Happy 281st Birthday to the Father of Our Country, His Excellency George Washington

This life-size statue of George Washington in the rotunda of the Virginia State Capitol in Richmond, Virginia, is probably the finest and most accurate likeness of Washington ever made. It was sculpted by Jean-Antoine Houdon from measurements and life masks he took of Washington when the sculptor visited Mount Vernon.

In Memory of "The Big Fella", Michael Collins ( Micheál Ó Coileáin), Who Died 90 Years Ago Today (22 August 1922)

Ar dheis Dé go raibh a anam.  
The Laughing Boy
by Brendan Behan

T'was on an August morning, all in the dawning hours,
I went to take the warming air, all in the Mouth of Flowers,
And there I saw a maiden, and mournful was her cry,
'Ah what will mend my broken heart, I've lost my Laughing Boy.

So strong, so wild and brave he was, I'll mourn his loss too sore,
When thinking that I'll hear the laugh or springing step no more.
Ah, cure the times and sad the loss my heart to crucify,
That an Irish son with a rebel gun shot down my Laughing Boy.

Oh had he died by Pearse's side or in the GPO,
Killed by an English bullet from the rifle of the foe,
Or forcibly fed with Ashe lay dead in the dungeons of Mountjoy,
I'd have cried with pride for the way he died, my own dear Laughing Boy.

My princely love, can ageless love do more than tell to you,
Go raibh maith agat for all you tried to do,
For all you did, and would have done, my enemies to destroy,
I'll mourn your name and praise your fame, forever, my Laughing Boy.



The death of Michael Collins from "Shadow of Béal na mBláth"
(music by Sinead O'Connor from the "Michael Collins" soundtrack)


The bark of a dog breaks the silence like a bitter last hurrah
And a raven spreads it's wings for flight over fields near Beál Na mBláth
With a rifle still clasped to his breast, but hanging low his head
A black August day in the County Cork, Michael Collins is dead

Hang out your brightest colours, his memory now recall
Each one wants a part of him but no-one wants it all

~ "The Ballad of Michael Collins" by Brendan O'Reilly



Tom Barry describes the scene in Kilmainham Jail
where he witnessed hundreds of Republican prisoners
on their knees praying for Michael Collins
after hearing the news he had been killed during the Civil War.


Historical footage of the funeral of Michael Collins
set to "Wrap the Green Flag 'Round Me" by The Wolfe Tones


Oh long will old Ireland be seeking in vain
Ere we find a new leader to match the man slain
A true son of Grainne his name long will shine
O gallant Mick Collins cut off in his prime

~ "Michael Collins" by The Wolfe Tones




“We bend today over the grave of a man not more than thirty years of age, who took to himself the gospel of toil for Ireland, and of sacrifice for their good, and who has made himself a hero and a legend that will stand in the pages of our history with any bright page that was ever written there. Pages have been written by him in the hearts of our people that will never find a place in print. But we lived, some of us with these intimate pages; and those pages that will reach history, meagre though they be, will do good to our country and will inspire us through many a dark hour. Our weaknesses cry out to us, 'Michael Collins was too brave.' Michael Collins was not too brave. Every day and every hour he lived he lived it to the full extent of that bravery which God gave to him, and it is for us to be brave as he was—brave before danger, brave before those who lie, brave even to that very great bravery that our weaknesses complained of in him.”

~ Richard Mulcahy, IRA Chief of Staff (and Collins' superior) during the War of Independence, who succeeded Collins as commander-in-chief of the Free State Irish Army, in his oration at Collins' funeral.


“. . . So tear up your mourning and hang up your brightest colours in his honour; and let us all praise God that he had not to die weakened by age and saddened by the disappointments that would have attended his work had he lived.”

~ Dublin-born playwright George Bernard Shaw in a letter of condolence to Collins' sister




‘‘He was the man whose matchless energy, whose indomitable will, carried Ireland through the terrible crisis; and though I have not now, and never had, an ambition about either political affairs or history, if my name is to go down in history I want it to be associated with the name of Michael Collins.’’

