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Michael Collins and the Troubles
When Asquith introduced his bill for Home Rule for Ireland in 1912, he sparked a decade of turbulence and violence for Ireland and her people. Michael Collins played a crucial role in rekindling Ireland's aspirations for freedom. A leading figure in the nation's bitter and bloody resistance to British Rule, he played a key part in reshaping Ireland's history as we know it today. Ulick O'Connor includes valuable new information about the secret war against England and provides a fresh and highly dramatic account of Ireland's fight for freedom. Using important material from the archives of General Richard Mulcahy, Collins's chief of staff, as well as personal interviews with Mulcahy, Eamon de Valera, and many other leading figures Michael Collins and the Troubles is a vivid and often horrifying account of a crucial time, the consequences of which are still felt today.
250 pages, Paperback
First published November 1, 1996
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About the author
Ulick O'Connor
49 books8 followersUlick O'Connor was an Irish writer, historian and critic.
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
January 13, 2021
I'd previously read Coogan's The Twelve Apostles, which introduced me to Michael Collins as a genius of political warfare and the prototype for a century of anti-imperialist guerilla warfare and assassination. I was hoping this book would provide a better picture of the man and his actions, but the title is misleading.
Instead, O'Connor writes a general history of the Irish revolt with a bent towards the literary and culture aspects. O'Connor was a dean of Irish letters, and as a child of the first free generation, had the benefit of knowing many of the principle actors. The basic thrust of O'Conner's thesis is that as the imperial project tottered in the 19th century, a group of Irish visionaries combined nationalism and Gaelic culture with a variety of political and military threads. This lead to the abortive 1916 Easter Rising, which has little effect except the siege and destruction of Dublin landmarks and scores of glorious martyrs (and how the Irish love their glorious martyrs). Collins was an adjutant in the rising, promoted when the principle leaders were executed by the British. With furious intelligence and efficiency, he located the weak point of Empire in the system of informers used to monitor the Irish, and put out those eyes with a series of calculated assassinations.
There was more to the revolution of course, with a widespread guerilla war of flying columns in the countryside, a cultural movement to support the revolt, and the partial diplomatic victory of independence in the Commonwealth. This partial victory was the basis for the subsequent Irish Civil War, and Collins was shot and killed by one of his own in a rural ambush.
O'Connor has some good stories, but this is a few trees, not a forest, and the one labeled 'Michael Collins' is a scanty shrubbery. I do credit the book for introducing me to Countess Markievicz, a feminist and Irish rebel with the solid fashion advice, "Dress suitably in short skirts and strong boots, leave your jewels in the bank and buy a revolver."
Instead, O'Connor writes a general history of the Irish revolt with a bent towards the literary and culture aspects. O'Connor was a dean of Irish letters, and as a child of the first free generation, had the benefit of knowing many of the principle actors. The basic thrust of O'Conner's thesis is that as the imperial project tottered in the 19th century, a group of Irish visionaries combined nationalism and Gaelic culture with a variety of political and military threads. This lead to the abortive 1916 Easter Rising, which has little effect except the siege and destruction of Dublin landmarks and scores of glorious martyrs (and how the Irish love their glorious martyrs). Collins was an adjutant in the rising, promoted when the principle leaders were executed by the British. With furious intelligence and efficiency, he located the weak point of Empire in the system of informers used to monitor the Irish, and put out those eyes with a series of calculated assassinations.
There was more to the revolution of course, with a widespread guerilla war of flying columns in the countryside, a cultural movement to support the revolt, and the partial diplomatic victory of independence in the Commonwealth. This partial victory was the basis for the subsequent Irish Civil War, and Collins was shot and killed by one of his own in a rural ambush.
O'Connor has some good stories, but this is a few trees, not a forest, and the one labeled 'Michael Collins' is a scanty shrubbery. I do credit the book for introducing me to Countess Markievicz, a feminist and Irish rebel with the solid fashion advice, "Dress suitably in short skirts and strong boots, leave your jewels in the bank and buy a revolver."
February 27, 2019
Since I have Irish ancestors and have a plan in mind to relocate to Ireland, I’ve decided to learn a little Irish history and perhaps a bit of her native tongue. I remember some of “the troubles” of Ireland. Growing up the news I heard was full of the IRA, Sinn Fein, Jerry Adams, bombings and assassinations. Living in “Bumf*ck” Texas seemed so very boring compared to Northern Ireland! I was fascinated by it all. Not surprisingly I decided to begin with this facet of Irish history.
