The final sentences confirmed my suspicion that the strength of Coogan’s Collins in the final part of this book appears greater when compared against the failings of De Valera and that left an unnerving impression on me since Collins by all accounts was a larger than life figure all on his own. It’s the first comprehensive description of: the seizure of the Upnor, the events leading up to it and the consequences of the operation.

It was in publicity for this tour that de Valera (who had been elected Príomh Aire by the Dáil) was first referred to as "President". The plan was put on hold at the last minute when Macready advised the government, on 26 June, to give Collins' Provisional Government one more chance to act against the Four Courts.page needed] In May 1921, elections were held in the Northern part of Ireland under the 1920 Government of Ireland Act which separated the governance of six counties in Ulster from the rest of Ireland. S. city with a large population of Irish immigrants—described Collins with adulation, describing his "contempt for danger" through several prior attempts on his life, including a separate attempt only a few days prior. Along with the Long fellow these were the two movers and shakers in the early history of the Irish state. The body was first presented at Shanakiel Hospital in Cork, a small military establishment, and then shipped around the coast to Dublin where it was laid out in St Vincent's Hospital Dublin.

The resulting Anglo-Irish Treaty, signed in December 1921, would establish the Irish Free State but depended on an oath of allegiance to the Crown. In spring 1922, Collins, along with other IRB and IRA leaders, developed secret plans for a guerrilla offensive in Northern Ireland. After the death of Collins, his concern for the plight of northern Catholics was made clear by the Belfast IRA commander Seamus Woods "Of all the Dublin government ministers, Collins had been most deeply concerned about the fate of northern Catholics. It is obvious from the get go that he is on Collins’ side in this simple narrative of one man pitted against another. He gained fame as a guerrilla warfare strategist, planning many successful attacks on British forces together with ' the Squad', such as the "Bloody Sunday" assassinations of key British intelligence agents in November 1920.page needed] They were supported by a vast intelligence network of men and women in all walks of life that reached deep into the British administration in Ireland.