~ Arthur Griffith
Founder and leader of the original Sinn Féin (not its modern Marxist namesake) and President of Dáil Éireann (the Irish parliament), whose work with Collins on negotiating the Treaty to end the Irish War of Independence, and whose untimely death at the age of 50 from either a heart attack or stroke just 10 days prior to Collins' assassination (thus depriving Ireland of yet another key leader in its political infancy) ensured that his name would, indeed, go down in history associated with that of Michael Collins


Michael Collins' brother, Johnny, at the rededication
of the Collins gravesite at Glasnevin Cemetery in 1939.
According to Collins and De Valera biographer, Tim Pat Coogan:
"It is a matter of record that for years Johnny Collins,
a civil servant, and thus very much at de Valera's mercy,
strove unsuccessfully to have a fitting memorial erected
over his brother, who, as the first Commander-in-Chief of
the Irish Army, lay in a military grave... Finally,
de Valera called Johnny in and stipulated that the cost
of the memorial should not exceed £300, and it should be
in limestone, not marble. He prescribed a formula of words
he wanted used on the cross and ordered that there be no
English on the front of it. The cemetery records show, that,
on July 31st, 1939, a few weeks before the world went to war,
Taoiseach de Valera took time out to sign personally the
certificate of authorisation for the design and erection of
the memorial cross over his old adversary... What the
certification does not show is the fact that de Valera forbade
Johnny to allow attendance at the dedication ceremony, either
by the press, the public, or by any member of the Collins family
apart from Johnny himself. Only the officiating priest and an
altar boy were permitted to be present. Had an outraged off-duty
gravedigger, who tended Collins's grave, not accidentally come
across the melancholy little ceremony and hailed a passing tourist
with a camera, there would have been no pictorial record of Johnny
standing alone, apart from the gravedigger, at his famous brother's graveside."

‘‘It is my considered opinion that, in the fullness of time, history will record the greatness of Michael Collins, and it will be recorded at my expense.’’

~ Eamon de Valera


For more on Michael Collins, see

General Michael Collins (website of the Collins 22 Society, of which I am a member)

Michael Collins - The Lost Leader

The Michael Collins Centre

The Michael Collins Web Page

An excellent and very comprehensive Michael Collins Site

A Man Against An Empire - History Net

Michael Collins Irish Leader - Economic Expert

Michael Collins - Military History Online

Michael Collins - University College Cork

The "Michael Collins" Official Movie Site

MICHAEL COLLINS - A Musical Drama

Michael Collins Irish Whiskey

Recommended Reading:

The Path to Freedom by Michael Collins

Michael Collins: The Man Who Made Ireland by Tim Pat Coogan

Michael Collins: A Life by James MacKay

The Big Fellow: Michael Collins & the Irish Revolution by Frank O'Connor

Michael Collins : The Lost Leader by Margery Forester

Illustrated Life of Michael Collins by Colm Connolly

Michael Collins - A Life in Pictures by Chrissy Osborne

Michael Collins and the Troubles: The Struggle for Irish Freedom 1912-1922 by Ulick O'Connor

Michael Collins's Intelligence War: The Struggle Between the British and the IRA 1919-1921 by Michael T. Foy

The Squad: and the intelligence operations of Michael Collins by T. Ryle Dwyer

Michael Collins and the Making of the Irish State by Gabriel Doherty (Author), Dermot Keogh (Editor)

"Michael Collins' Ireland: Following In The Footsteps Of The Big Fellow From Dublin To County Cork", Chicago Tribune, March 7, 1999

Recommended Viewing:

"Michael Collins"
(1996 Neil Jordan film starring Liam Neeson in the title role - can be purchased via Amazon.com)

"The Treaty"
(1991 RTE/BBC production starring Brendan Gleeson as Michael Collins, in a much better portrayal of The Big Fella than that of Neeson - difficult to find, but a DVD copy can be purchased here)

"The Shadow of Béalnabláth"
(1991 documentary on the life and death of Collins by Colm Connolly - used VHS copies available on Amazon.com)

"Hang Up Your Brightest Colours"
(1973 documentary on the life and death of Collins by Kenneth Griffith; banned for many years in both England and Ireland - a DVD copy can be purchased here)

"The Wind That Shakes the Barley"
(2006 Ken Loach film is a fictionalized drama focusing on the War of Independence and the ensuing Irish Civil War in Collins' native Cork - can be purchased via Amazon.com)

Shake Hands with the Devil
(1959 film is a fictionalized drama starring James Cagney, Michael Redgrave, and Don Murray as members of the IRA battling the "Black and Tans" in 1921 during the War of Independence - can be purchased via Amazon.com)

Previous Pro Ecclesia posts on this subject:85th Anniversary of the Death of "The Big Fella", Michael Collins

Nolan Ryan is My President

Fearless Leader of the Ranger Nation

Deguello de Crockett

Recommended Music:
"The Alamo" Soundtrack by Carter Burwell

Davy Crockett's Fiddle by Dean Shostak

Davy Crockett Plays On: Live in the Alamo (Fathers of Texas Series) by K.R. Woods

Texian Thermopylae: "We Will Sell Our Lives Dearly"

120th Birthday of "The Big Fella", Michael Collins

"It is my considered opinion that, in the fullness of time, history will record the greatness of Michael Collins, and it will be recorded at my expense."