Ulick O’Connor is of course an Irishman; no one but an Irishman could tell the story of the beginning of Ireland’s struggle to become free of the Colonial British chains. There is a thorough history of the early period leading up to the leadership of Michael Collins, and an eloquent description of the man and the feelings of complete loyalty felt by the Irish towards him. Along the way, dispersed throughout the story, is the beautiful poetry and music only the Irish can write and inspire. Delightful names such as Liam Lynch, Sean McKeown, Eoin O’Duffy, and Liam Deasy wind their way through towns such as West Cork, Dunmanway, Skibbereenn, Castletown Bere, and Clonakilty such that in reading them you can easily imagine you are there and caught up in the troubles as well.
I learned of the women such as Lady Markeivicz a Brit truly committed to the Irish independence movement, and who actually commanded a group of soldiers. There was Maude Gonne who inspired some of the best of Yeats’ love poems, but who was shot for treason by the British. I will be searching for more about them.
This title is a great start to learning the story of the Irish independence movement but I want more, so next will be Armed struggle : the history of the IRA by Richard English. Then on to the Irish civil war. The only thing missing is a map that I could refer to as I read.
Ulick O’Connor is of course an Irishman; no one but an Irishman could tell the story of the beginning of Ireland’s struggle to become free of the Colonial British chains. There is a thorough history of the early period leading up to the leadership of Michael Collins, and an eloquent description of the man and the feelings of complete loyalty felt by the Irish towards him. Along the way, dispersed throughout the story, is the beautiful poetry and music only the Irish can write and inspire. Delightful names such as Liam Lynch, Sean McKeown, Eoin O’Duffy, and Liam Deasy wind their way through towns such as West Cork, Dunmanway, Skibbereenn, Castletown Bere, and Clonakilty such that in reading them you can easily imagine you are there and caught up in the troubles as well.
I learned of the women such as Lady Markeivicz a Brit truly committed to the Irish independence movement, and who actually commanded a group of soldiers. There was Maude Gonne who inspired some of the best of Yeats’ love poems, but who was shot for treason by the British. I will be searching for more about them.
This title is a great start to learning the story of the Irish independence movement but I want more, so next will be Armed struggle : the history of the IRA by Richard English. Then on to the Irish civil war. The only thing missing is a map that I could refer to as I read.
December 31, 2021
2021 52 Book Challenge - 38) Recommended on Bookbub
This was a really good book if you were looking for information on the Troubles and the Irish Civil War, and it was particularly good for being from the Irish perspective. I did think that it was a little lacking on Michael Collins, as he didn’t really turn up until just before halfway through the book, and until the last chapter, he was pretty much in the background while other major figures were discussed.
This was a really good book if you were looking for information on the Troubles and the Irish Civil War, and it was particularly good for being from the Irish perspective. I did think that it was a little lacking on Michael Collins, as he didn’t really turn up until just before halfway through the book, and until the last chapter, he was pretty much in the background while other major figures were discussed.
September 17, 2025
Very interesting, but not proofed well.
April 25, 2016
Incredibly dry writing. While the author seems very well-informed (albeit a bit biased), he managed to suck all the interest out of the history and made it overly factual and boring. NOT a book where the people involved come to life on the page.
January 9, 2014
A man shrouded in myth and legend so it's difficult to pin down the reality. O'Conner manages to tread a path that is plausible and convincing.
March 17, 2019
Sure, O'Connor has a definite agenda and yet this book is still a nice introduction to the Irish struggles of the early twentieth century, with an informative back history. Oddly enough, the person I most want to read more about is not Collins but Arthur Griffith, a Nationalist but with a civil disobedience strategy.
February 19, 2024
£2 steal in the local book shop. Flew through it. Some great insights as the historian had the luck of being able to speak to veterans of the revolutionary period.
January 27, 2009
Interesting read - especially for understanding the intellectual environment of the pre-Republic and early Republic period - but other sources should be read for perspective on Collins, DeValera, and their contemporaries.
January 18, 2016
good survey of modern irish history up to the death of collins.
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews