Editing Michael Collins (Irish leader) (section)

==War of Independence==
The [[Irish War of Independence]] in effect began on the day that the First Dáil convened, 21 January 1919. On that date, an ambush party of IRA Volunteers from the [[3rd Tipperary Brigade]] including [[Séumas Robinson (Irish republican)|Séumas Robinson]], [[Dan Breen]], [[Seán Treacy]] and [[Seán Hogan]], attacked a pair of [[Royal Irish Constabulary]] (RIC) men who were escorting a consignment of [[gelignite]] to a quarry in [[Soloheadbeg]], [[County Tipperary]]. The two policemen were shot dead during the engagement, known as the [[Soloheadbeg ambush]]. This ambush is considered the first action in the Irish War of Independence.<ref>Breen, Dan. ''My Fight For Irish Freedom'', Dublin, Talbot Press 1924</ref> The engagement had no advance authorisation from the nascent government. The legislature's support for the armed struggle soon after became official, with the Dáil ratifying the IRA's claim to be the army of the [[Irish Republic]].<ref name="Coogan, TP Michael Collins 1990"/>{{page needed|date=July 2020}} From that time Collins filled a number of roles in addition to his legislative duties. 
[[File:Harry Boland Michael Collins Éamon de Valera.jpg|thumb|[[Harry Boland]] (''left''), Michael Collins (''middle''), and [[Éamon de Valera]] (''right'').]]

On 7 April 1919, [[Eamon Broy]] smuggled Collins into G Division's archives in [[Great Brunswick Street]], enabling him to identify "G-Men", six of whom would be killed by the IRA.<ref>Cottrell, op. cit., pg 53.</ref> That summer he was elected president of the IRB (and therefore, in the doctrine of that organisation, {{lang|la|de jure}} President of the Irish Republic). In mid-1919, he was made Director of [[espionage|Intelligence]] for the [[Irish Republican Army]] which now had a mandate to pursue an armed campaign, as the official military of the Irish nation. With Cathal Brugha as Minister of Defence, Collins became Director of Organisation and Adjutant General of the Volunteers. Collins spent much of this period helping to organise the Volunteers as an effective military force, and concentrating on forcing the RIC&nbsp;– which represented British authority in Ireland&nbsp;– out of isolated barracks and seizing their weapons.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Tucker|first1=Spencer C.|title=The Roots and Consequences of 20th-Century Warfare: Conflicts that Shaped the Modern World|date=2016|publisher=ABC-CLIO|isbn=978-1610698023|page=97|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=R3nEDAAAQBAJ&pg=PA97|access-date=26 March 2018|archive-date=23 September 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210923035054/https://books.google.com/books?id=R3nEDAAAQBAJ&pg=PA97|url-status=live}}</ref> Collins was determined to avoid the massive destruction, military and civilian losses for merely symbolic victories that had characterised the 1916 Rising. Instead, he directed a guerrilla war against the British, suddenly attacking and then just as quickly withdrawing, minimising losses and maximising effectiveness.<ref name="ReferenceE">Barry, Tom. ''Guerrilla Days in Ireland'', Dublin, Irish Press 1949</ref>{{page needed|date=July 2020}}

The Crown responded with an escalation of the war, with the importation of special forces such as the "[[Auxiliary Division|Auxiliaries]]", the "[[Black and Tans]]", the "[[Cairo Gang]]", and others. Officially or unofficially, many of these groups were given a free hand to institute a reign of terror, shooting Irish people indiscriminately, invading homes, looting and burning.<ref name="Coogan, TP Michael Collins 1990"/>{{page needed|date=July 2020}}<ref>[[Kathleen Clarke|Clarke, Kathleen]]. ''Kathleen Clarke: Revolutionary Woman'', O'Brien Press 2008</ref>{{page needed|date=July 2020}}

As the war began in earnest, de Valera travelled to the United States for an extended speaking tour to raise funds for the outlawed Republican government. It was in publicity for this tour that de Valera (who had been elected [[President of Dáil Éireann|Príomh Aire]] by the Dáil) was first referred to as "President". While financially successful, grave political conflicts followed in de Valera's wake there which threatened the unity of Irish-American support for the rebels. Some members of the IRB also objected to the use of the presidential title because their organisation's constitution had a different definition of that title.<ref name="Coogan, TP Michael Collins 1990"/>{{page needed|date=August 2020}}<ref name="ReferenceC"/>{{page needed|date=August 2020}}<ref>Clarke, Kathleen. ''Kathleen Clarke: Revolutionary Woman'', Dublin O'Brien Press Ltd 2008</ref>{{page needed|date=August 2020}}