~ Eamon de Valera
Tomorrow - 16 October - is the 120th anniversary of the birth of one of my heroes - Irish patriot and statesman Michael Collins:

"One day he'll be a great man. He'll do great work for Ireland." -Michael Collins, Sr.

"Yet even the most grotesque subversions of history cannot outdistance the true facts of the story, of a country boy who became the first urban guerrilla, laid the foundations of a state and then negotiated its independence, was chairman of its Provisional Government, then commander in chief of its armed forces when it was plunged into civil war—all this before dying at the hands of his fellow republicans at the age of thirty-one." -A.T.Q. Stewart


Michael Patrick Collins was born on October 16, 1890, near Clonakilty in West Cork, Ireland. As described by Tom Barry, a future friend and colleague of Collins', West Cork "is a poor land, where bogs and mountains predominate, but there are fertile stretches, such as those along the valley of the Bandon and in the vicinity of the towns of Clonakilty and Skibbereen. Those rich areas were in the hands of a small minority, and the large majority of the people had a hard struggle for existence." Michael's father was 36 years older than his mother and this caused Michael to develop a sense of respect for his elders. Moreover, Collins was the baby in a family of eight children. The farm owned by the Collins family boasted ninety acres, an impressive share of land for Catholic farmers of the time.

"…Mary Anne was far advanced in her eighth and last pregnancy, complicated by a bad fall in which she saved the baby she was carrying but broke her ankle. The fracture was inexpertly set, leaving her with a bad limp for the rest of her days, but she struggled on with her chores. One autumn evening she milked her cows as usual, then did a large baking and attended to other household duties before retiring to her bed where, early on the morning of Thursday, 16 October, she gave birth to her third son" (James MacKay, Michael Collins: A Life).

"The care of the smaller children, particularly Michael, devolved upon the older girls. It is the inevitable, and often deeply resented, way with large families; yet from the first they lavished affection upon him. ‘We thought he had been invented for our special edification,’ is Miss Hannie Collins’s comment" (Margery Forester, Michael Collins: The Lost Leader).

Michael Collins as a young boy
When Michael was very young, his father passed away. But shortly before he died, he made a prediction that his son would go on to do great things for Ireland. Though Michael and his father did not have much time together, it is apparent that his words and his own intelligence had a favorable impact on the young boy. The senior Michael Collins had been fluent in several languages including Gaelic and had serious interests in a variety of subjects such as astronomy, construction, architecture, and math. The additional paternal influences in Collins’s life included one of his favorite teachers, Denis Lyons, and a local blacksmith, James Santry. Michael paid close attention to the stories they told and would think of the experiences they’d had whenever he needed a boost to stay motivated. Scholastically, Michael was a voracious reader and a lover of history. He studied the failed rebellions of the past and frequently read the works of authors like Thomas Davis, A.M. and T.D. Sullivan, Thomas Moore, and G.K. Chesterton.

"On the very day he himself was killed he reminisced about an incident when he was no more than five. His father was ill at the time, and for some reason it fell to the boy to pay the rent of £4 6s 8d. On his way to the land-agent’s office in Rosscarbery, Michael chanced to see, in a shop window, a football priced at a shilling. Oh, how he longed for that football, and he quickened his step in the hope that the agent would reward him for prompt payment by giving him a shilling discount, as was sometimes the case. But the man took the full amount, snapping nastily, ‘Tell your father he’s a fool to trust such a small lad with so much money.’ Right there and then, Michael vowed that there would be no land-agents in Ireland if he ever had his way. ... One thing appears to be lacking from Michael’s early boyhood; he seems not to have had any close friends of his own age. After his father died, he preferred his own company, often going for long solitary walks through the beautiful, wild countryside. … And, in turn, Griffith attracted the attention of the precocious schoolboy. In an essay written at the age of twelve, Michael extolled his new-found hero: ‘In Arthur Griffith there is a mighty force afoot in Ireland. He has none of the wildness of some I could name. Instead there is an abundance of wisdom and an awareness of things which ARE Ireland.’ This is all the more remarkable because, at that time, Griffith’s potential was recognised by very few politicians." (MacKay).

