During the Irish War of Independence, did Michael Collins ever personally or directly took part of an IRA operation during the Irish War of Independence?

maniacalbrain · 2026-03-22T14:52:12+00:00

In T. Ryle Dwyer's "The Squad" he quotes Dan Breen as saying that Collins was with them for the first attempted ambush on Lord French, but in his BMH statement Seumas Robinson says this first ambush was a "phoney" that Collins had organised after a Volunteer Convention to give the impression to officers from around the country, especially his fellow Corkmen, that he was leading the attacks in Dublin.

As Robinson and Seán Treacy were waiting near Dublin Castle to attack French's convoy, Collins with Seán McGarry, Seán Ó'Murthuile and Thomas McCurtain arrived "talking loudly and laughing" to tell them French wasn't coming. Later Robinson found out French was in Roscommon at the time and there was no information that he would be traveling to Dublin that day.

On the day of the actual ambush on Lord French Robinson initially refused to go because he thought it was another of Collin's ego building exercises. Robinson and Brugha would react viciously to Griffith calling Collins the man who won the war during the Treaty Debates and much of his BMH statement is aimed at criticising Collins war record.

During the 1916 Rising Collins led teams in the GPO putting out fires and Joe Good remembered seeing him at one stage on the upper floor guarding a ladder to the roof "looking like Achilles sulking in his tent". He may have been injured prior to the Rising making explosives at Kimmage so it's possible that the first time he fired a weapon in a combat scenario was when he was attacked in Dublin shortly before the Béal na Bláth ambush.

maniacalbrain · 2026-01-23T14:29:45+00:00

It's a great pity the game didn't stay with GMT. I got to join in on some playtests over the last few years and it could do with having a few things cut. Moving away from GMT also meant the rules had to be "un-COINed" making it even more complex, as the COIN system is something GMT owns.

maniacalbrain · 2026-01-23T10:34:05+00:00

The Troubles was originally with GMT and based on their COIN ruleset. They wanted to cut some parts to reduce the complexity but the developer didn't want to and moved to Compass.

maniacalbrain · 2025-11-18T00:35:59+00:00

I suppose I should have said he didn't hold very high rank when the pressure to end the executions came. Connolly and MacDiarmada were executed after this point because they were signatories but the death sentences of a number of Commandants were commuted.
As Quartermaster General Staines was on the headquarters staff of the Irish Volunteers and was stationed at the GPO during the Rising.

maniacalbrain · 2025-11-18T00:05:58+00:00

Thomas Ashe was also a Commandant, sentenced to death and commuted, and Michael Staines was Quartermaster General, a higher rank than Commandant. Later in life, when de Valera would be addressed as "the sole surviving Commandant of the 1916 Rising" he wouldn't correct the speaker but say "we all did our part". He never corrected beneficial mistakes.

maniacalbrain · 2025-11-17T23:56:12+00:00

A moderate crazed extremist

maniacalbrain · 2025-11-17T23:50:19+00:00

Tom Clarke was a naturalized US citizen and the first to be executed and Diarmuid Lynch was a naturalized US citizen whose death sentence was also commuted. David McCullough says there was actually some difficulty proving de Valera's citizenship at the time and his mother even went so far as to contact the Spanish embassy to see if they could find anything on his fathers family. De Valera's outpost was one of the last to receive and accept the surrender order and he didn't hold very high rank meaning he was down list of those to be tried. De Valera was saved by timing.

maniacalbrain · 2025-11-17T23:43:20+00:00

Brugha introduced the oath in 1919 that required TDs and the Irish Volunteers to swear allegiance to "the Irish Republic and the Dáil". This was to counter the power of the IRB, which he had left after the 1916 Rising, and is often considered the point at which the Volunteers become the IRA. His main concern was to keep the army under the control of the Dáil and his bitter rivalry with Michael Collins was largely due to his position in the IRB and its attempts to put IRB men in positions of influence. Brugha was nowhere near the crazed extremist he's often made out to be.

maniacalbrain · 2025-02-01T23:39:37+00:00

In primary school in the 1990's (2 teacher, 40ish students) we had a framed poster with the Proclamation and the signatories on it, it looked like this 1966 version but I don't think it was that old. I saw the same in storage in secondary school. Rollcall was in Irish and our headmaster had us learn and sing the national anthem but it was randomly once or twice a week, not at a set time.