Back in Ireland, Collins arranged the "National Loan", organised the IRA, effectively led the government, and managed arms-smuggling operations. [[Robert Briscoe (politician)|Robert Briscoe]], an Irish Jew was sent by Collins to Germany in 1919 to be the chief agent for procuring arms for the IRA.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.jpost.com/diaspora/article-701445 | title=Dublin's Jewish lord mayor recalls meeting Zionist leaders | date=16 March 2022 }}</ref><ref>Mr Bewley in Berlin. Four Courts Press. p.&nbsp;13. ISBN 978-1-85182-559-2</ref> While in Germany in 1921 Briscoe purchased a small tug boat named Frieda to be used in transporting guns and ammunition to Ireland. On 28 October 1921 the Frieda slipped out to sea with [[Charles McGuinness]] at the helm and a German crew with a cargo of leftover World War I weapons – 300 guns and 20,000 rounds of ammunition.<ref>The Irish Revolution, 1912-1923, p.94, Pat McCarthy, Four Courts Press, Dublin, 2015, ISBN 978-1-84682-410-4</ref> Other sources cite this shipment as "the largest military shipment ever to reach the I.R.A." consisting of 1,500 rifles, 2,000 pistols and 1.7 million rounds of ammunition smuggled hidden in potatoes.<ref>O'Reilly, Terence, Rebel Heart: George Lennon Flying Column Commander, p164, Mercier 2009, ISBN 1-85635-649-3</ref> Local guerrilla units received supplies, training and had largely a free hand to develop the war in their own region. These were the "flying columns" who comprised the bulk of the War of Independence rank and file in the southwest. Collins, [[Dick McKee]] and regional commanders such as Dan Breen and [[Tom Barry (Irish republican)|Tom Barry]] oversaw tactics and general strategy. There were also regional organisers, such as [[Ernie O'Malley]] and [[Liam Mellows]], who reported directly to Collins at St Ita's secret basement GHQ in central Dublin.<ref>E O'Malley. ''On Another Man's Wound'', (Dublin 1937)</ref>{{page needed|date=August 2020}} 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.<ref>[[Tom Barry (Irish republican)|Barry, Tom]]. ''Guerrilla Days in Ireland'', Dublin, Irish Press 1949</ref>{{page needed|date=August 2020}}<ref>[[O'Donoghue, Florence]] and Josephine. ''Florence and Josephine O'Donoghue's War of Independence'', Dublin, Irish Academic Press, 2006</ref>{{page needed|date=August 2020}}
[[File:General Collins.jpg|upright|thumb|Collins inspects a soldier]]
It was at this time that Collins created a special [[assassination]] unit called [[The Squad (Irish Republican Army unit)|The Squad]] expressly to kill British agents and informers. Collins was criticised for these tactics but cited the universal war-time practice of executing enemy spies who were, in his words, "hunting victims for execution." Campaigning for Irish independence, even non-violently, was still targeted both by prosecutions under British law entailing the death penalty and also by extrajudicial killings such as that of [[Tomás Mac Curtain]], nationalist mayor of Cork City.

In 1920, the British offered £10,000 (equivalent to £300,000 / €360,000 in 2010) for information leading to Collins' capture or death. He evaded capture and continued to strike against British forces, often operating from [[safe-house]]s near government buildings, such as Vaughan's and [[An Stad]].

In 1920, following Westminster's prominent announcements that it had the Irish insurgents on the run, Collins and his Squad killed several people in a series of coordinated raids, including a number of British secret service agents. Members of the Royal Irish Constabulary went to Croke Park, where a G.A.A. football match was taking place between Dublin and Tipperary. The police officers opened fire on the crowd, killing twelve and wounding sixty. This event became known as [[Bloody Sunday (1920)|Bloody Sunday]]. Many British operatives sought the shelter of [[Dublin Castle]] next day. About the same time, Tom Barry's 3rd Cork Brigade took no prisoners in a bitter battle with British forces at [[Kilmichael Ambush|Kilmichael]]. In many regions, the RIC and other crown forces became all but confined to the strongest barracks in the larger towns as rural areas came increasingly under rebel control.<ref name="ReferenceE"/>{{page needed|date=August 2020}}<ref>[[Neligan, David]]. ''The Spy in the Castle'', London, Prendeville Publishing 1999</ref>{{page needed|date=August 2020}}

These republican victories would have been impossible without widespread support from the Irish population, which included every level of society and reached deep into the British administration in Ireland.<ref>[[Deasy, Liam]]. ''Brother Against Brother'', Cork, Mercier 1982</ref>{{page needed|date=August 2020}} In May 1921, elections were held in the Northern part of Ireland under the [[Government of Ireland Act 1920|1920 Government of Ireland Act]] which separated the governance of six counties in Ulster from the rest of Ireland. Collins was elected to a seat in Armagh, demonstrating popular support for the republican movement.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.irishnews.com/news/northernirelandnews/2021/05/24/news/how-michael-collins-secured-an-election-victory-in-armagh-with-the-help-of-an-east-belfast-loyalist-turned-literary-academic-2332123/ |title=Irish Times |date=24 May 2021 |access-date=24 May 2021 |archive-date=24 May 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210524101657/https://www.irishnews.com/news/northernirelandnews/2021/05/24/news/how-michael-collins-secured-an-election-victory-in-armagh-with-the-help-of-an-east-belfast-loyalist-turned-literary-academic-2332123/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

At the time of the ceasefire in July 1921 a major operation was allegedly in planning to execute every British secret service agent in Dublin, while a major ambush involving eighty officers and men was also planned for [[Templeglantine]], County Limerick.<ref name="Coogan, TP Michael Collins 1990"/>{{page needed|date=July 2020}}<ref name="generalmichaelcollins.com">[http://generalmichaelcollins.com/Michael_Collins_Life_and_Times/8.THE_TRUCE.html Page at generalmichaelcollins.com] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130515210232/http://generalmichaelcollins.com/Michael_Collins_Life_and_Times/8.THE_TRUCE.html |date=15 May 2013 }}</ref>