It was typical for children raised in County Cork to become postal workers and Collins followed this example by taking up residence in England. This process has been documented by noted Collins biographer, Tim Pat Coogan:

"There was at the time a tradition of recruiting for the British postal service in the Clonakilty area. When a baby boy was born, the neighbours' first comment on looking into the pram was 'musha 'tis the fine sorter he'll make.'"

Michael was no exception...

[Read more about the life of Michael Collins]

"Hang Up Your Brightest Colours: The Life and Death of Michael Collins"
This 1973 documentary, a biography of Michael Collins by Kenneth Griffith,
was banned that same year by both the British and Irish Governments.
The ban was not lifted until a quarter century after the film was produced.


Video showing actual footage of Michael Collins


This scene from "The Treaty", starring Brendan Gleeson as Michael Collins,
shows how the Big Fella was able to travel around Ireland in the open
and still evade capture by the British forces.


A scene from the movie "Michael Collins", starring Liam Neeson
in the lead role. (Brendan Gleeson, who played Collins in "The Treaty"
and who bears a closer resemblance to the Big Fella than does Neeson,
also appears in the movie as one of Collins' collaborators, Liam Tobin.)


Until very recently, no statue of Michael Collins existed
anywhere in the world. Tim and Dolores Crowley of the
Michael Collins Center and Traolach O’ Donnabhain of
Clonakilty Historical Society organized an effort to
rectify that. Sculptor Kevin Holland was commissioned
to make a seven foot bronze statue of Collins and it was
placed at the edge of Emmet Square in Clonakilty.
22 August 2002, the 80th anniversary of the Big Fella’s death,
was the date for the unveiling, and Liam Neeson travelled from
the U.S. to unveil the statue.


"Michael Collins" by The Wolfe Tones


"Michael Collins" by Johnny McEvoy


"The Ballad of Michael Collins" by Brendan O'Reilly


Video footage of "Michael Collins - A Musical Drama",
a fairly new musical on the life of Michael Collins
produced by the Cork Opera House


Promotional video for "Michael Collins - A Musical Drama"


‘‘He was the man whose matchless energy, whose indomitable will, carried Ireland through the terrible crisis; and though I have not now, and never had, an ambition about either political affairs or history, if my name is to go down in history I want it to be associated with the name of Michael Collins.’’

~ Arthur Griffith

For more on Michael Collins, see

General Michael Collins (website of the Collins 22 Society, of which I am a member)

Michael Collins - The Lost Leader

The Michael Collins Centre

The Michael Collins Web Page

An excellent and very comprehensive Michael Collins Site

A Man Against An Empire - History Net

Michael Collins Irish Leader - Economic Expert

Michael Collins - Military History Online

Michael Collins - University College Cork

The "Michael Collins" Official Movie Site

MICHAEL COLLINS - A Musical Drama

Michael Collins Irish Whiskey

Recommended Reading:

The Path to Freedom by Michael Collins

Michael Collins: The Man Who Made Ireland by Tim Pat Coogan

Michael Collins: A Life by James MacKay

The Big Fellow: Michael Collins & the Irish Revolution by Frank O'Connor

Michael Collins : The Lost Leader by Margery Forester

Illustrated Life of Michael Collins by Colm Connolly

Michael Collins - A Life in Pictures by Chrissy Osborne

Michael Collins and the Troubles: The Struggle for Irish Freedom 1912-1922 by Ulick O'Connor

Michael Collins's Intelligence War: The Struggle Between the British and the IRA 1919-1921 by Michael T. Foy

The Squad: and the intelligence operations of Michael Collins by T. Ryle Dwyer

Michael Collins and the Making of the Irish State by Gabriel Doherty (Author), Dermot Keogh (Editor)

"Michael Collins' Ireland: Following In The Footsteps Of The Big Fellow From Dublin To County Cork", Chicago Tribune, March 7, 1999

Recommended Viewing:

"Michael Collins"
(1996 Neil Jordan film starring Liam Neeson in the title role - can be purchased via Amazon.com)

"The Treaty"
(1991 RTE/BBC production starring Brendan Gleeson as Michael Collins, in a much better portrayal of The Big Fella than that of Neeson - difficult to find, but a DVD copy can be purchased here)

"The Shadow of Béalnabláth"
(1991 documentary on the life and death of Collins by Colm Connolly - used VHS copies available on Amazon.com)

"Hang Up Your Brightest Colours"
(1973 documentary on the life and death of Collins by Kenneth Griffith; banned for many years in both England and Ireland - a DVD copy can be purchased here)

"The Wind That Shakes the Barley"
(2006 Ken Loach film is a fictionalized drama focusing on the War of Independence and the ensuing Irish Civil War in Collins' native Cork - can be purchased via Amazon.com)

Shake Hands with the Devil
(1959 film is a fictionalized drama starring James Cagney, Michael Redgrave, and Don Murray as members of the IRA battling the "Black and Tans" in 1921 during the War of Independence - can be purchased via Amazon.com)

Previous Pro Ecclesia posts on this subject:
"The Spirit of Michael Collins"

In Memory of "The Big Fella", Michael Collins (d. 22 August 1922)

85th Anniversary of the Death of "The Big Fella", Michael Collins

True Grit?

I'm torn on this. On the one hand, this is exactly the sort of movie I would ordinarily look forward to seeing:



But, on the other hand, some things are just so iconic that they shouldn't be messed with:

In Memory of "The Big Fella", Michael Collins (d. 22 August 1922) [UPDATED]

The Laughing Boy
by Brendan Behan

T'was on an August morning, all in the dawning hours,
I went to take the warming air, all in the Mouth of Flowers,
And there I saw a maiden, and mournful was her cry,
'Ah what will mend my broken heart, I've lost my Laughing Boy.

So strong, so wild and brave he was, I'll mourn his loss too sore,
When thinking that I'll hear the laugh or springing step no more.
Ah, cure the times and sad the loss my heart to crucify,
That an Irish son with a rebel gun shot down my Laughing Boy.

Oh had he died by Pearse's side or in the GPO,
Killed by an English bullet from the rifle of the foe,
Or forcibly fed with Ashe lay dead in the dungeons of Mountjoy,
I'd have cried with pride for the way he died, my own dear Laughing Boy.

My princely love, can ageless love do more than tell to you,
Go raibh maith agat for all you tried to do,
For all you did, and would have done, my enemies to destroy,
I'll mourn your name and praise your fame, forever, my Laughing Boy.



Michael Collins assassination scene from the movie "Michael Collins"


The death of Michael Collins from "Shadow of Béal na mBláth"
(music by Sinead O'Connor from the "Michael Collins" soundtrack)


The bark of a dog breaks the silence like a bitter last hurrah
And a raven spreads it's wings for flight over fields near Beál Na mBláth
With a rifle still clasped to his breast, but hanging low his head
A black August day in the County Cork, Michael Collins is dead

Hang out your brightest colours, his memory now recall
Each one wants a part of him but no-one wants it all

~ "The Ballad of Michael Collins" by Brendan O'Reilly



Tom Barry describes the scene in Kilmainham Jail
where he witnessed hundreds of Republican prisoners
on their knees praying for Michael Collins
after hearing the news he had been killed during the Civil War.


Historical footage of the funeral of Michael Collins
set to "Wrap the Green Flag 'Round Me" by The Wolfe Tones


Oh long will old Ireland be seeking in vain
Ere we find a new leader to match the man slain
A true son of Grainne his name long will shine
O gallant Mick Collins cut off in his prime

~ "Michael Collins" by The Wolfe Tones




“We bend today over the grave of a man not more than thirty years of age, who took to himself the gospel of toil for Ireland, and of sacrifice for their good, and who has made himself a hero and a legend that will stand in the pages of our history with any bright page that was ever written there. Pages have been written by him in the hearts of our people that will never find a place in print. But we lived, some of us with these intimate pages; and those pages that will reach history, meagre though they be, will do good to our country and will inspire us through many a dark hour. Our weaknesses cry out to us, 'Michael Collins was too brave.' Michael Collins was not too brave. Every day and every hour he lived he lived it to the full extent of that bravery which God gave to him, and it is for us to be brave as he was—brave before danger, brave before those who lie, brave even to that very great bravery that our weaknesses complained of in him.”

~ Richard Mulcahy, IRA Chief of Staff (and Collins' superior) during the War of Independence, who succeeded Collins as commander-in-chief of the Free State Irish Army, in his oration at Collins' funeral.


“. . . So tear up your mourning and hang up your brightest colours in his honour; and let us all praise God that he had not to die weakened by age and saddened by the disappointments that would have attended his work had he lived.”

~ Dublin-born playwright George Bernard Shaw in a letter of condolence to Collins' sister




‘‘He was the man whose matchless energy, whose indomitable will, carried Ireland through the terrible crisis; and though I have not now, and never had, an ambition about either political affairs or history, if my name is to go down in history I want it to be associated with the name of Michael Collins.’’

