On this day in 1922, Michael Collins, Generalissimo of the Irish Free State, was killed, no one one knows by whom, or how, or why! The first I ever heard of Michael Collins was in a diatribe against drunkeness and gun play that allegedly revealed the deep dark secret that he was accidentally killed by his by his body guards while they were all drunk and shooting off their guns for fun! The next real exposure was seeing him played by Schindler, so how can I not like him. Well, hes Irish, and the Irish battles confuse and depress me. Fear the actual man would disillusion? Reluctance to comptemplate such sorrows. On a day when the best subjects have been Harriman and Leni Raufenstahl, the Irish Civil War seems pleasant. The worst I read of him is that he was a mans-man AND a work-a-holic, two of my least favorite virtues. From wiki: Unlike some of his political opponents, he was characterized by many close personal friendships within the movement. It has been justly said that while some were devoted to the idea of Ireland, Collins was a people person, whose patriotism was rooted in affection and respect for the people of Ireland around him. Among his famous last words, is the final entry in his pocket diary, written on the journey which ended his life, The people are splendid. His personal warmth and charm were combined with an uncanny ability to inspire confidence in a wide range of people. As proved after his death, no other Irish leader of the time matched his remarkable ability to recruit people of every kind to the movement, win their trust and loyalty, pinpoint their capacities and unite them in coordinated action, of maximum value to the cause. Collins was a complex man, whose character abounded in contradictions. Although Minister of Finance, and an accountant by pre-war profession, he seems never to have pursued personal profit; indeed was sometimes during the war all but homeless. While clearly fond of command, and keen to take charge, he had an equal appetite for input and advice from people at every level of the organization; prompting the comment that he took advice from his chauffeur. Although acknowledged by friends and foes as head centre of the movement, he continually chose a title just short of actual head of state; becoming Chairman of the Provisional Government only after the abdication of half the Dáil forced him to do so. While his official and personal correspondence records his solicitous care for the wants of insurgents in need, during the war he showed no hesitation in ordering the death of opponents who menaced nationalist lives. Certainly a man of fierce pride, his pride was tempered by a sense of humour, which included a keen sense of the absurd in his own situation. While mastermind of a clandestine military, he remained a public figure. When official head of the Free State government, he continued to cooperate in the IRA’s secret operations. Although capable of bold, decisive actions on his own authority, which caused friction with his colleagues; at critical junctures, he bowed obediently to majority decisions which were profoundly disadvantageous and dangerous to his own interests (such as his appointment to the Treaty negotiating team.) These may constitute contradictions in his character. Yet they are also contradictions of the unique position he occupied, in a time of social upheaval, when the usual parameters and paradigms of society are in a state of flux. youtube/watch?v=UQdQUjvUM6s
Posted on: Fri, 22 Aug 2014 23:09:31 +0000
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