ireland: Michael Collins, TD.

What links Collins with Martin McGuinness’ generation of Irish statesmen? These excerpts from The Assassination of Michael Collins: What Happened at Beal na mBlath? explore their connections:

“The 26-county Republic of Ireland, and the 6-county Northern Ireland statelet, directly owe their existence, their institutional structures, and much of their history, to Michael Collins’ life and times; to the controversies which culminated in his death; and to the travesties which his death enabled.

… Before the ink on the Treaty was dry, even among smiles, handshakes, and agreements, Winston Churchill was funding, directing and protecting military aggression in Ulster (both on and off the record.) Michael Collins, not to be outdone, cooperated without hesitation in republican units’ response there…

On 1st and 2nd August 1922, Commander-in-Chief Collins met with northern [IRA] officers at Portobello Barracks in Dublin. He told them, “The civil war will be over in a few weeks and then we can resume in the north. You men will get intensive training.” Collins explained that, until the Civil War was resolved, IRA in the north would have to remain defensive and avoid engagements. A small, specially paid “Belfast Guard” would be created to protect Catholic areas from sectarian attacks. The Dublin government in the meantime would apply political pressure. Said Collins, “If that fails, the Treaty can go to hell, and we will start again.”

… Following British soldiers’ killing of two adolescent girls near the northern border, an outraged Collins wrote to WT Cosgrave:

I am forced to the conclusion that we have yet to fight the British in the northeast. We must by forceful action make them understand that we will not tolerate this carelessness with the lives of our people.

In other correspondence:

[The north] must be redeemed for Ireland, and we must keep striving in every way until that objective is achieved. The northeast must not be allowed to settle down in the feeling that it is a thing apart from the Irish nation.

Six counties implies coercion. South and east Down, south Armagh, Fermanagh and Tyrone will not come into Northern Ireland.

… Coogan … agrees that Collins’ policy on the North was “unwelcome to his Cabinet colleagues and of course to the British.” [That is,] Collins was serving on a Cabinet with men whose agenda for the future of Ireland was closer to the British, than to his own.

… [Then, in August 1922,] Arthur Griffith and Collins suddenly died within two weeks of each other. And with them, all hope of an amicable settlement with honor to the Civil War. All hope of merging anti-Treaty heroes from the War of Independence into the leadership of the Free State Army. All hope of continuing armed resistance against unionist pogroms in the north.

It was then that the Troubles for Northern Ireland began.

“The spreading [Civil War], marked by the cessation of IRA operations in the north, was correctly interpreted by the unionist government and armed loyalism as effectively removing the threat of concerted assault on the northern state.” **

… That threat was more real and present than most people, (including many historians,) realize … A shooting war between Irish troops and their British / loyalist counterparts in the northeast flared up continually throughout 1922. It included both IRA guerrilla actions and Free State regulars, British troops and loyalist paramilitaries combined. It moved Churchill to call for defense preparations against a Dublin-sponsored invasion of Ulster. https://ansionnachfionn.com/2015/06/08/the-battle-of-pettigo-and-belleek-may-to-june-1922/

With Collins removed, subsequent Dublin governments were content, or reduced, to leave northern nationalists twisting in the wind.”

Dublin governments all too willing to “tolerate this carelessness with the lives of our people” and to allow the northeast “to settle down in the feeling that it is a thing apart from the Irish nation.” Until the north’s simmering apartheid regime exploded into thirty years of bloody conflict.

Would the north have been different, had Collins lived? Could Martin McGuinness have been born in a united 32-county Ireland? Could decades of mayhem and murder been avoided, had the appropriate governments and armies come to grips, in 1922? 

Could Collins, with his War of Independence army intact, have extended their victory throughout the north? With the aid of officers who, over Collins’ dead body, were later executed by the Dublin government of W T Cosgrave (founder of Finn Gael)?

Could the Troubles have been prevented, by Collins and company’s combination of political pressure from Dublin, plus sustained military response to British/loyalist violence in the north?

Ultimately, the story of Ulster is inseparable from the story of Michael Collins: who clearly saw, almost a hundred years ago, that peace might be won only at the cost of eventual armed conflict in the north; who perhaps died striving to make it possible for republican comrades to lay down their arms; and who died … as elected representative for the people of northern Ireland.

 

** Eamonn Phoenix Michael Collins – The Northern Question 1916-22

* “northern Ireland” is here used to refer to that region of the country, before partition; “Northern Ireland” (capitalized) refers to the statelet created by Partition.

Read more

“The Assassination of Michael Collins:
What Happened At Béal na mBláth?”

by S M Sigerson

Paperback or Kindle edition here:
www.amazon.com/dp/1493784714

All other e-reader formats:
www.smashwords.com/books/view/433954

Read reviews:
http://www.rabidreaders.com/2014/12/03/assassination-michael-collins-s-m-sigerson-2/

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A Michael Collins Christmas

Michael Collins & friends at the Gresham Hotel

During the height of the Tan War, David Neligan, Collins’ “Spy in the Castle”, recounts the Big Fella inviting him to Christmas dinner at the Gresham Hotel. Collins asked whether Neligan would be there.

“No!” exclaimed Neligan, “And neither should you! It’s the most dangerous place to be tonight!”

