Michael Collins and The Civil War

'This is a night that will be remembered,' one of the soldiers remarked.

'Why?' Murphy asked.

'The night Michael Collins was killed.'

On 22 August 1922, Michael Collins was shot dead by the anti-Treaty IRA in an ambush at Béalnabléth, in his home county of Cork. His death ended all hope for a quick end to the Civil War and cut short the life of one of Ireland's most charismatic leaders.

Michael Collins and the Civil War sheds new light on Collins' role in the critical period of the run-up to the Civil War. While carrying out his ministerial duties and negotiations with the British, he was also secretly supporting the IRA's campaign to destabilise Northern Ireland through kidnappings and assassinations, and attempting to reconcile the anti-Treaty IRA with the new Provisional Government and the terms of the Treaty. However, this last proved to be too great a challenge, even for a man of Collins' stature, and on 28 June the first shots in the Civil War were fired.

In the concluding part of his series on Michael Collins, Ryle Dwyer recounts the tragic final chapter in the story of the man who helped shape the Ireland of today.