In Great Haste: The Letters of Michael Collins and Kitty Kiernan

by Michael Collins, Kitty Kiernan, Leon O. Broin (Editor)

Even seventy years after his death, Michael Collins remains a colossus of modern Irish history. During the five years before he died, Collins grew particularly close to Kitty Kienan of Grandard in County Longford. Harry Boland also expressed warm affection for Kitty in several letters, but it was the relationship between Michael and Kitty that developed and they planned to marry. They exchanged more than 300 letters which revealed not only their intimacy, but also the extraordinary pressure under which Collins lived during the tempestuous days of 1921 when the terms of the Anglo-Irish Treaty were being hammered out. A sequence of letters from London in May 1922 shows him near the breaking point. Kitty's letters in turn are full of concern about the life of strain Michael is forced to live and its looming physical danger. Both of them wish for a normal life in marriage.

This new and splendidly designed edition contains, for the first time, facsimile reproductions of the letters and includes correspondence first discovered in 1994. It is being published to coincide with the release of a major motion picture on Michael Collins, wirtten and directed by Neil Jordan, starring Liam Neeson and Julia Roberts and based upon the relationship between Michael and Kitty.

Genres: Nonfiction

239 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1983

About the author

Michael Collins (a.k.a. Mícheál Ó Coileáin) was an Irish politician and soldier who was a leading figure in the struggle for Irish independence in the early 20th century. Collins was an Irish revolutionary leader, politician, Minister for Finance, Director of Information, and Teachta Dála (TD) for Cork South in the First Dáil of 1919, Adjutant General, Director of Intelligence, and Director of Organisation and Arms Procurement for the IRA, President of the Irish Republican Brotherhood from November 1920 until his death, and member of the Irish delegation during the Anglo-Irish Treaty negotiations. Subsequently, he was both Chairman of the Provisional Government and Commander-in-chief of the National Army. Collins was shot and killed in an ambush in August 1922 during the Irish Civil War.

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name. See this thread for more information.

Reviews

[Cherise · Rating 5 out of 5]

I fell in love with this book. I have to admit I am a sucker for love stories, this book, however, is not only "love" letters, but an interesting look at the life of one of Irelands greatest people.

Michael Collins love of Ireland and his hopes for his country are clearly stated in his own written words to Kitty. He is a man of great faith. While Kitty Kiernan seems a little immature or wishy washy at times, it is still a great read.

Michael Collins was an amazing man. This is definitely a look at a different side of a man who was such a powerful and important political figure. A man who was so important to Ireland.

[Raven · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was highly amused by the difference between my preconceptions of what this correspondence was going to be like -- political and insightful exchanges on philosophy and history -- and what it was actually like, which was substantially "I like you, do you like me?". Ahahahaha. What a way to be reminded of one's own biases! Kitty wasn't very interested in debating politics, and though towards the end of the correspondence there's considerably more references to current events (hard not to, with a civil war going on), it was kind of fascinating to see love without intellectual companionship in the way that I do it. Much care has gone in to the curation and presentation of these letters, fragments and all, with sections showing the handwriting of the authors. I very much appreciated the thoughtful ordering and presentation of these important historical documents.

[Homerun2 · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not what I was expecting. Only passing reference to the history that Michael Collins was making. Most letters felt almost high schoolish in their young love, misunderstandings, and desperate pleas for reassurance. Of course if you read the background, Kitty Kiernan had already suffered much loss from deaths in her family, and Michael Collins was in the midst of amazingly complex negotiations and troubles.

[S. Sigerson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Highly recommended for fans of modern Ireland's founding father. A must-read for serious students of Collins' life & times, history buffs, etc.

These love letters provide a rich glimpse into the day-to-day life of Collins and those near him, in the most tumultuous period of his short, stormy span.

[Gerard · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’m inspired by That

[Joanne Coakley · Rating 1 out of 5]

Yawn