~ Arthur Griffith
Founder and leader of the original Sinn Féin (not its modern Marxist namesake) and President of Dáil Éireann (the Irish parliament), whose work with Collins on negotiating the Treaty to end the Irish War of Independence, and whose untimely death at the age of 50 from either a heart attack or stroke just 10 days prior to Collins' assassination (thus depriving Ireland of yet another key leader in its political infancy) ensured that his name would, indeed, go down in history associated with that of Michael Collins


Michael Collins' brother, Johnny, at the rededication
of the Collins gravesite at Glasnevin Cemetery in 1939.
According to Collins and De Valera biographer, Tim Pat Coogan:
"It is a matter of record that for years Johnny Collins,
a civil servant, and thus very much at de Valera's mercy,
strove unsuccessfully to have a fitting memorial erected
over his brother, who, as the first Commander-in-Chief of
the Irish Army, lay in a military grave... Finally,
de Valera called Johnny in and stipulated that the cost
of the memorial should not exceed £300, and it should be
in limestone, not marble. He prescribed a formula of words
he wanted used on the cross and ordered that there be no
English on the front of it. The cemetery records show, that,
on July 31st, 1939, a few weeks before the world went to war,
Taoiseach de Valera took time out to sign personally the
certificate of authorisation for the design and erection of
the memorial cross over his old adversary... What the
certification does not show is the fact that de Valera forbade
Johnny to allow attendance at the dedication ceremony, either
by the press, the public, or by any member of the Collins family
apart from Johnny himself. Only the officiating priest and an
altar boy were permitted to be present. Had an outraged off-duty
gravedigger, who tended Collins's grave, not accidentally come
across the melancholy little ceremony and hailed a passing tourist
with a camera, there would have been no pictorial record of Johnny
standing alone, apart from the gravedigger, at his famous brother's graveside."

‘‘It is my considered opinion that, in the fullness of time, history will record the greatness of Michael Collins, and it will be recorded at my expense.’’

~ Eamon de Valera

UPDATE
See G. Thomas Fitzpatrick's tribute to Michael Collins at Recta Ratio, which includes a reflection on a personal connection between The Big Fella and his grandfather.


For more on Michael Collins, see

General Michael Collins (website of the Collins 22 Society, of which I am a member)

Michael Collins - The Lost Leader

The Michael Collins Centre

The Michael Collins Web Page

An excellent and very comprehensive Michael Collins Site

A Man Against An Empire - History Net

Michael Collins Irish Leader - Economic Expert

Michael Collins - Military History Online

Michael Collins - University College Cork

The "Michael Collins" Official Movie Site

MICHAEL COLLINS - A Musical Drama

Michael Collins Irish Whiskey

Recommended Reading:

The Path to Freedom by Michael Collins

Michael Collins: The Man Who Made Ireland by Tim Pat Coogan

Michael Collins: A Life by James MacKay

The Big Fellow: Michael Collins & the Irish Revolution by Frank O'Connor

Michael Collins : The Lost Leader by Margery Forester

Illustrated Life of Michael Collins by Colm Connolly

Michael Collins - A Life in Pictures by Chrissy Osborne

Michael Collins and the Troubles: The Struggle for Irish Freedom 1912-1922 by Ulick O'Connor

Michael Collins's Intelligence War: The Struggle Between the British and the IRA 1919-1921 by Michael T. Foy

The Squad: and the intelligence operations of Michael Collins by T. Ryle Dwyer

Michael Collins and the Making of the Irish State by Gabriel Doherty (Author), Dermot Keogh (Editor)

"Michael Collins' Ireland: Following In The Footsteps Of The Big Fellow From Dublin To County Cork", Chicago Tribune, March 7, 1999

Recommended Viewing:

"Michael Collins"
(1996 Neil Jordan film starring Liam Neeson in the title role - can be purchased via Amazon.com)

"The Treaty"
(1991 RTE/BBC production starring Brendan Gleeson as Michael Collins, in a much better portrayal of The Big Fella than that of Neeson - difficult to find, but a DVD copy can be purchased here)

"The Shadow of Béalnabláth"
(1991 documentary on the life and death of Collins by Colm Connolly - used VHS copies available on Amazon.com)

"Hang Up Your Brightest Colours"
(1973 documentary on the life and death of Collins by Kenneth Griffith; banned for many years in both England and Ireland - a DVD copy can be purchased here)

"The Wind That Shakes the Barley"
(2006 Ken Loach film is a fictionalized drama focusing on the War of Independence and the ensuing Irish Civil War in Collins' native Cork - can be purchased via Amazon.com)

Shake Hands with the Devil
(1959 film is a fictionalized drama starring James Cagney, Michael Redgrave, and Don Murray as members of the IRA battling the "Black and Tans" in 1921 during the War of Independence - can be purchased via Amazon.com)

Previous Pro Ecclesia posts on this subject:
85th Anniversary of the Death of "The Big Fella", Michael Collins

50 Things a Man Should Be Able To Do

At First Thoughts, Joe Carter has compiled a list of 50 things every man should be able to do, including, among other things, "perfectly cook scrambled eggs", "load, shoot, and clean a firearm", and "hug another man".