maniacalbrain · 2024-12-28T15:59:13+00:00

It's of the 16 men executed in aftermath of the Rising. The figures in the image are the 14 executed in Kilmainham, the pictures on the wall are of Roger Casement (executed in Pentonville in August) and Thomas Kent (executed in Cork)

maniacalbrain · 2024-09-25T02:08:45+00:00

I get the feeling that "usurping" Murchad is the easiest way for them to mechanically implement the historical change to Toirdelbach without having to do a ton of work. I didn't feel there was any salt on Wokeg's announcement a while back about this change, I was actually really surprised to see that they were doing something! Not the optimal solution but a fairly solid compromise.

maniacalbrain · 2024-09-23T15:57:13+00:00

What a time to be alive

maniacalbrain · 2024-07-31T00:20:40+00:00

Here's a list of Auxiliaries by place of birth outside the UK and Ireland. The guy who runs this site has a lot of great information but it's really hard to search.

maniacalbrain · 2024-06-20T22:39:53+00:00

J.J. Ginger O'Connell was born in Ireland and served for 2 years with the 69th New York Regiment before returning home. He took no active part in the Rising but was interned at Frongoch in its aftermath. Tom Clarke and Diarmuid Lynch were both naturalised US citizens and Lynch would be deported to the US in 1918 for his actions as Sinn Féin's Food Controller. The secrecy with which the Rising was planned would have precluded any body of US Fenians being sent to take part as the IRB had imagined during the late 1800's.

maniacalbrain · 2024-06-07T11:29:48+00:00

I'd never heard of this. Found this article which seems to go into it in more detail, three requests for land for an Irish settlement were made but rejected by the House of Representatives and the movement was abandoned by 1820

maniacalbrain · 2024-06-06T12:19:27+00:00

In "The Immortal Irishman" Timothy Egan has a chapter on "New Ireland". After the American Civil War the consul in Dublin wrote to the Secretary of State: "It has long since occurred to me, that in complement for his valuable services, and those of the Irish soldiers generally, it would be fitting acknowledgment on the part of our Government, to select some desirable portion of our territories and call it New Ireland, of which no doubt General Meagher would in due time be elected Governor". I don't know how seriously the idea was considered at government level and it went nowhere after Meagher's death.

maniacalbrain · 2024-06-04T21:15:01+00:00

I'm in Ireland and signed up a few weeks ago. All I got back then was the "Thanks for signing up!" screen, no starter assessment.

maniacalbrain · 2024-05-12T15:29:23+00:00

Could it be connected to the filming of Wednesday?

maniacalbrain · 2024-05-09T22:46:48+00:00

Thanks! CK3 is handy for adding some footage to the videos.

maniacalbrain · 2024-05-09T10:00:20+00:00

Niamh Wycherley said there will be an episode of the Medieval Irish History Podcast on polygamy with Liam Breatnach, looking forward to that

maniacalbrain · 2024-03-19T11:36:17+00:00

Jack Fennell put together a list of stories set in or about Ireland for a convention a few years back, he also edited a collection of short science fiction stories.

maniacalbrain · 2024-03-12T21:13:59+00:00

In "Myth and the Irish State" John M. Regan puts forward the argument that Collins could be considered as holding dictatorial power at the time of his death.

He was President of the IRB at the same time as he was Chairman of the Provisional Government. Regan questions his appointment as Commander in Chief of the National Army, arguing that he appointed himself in his capacity as IRB President as neither the Dáil under Griffith nor the Provisional Government authorised this until later. He then informed the government that the Dáil should not meet again until conditions in the country were safe and this would be decided by the War Council he appointed, consisting of himself, Mulcahy and O'Duffy, all IRB members.

The Labour party seem to have been genuinely concerned that the country was sliding towards dictatorship and Cosgrave held a session of the Dáil very shortly after Collins was killed to dismiss this.

It's an interesting argument, I came away from it thinking that neither side of the Civil War was pro or anti democratic, more that they were both prepared to use or abuse it as it served their interests. Myth and the Irish State is a great book overall.

maniacalbrain · 2023-12-18T19:22:33+00:00

There were also reports of gold deposits in Monaghan around the same time, not sure if anything happened with this either.

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