Death of Collins

Introduction from Chronology

Michael Collins is killed in an ambush at Béal na mBláth, Co Cork. Collins was 31 years old at the time of his death. 

More Detail

There is a vast amount written about this event, however most of what is written makes for poor history as it is based on conjecture.  Hopkinson reviews some of the theories that have been put forward about how Collins met his death and concludes that Collins was probably killed by a bullet from one of the ambushers, perhaps a ricochet. 

Hopkinson also says that “Collins’s journey south represented a despairing attempt to mend fences before the war became widespread and embittered.  He was relying again on his old personal and institutional ties, particularly his IRB colleagues”. 

In a statement typical of the mythology surrounding Collins, Curran says “When the Big Fellow died, much of the color, excitement and hope that marked the national revival died with him.”

In Chapter 7 of their superb biography of Collins Michael Collins: The Man and the Revolution (2018), Dolan and Murphy carry out a detailed review of the theories surrounding Collins’s death and attempt to demythologise it.  This is recommended reading. 

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