The Day Michael Collins was Shot

by Meda Ryan

Collins was killed in an ambush in Cork in 1922. The manner of his death and the identity of his killer have been the source of intense speculation and controversy ever since. In this book, Ryan solves the mystery. Drawing on eyewitness testimonies, she painstakingly reconstructs, in minute-by-minute detail, the final four days of Collins' life and follows, mile by mile, his fatal journey through his home county of Cork.

Genres: History, Ireland, Nonfiction, Irish Literature, Biography

238 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1979

About the author

MEDA RYAN, historian and author, is a native of West Cork and now lives in Ennis, Clare; she has participated in television and radio documentaries and has had articles published in a wide variety of history magazines and journals, plus national and local newspapers.
She was was widowed when her Husband, Donal Ryan, passed away in Ennis, Clare in 2013, who was also a native of Cork.

Ryan developed a strong interest in the Irish revolutionary period, and interviewed many veterans of the old IRA. For this reason, she has a huge amount of respect for these individuals and famously was involved in a dispute with Canadian historian Peter Hart on IRA Commandant Tom Barry. This prompted Ryan to write an extended biography of Tom Barry. Her fist Biography of Tom Barry, The Tom Barry Story was written in 1982 for the Mercier Press. Following the dispute with Hart, in 2003 She wrote her extended Biography entitled Tom Barry: IRA Freedom Fighter

Her published books include Tom Barry: IRA Freedom Fighter; The Day Michael Collins Was Shot; Liam Lynch: The Real Chief and Michael Collins and the Women Who Spied for Ireland.

Reviews

[Emilija · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a highly researched cover of this topic, but I felt like some of the conclusions that Ryan made were a bit of a reach.

[Kevin Keating · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyed reading this book about Michael Collins. I will have one of the biographies on him, as I only learned how he died. The Irish Civil War was particularly nasty, as the people fighting it were friends only a year or so earlier and both wanted the same thing, though they differed on how to go about getting it. Anyway, once the Republicans learned they had killed him, they weren't really too happy with themselves. It wasn't an assassination but a death in battle. Interesting story.

[Swanny · Rating 5 out of 5]

Reading this book was like being a fly on the wall of a murder scene. You are able to watch the 'detective' find new evidence which has been missed by so many for so long. You'd think it would be lost forever,but not when this real life Columbo gets her investigators hat on, and does what so many others have failed to do, and come up with some very interesting facts on what really happened that day. A fantastic stimulating read.

[Don · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent book and thought provoking sbout what history of Ireland might have been. Beal na Blagh is a desolate spot and obvious good ambush place when I visited a few years ago. Why did he go there at sll.

[Breda Brosnan]

The Day Michael Collins was Shot, was a powerful and insightful look into the last day of his life. For lovers of history and admirers of "The Big Fella" this book is a must read.

[Kevin Buckley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well paced and well researched. Because it was written in mid to late 1970s many direct eye witness sources are cited. Gives a great page turning account and an idea of how the National fate turned on some key, poor decisions. Why did Collins insist on touring west Cork when he did, what if the driver had driven on through Bealnablath as urged by General Dalton instead of heeding Collins command to stop and fight, why did Collins stand in open ground away from cover of the cars in the middle of an ambush? Foolhardiness, weariness, bravado, ego, whiskey? Who knows.

[Bob Melia · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fascinating read on the 100th anniversary of his death.