"One of the Three Most Accomplished Knights in Christendom" and the Winning of Scottish Independence at Bannockburn [UPDATED]

Today is the 696th anniversary of one of the greatest battles ever fought on British soil, and certainly the most significant battle in Scottish history.

On 24 June 1314, Robert Bruce, King of Scots, led a vastly outnumbered army to an overwhelming victory against the might of the English forces under King Edward II at the Battle of Bannockburn, near Stirling Castle in central Scotland.


Bannockburn turned out to be the decisive victory in the First Scottish War of Independence, and was a precursor to the restatement of Scotland's historic independence from England, which was formally declared by the Community of the Realm of Scotland 6 years later at Arbroath.

Despite the completeness of the Scottish victory at Bannockburn and, later, papal recognition of the Scottish claims in the Declaration of Arbroath, full English recognition of Scottish independence was not achieved until more than ten years after Bannockburn, just prior to the death of King Robert. In the meantime, throughout that decade following Bannockburn, Robert completely dominated the English militarily: conducting frequent raids across the border deep into the heartlands of Yorkshire and Lancashire; exacting tribute from English communities (who bought off the Scots to avoid being laid waste in Robert's efforts to force English recognition of Scotland's independence); invading and nearly subduing Ireland in an abortive attempt to place Robert's brother, Edward Bruce, on the Irish throne; capturing the Isle of Man; and raiding a Welsh sea-port.

Robert Bruce kills Sir Henry de Bohun in single combat at Bannockburn. Source.

Robert Bruce statue at Bannockburn. Source.

Another view of the Bruce statue at Bannockburn. Source.
Without doubt, Bruce was Scotland's greatest king, and he achieved, during his lifetime, world renown as one of the greatest warriors of the age.

Source; © The Heraldry Society Scotland 2004 The Heraldry Society of Scotland

Ronald McNair Scott, in his biography Robert the Bruce, King of Scots, cites to Liber Pluscardiensis in declaring that "in his prime Robert Bruce was ranked with the Holy Roman Emperor Henry and Sir Giles D'Argentan as one of the three most accomplished knights in Christendom ..." Scott later refers to the Bruce as "the victor in a hundred tournaments".




Scots, wha hae wi' Wallace bled,
Scots, wham Bruce has aften led,
Welcome to your gory bed,
Or to victory.
Now's the day, and now's the hour;
See the front of battle lower;
See approach proud Edward's power—
Chains and slavery.

Wha will be a traitor knave?
Wha can fill a coward's grave?
Wha sae base as be a slave?
Let him turn and flee.
Wha for Scotland's King and law
Freedom's sword will strongly draw,
Freeman stand, or freeman fa',
Let him on wi' me.

By oppression's woes and pains!
By your sons in servile chains!
We will drain our dearest veins,
But they shall be free.
Lay the proud usurpers low!
Tyrants fall in every foe!
Liberty's in every blow
Let us do—or die."


UPDATE
You can read about plans for commemorating the battle's 700th anniversary in 2014 here.

Also, here's an interesting story about the controversial decision of the Scottish National Trust to avoid offending English sensibilities and in an effort to tamp down over-exhuberant Scottish patriotism by portraying the Battle of Bannockburn as a melee between two medieval kings jockeying for supremacy and land to add to their holdings, as opposed to a battle between the Scots and the English.

The problem with the National Trust's proposed interpretation is that, in the context of the emerging Scottish nationalism of the late 13th and early 14th centuries, as represented by William Wallace's struggle against English oppression and culminating in the Community of the Realm's declaring its independence at Arbroath, it is complete ahistorical bollocks.

Here is just an excerpt from the Declaration of Arbroath, which provides some context regarding the prevaling nationalistic sentiments in Scotland during the Wars of Independence:

... But from these countless evils we have been set free, by the help of Him Who though He afflicts yet heals and restores, by our most tireless Prince, King and Lord, the Lord Robert.

He, that his people and his heritage might be delivered out of the hands of our enemies, met toil and fatigue, hunger and peril, like another Macabaeus or Joshua and bore them cheerfully.

