Who shot Michael Collins.

Around 1996, the year the film came out, any discussion on Collins turned into hagiography.

I think he gets the credit he deserves now but when his life is examined his human weaknesses and less favourable traits are discussed.

I always look on him as Irelands Napoleon. Both involved in so many areas of government and military, organisational abilities and crazy energy levels.

Was a Sam Maguire Protegé, learnt the dark arts in London.

Seemingly a really fast sprinter, I remember reading that in Coogan's biography.

He was one of those painful gits who hadn't a note in his head, but thought he was Percy French after 3 pints and 2 chasers.

He wore his gun outside his pants, for all the honest world to feel.

I am not sure the Brits would be mad about sacrificing their own World War veterans and spy assets in exchange for a high level insider in the Fenian movement. I can see how brilliant it looks ... but the Cairo Gang were not sacrificed by British intelligence ... it did not happen.

The reality is that the Brits were never that fussed about wasting resources on Ireland. They took us for granted and treated us like slaves. They never respected or loved us enough to warrant their full attention. It was far easier arming criminals to do their dirty for them. I wouldn't make the mistake of thinking they gave enough of a phuck about us to waste any time on us.

The concept of him being a plant is pure flute.

Give him his dues, he fought bravely for the Republican movement in 3 rebellions, he gave his life for this country. Like him or hate him it is lazy and fairly disrespectful to dangle allegations of treachery around him. I have never believed it and I have always found it a distasteful slur. He never went to Europe and instead decided to stay at home and spent years planning another rebellion. He brought them to the table.

The reality is that he was murdered by his own in a nasty war that the Brits were more than happy to sit back and laugh at.

A more plausible conspiracy would be that the Brits left us to scrap it out without a care in the world. They no longer had to waste their money on a country that was no longer useful to their industrial machine. They knew fine well that there would be hell to pay and they let it happen. They knew well we were going and it was easier chancing a bonus free genocide in the free state whilst not having to let the unionists down via the Home Rule Act - which was un-enforceable. It saved their face and allowed them the satisfaction of seeing Irishmen killing each other, I can just see the chunts sniggering away down the Soho Social clubs of a Thursday evening, probably necking out whiskey an all. It also allowed them to not only appease US sympathisers but also coldly use the example of the Civil war and its bloodshed to vindicate their strategy of partition to the rest of the world. They let us screw ourselves one last time and sat back and laughed.

They would not have had the imagination to groom a republican, you cannot make one up, it is either in you or it isn't.

Collins got places because he was a talented likeable spa who had the goods to match the impression he gave that he had. Some people will never forgive him for making it all look easy and being the big fella he was. He was a natural leader and his enemies knew it, so they murdered him.

I had to turn it off, thankfully none of them were using mobiles.

Cringefest, although the scenes of him faffing around Hotel hall ways slapping volunteers on the back are more than believable.

I would imagine the free state cops and investigators were a joke. Literally anyone who could polish their boots and speak straight English got the start, as long as they had a uniform for ye. Flat caps were barred.

The hat was the only interesting thing in the whole hour and a half!

The drama bit was shite, no idea if those accounts are actually real or not. I'm guessing they were all made up as opposed to being played out from records taken by guards at the time.

Aside from the hat, it was poor enough. "So, I think we can all agree that Michael Collins died on the 22th August 1922 at Beal na Blath due to a gunshot wound to the head". Groundbreaking...

Childish or typical Cork😅

To me it was very 'countryish'. I'm deep rural Ireland but it seems muck savagery for grown men. Maybe it was more common 100 years ago. Hard to call a man a statesman at that shite. They were young I suppose and maybe it was a release of sorts.

Like Tom Barry beating him, when you go in to be a hardy lad, you'll always meet a hardier one.

Probably not directly. Unless he shot somone in 1916. The 'Cold Case Collins' did show the extremely small entry hole in his cap. It also said it wasn't a richochet (as said at the time) or that he could have talked at all after getting hit. It looked likely to be a rifle bullet from above and from the side of his head. This doesn't rule out friendly fire.

There was a ton of action in Dublin, and it was often nasty and up close, with civilian casualties. The Brits enforced all sorts of curfews, permits and even blackouts to try stop the IRA in Dublin. the WOI wasnt all ambushes by flying comlums in lonely boreens.