Still Collins was determined to regale his closest associates with holiday cheer, in the best hotel in Dublin, as planned.

The festivities were in full swing when the party was raided by the notorious Auxiliaries. What’s more, it was not the most random spot check. They had a photo of Collins ready to hand, (probably snipped from the 1919 group photo of the First Dail,) and were looking for him there. An officer promptly fastened on the Big Fella, and dragged him off to the men’s room for interrogation. He was searched, and a small notebook from his pocket was scrutinized. One entry seemed to be a reminder to order “rifles”.

Collins persisted in taking all their questions with easy-going bemusement, as a tremendously droll mistake. He assured them they were reading his scrawl all wrong: that it really said “refills”. He kept up his good humor as they yanked back his head by the hair, staring at the photo & then at his face. It went on for half an hour or more.

However, at last they gave it up, persuaded that this must be the wrong fellow entirely. Collins went back to the dinner, and ordered drinks all around; while the Auxies continued to hover about, watching the party closely.

It was quietly decided that the wisest course under these circumstances was to get truly, indubitably, certifiably drunk. It was one of the only occasions throughout the war when Collins was seen to be visibly intoxicated.

And so the most wanted men in Ireland did uproarious justice to the good things before them, and all slept sound in their beds that night.

Read more
“The Assassination of Michael Collins:
What Happened At Béal na mBláth?”
by S M Sigerson

Paperback or Kindle edition here:
www.amazon.com/dp/1493784714

All other e-reader formats:
www.smashwords.com/books/view/433954

Read reviews:
http://www.rabidreaders.com/2014/12/03/assassination-michael-collins-s-m-sigerson-2/

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“The Spy in the Castle”
by David Neligan
www.amazon.com/Spy-Castle-David-Neligan/dp/0953569705

 

2022 Michael Collins Centenary: What happened at Béal na mBláth?

 

Michael Collins’ 2022 Centenary will offer unprecedented opportunities to examine, celebrate, and reflect on the meaning of his life and death.
How should it be observed?

Ireland’s “Decade of Centenaries” marches on, with much to explore, celebrate, and remember; ultimately culminating in 2022: the 100th anniversary of Collins’ death.

The 2016 Rising Centenary brought to light a wealth of original materials, records, testimony, which had long languished unexamined, inaccessible to the public. It opened a vast, new, fertile debate in Ireland, on the Rising’s meaning, causes, effects. How successful was that revolution? Is Ireland truly independent today? Has it ever been? Can Ireland yet be called independent while the UK still claims dominion over six counties in the North? Was violent conflict unavoidable? Did taking down the Union Jack & raising the Tricolor, as James Connolly warned us, in itself, solve none of Ireland’s problems?

The study of this period has thereby been greatly enriched, on countless levels; which may never be understood in our lifetime.

The Rising, while it was neither the beginning nor the end of the Revolutionary Era, would always be important in itself, even if it were a stand-alone event.

Its greatest significance, however, is in those who survived it: who went forth from it to organize and carry on the cause of independence, in the amazing achievements of 1919-1921 (The War of Independence / Tan War.)

In this there is much to be learned: about what happened to the dream and promise of the 1916 Proclamation, and those who fought for it.

These are questions still debated today. Most of us, inside & outside of Ireland, recognize the establishment of the Dáil & Dublin government, the conclusive departure of the British Army and British colonial administration from 26 of 32 counties, as a tremendous achievement; as Collins (a Rising veteran) himself said, “…beyond our wildest dreams in 1916.”

Most are likewise painfuly aware that the unfinished business of Irish independence, whether behind a northern border, or in the corridors of Dublin government, is the challenging legacy left for this and future generations to resolve. wp.me/p43KWx-9z

Between now and 2022, we’ll have a chance to celebrate the achievements of those who survived the Rising: to raise the siege which forced the British to the negotiating table (a development considered unthinkable in 1916.)

In the big picture of Michael Collins & his story, 2022 is not merely a once-in-a-lifetime chance. It’s not only the chance of a century. His 100th anniversary will happen just once ever, period. One time only will this particular, most uncommon generation gather for a new in-depth review of his life & death, from this unique vantage point: when the smoke of those conflicts is just clearing, while his deeds still ring in living memory, among generations who were reared by those who knew him personally. Generations who have been revolutionary, in their own ways. In short, perhaps better equipped to discover, explore, understand what happened to him; with a vital role to play, which no future generation might be able for.

To ponder his death and his life eternally

Now is the time to fulfill two fundamental needs, which have inhibited our understanding of Collins, and of Ireland’s history:
– a complete, authoritative catalogue of all his writings and correspondence; and
– a forensic examination of his remains: to right the wrong done by the 1922 Dublin governement’s failure, neglect, and refusal to hold an enquiry into his death.

Short of a united Ireland, what better way to honour his memory?

Read more
“The Assassination of Michael Collins:
What Happened At Béal na mBláth?”
by S M Sigerson
Paperback or Kindle edition here:
www.amazon.com/dp/1493784714

All other e-reader formats:
www.smashwords.com/books/view/433954 

Read reviews: 
http://www.rabidreaders.com/2014/12/03/assassination-michael-collins-s-m-sigerson-2/ 

https://readersfavorite.com/book-review/the-assassination-of-michael-collins

Or ask at your local book shop