Him, too, divine providence, his right of succession according to or laws and customs which we shall maintain to the death, and the due consent and assent of us all have made our Prince and King.

To him, as to the man by whom salvation has been wrought unto our people, we are bound both by law and by his merits that our freedom may be still maintained, and by him, come what may, we mean to stand.

Yet if he should give up what he has begun, and agree to make us or our kingdom subject to the King of England or the English, we should exert ourselves at once to drive him out as our enemy and a subverter of his own rights and ours, and make some other man who was well able to defend us our King; for, as long as but a hundred of us remain alive, never will we on any conditions be brought under English rule.

It is in truth not for glory, nor riches, nor honours that we are fighting, but for freedom - for that alone, which no honest man gives up but with life itself...

(emphasis added)

In short, the National Trust is full of shite.

Blown Calls and a Lesson in Grace and Charity [UPDATED]

I originally added this as an update to my previous post on the subject, but I think it deserves a post all its own.

Joe Posnanski writes the best thing I've read about the perfect-game-that-should've-been at Sports Illustrated:

... There was something beautiful lost in the Jim Joyce fiasco, something that I hope I remember for as long as I remember the blown call. Yes, it’s hard to think about beautiful things when you have just watched one of the most absurd injustices in the history of baseball. But I’m a father of two young kids. And fathers find themselves looking for lessons. And there was something beautiful in the Jim Joyce fiasco.

[...]

And in that moment when he had a perfect game so unfairly taken away from him, he smiled. In the interview after the game, he simply said that he wasn’t sure about the call but he was proud of his game. When told afterward that Joyce felt terrible about the missed call, Galarraga said that he wanted to go tell Joyce not to worry about it, that people make mistakes.

Galarraga pitched a perfect game on Wednesday night in Detroit. I’ll always believe that. I think most baseball fans will always believe that. But, more than anything, it seems that Galarraga will always believe it. The way he handled himself after the game, well, that was something better than perfection. Dallas Braden’s perfect game was thrilling. Roy Halladay’s perfect game was art. But Armando’s Galarraga’s perfect game was a lesson in grace.

And when my young daughters ask, “Why didn’t he get mad and scream about how he was robbed?” I think I will tell them this: I don’t know for sure, but I think it’s because Armando Galarraga understands something that is very hard to understand, something we all struggle with, something I hope you will learn as you grow older: In the end, nobody’s perfect. We just do the best we can.

Armando Galarraga certainly taught me something about responding with grace and charity. It's a lesson I should have already learned by now, but it's one that I hope I never forget.


UPDATE
“A terrible story that just keeps getting better and better.”

Some Shameless Self-Promotion ...

... using a tool that I learned about from the Regular Guy:





UPDATE
By the way, I hope no one takes this seriously. I was just staying up too late last night having a little fun with the Google Search Stories tool and the comments from the "What They're Saying" portion of my sidebar.

His Excellency, George Washington

I meant to post this yesterday in honor of the birthdy of the Father of Our Country:



Previous Pro Ecclesia posts on this subject:
Remember Remember the Fifth of November

In Honor of the Father of Our Country - His Excellency, George Washington

Bill Would Honor Washington and Lincoln Separately

The Conversion of George Washington

Quote of the Day: Washington Post Columnist Sally Jenkins on the Tebow Ad

From a self-described "pro-choice" columnist at The Washington Post:

... Apparently NOW feels this commercial is an inappropriate message for America to see for 30 seconds, but women in bikini selling beer is the right one. I would like to meet the genius at NOW who made that decision. On second thought, no, I wouldn’t...

[Read the whole thing]

She goes on to talk about how Tebow is exactly the sort of responsible young man with a social conscience that women should be praising and celebrating. Definitely worth a read.

(Hat tip: Ed Morrissey)


Previous Pro Ecclesia posts on this subject:
Feminist Hypocrites at NOW Attack Tebow Ad

Never Forget

FIREMAN'S PRAYER

When I am called to duty, God,
Where ever flames may rage
Give me the strength to save some life,
Whatever be its age.

Help me embrace a little child
Before it is too late;
Or save an older person from
The horror of that fate.

Enable me to be alert,
And hear the weakest shout,
And quickly and efficiently
To put the fire out.

I want to fill my calling and
To give the best in me;
To guard my every neighbour and
Protect his property
And if, according to your will
I have to give my life;
Please bless with your protecting hand
My children and my wife.

- Author Unknown



Previous Pro Ecclesia posts on this subject:
Never Forget