Caoimhin O’Muraile ☭ Monday 22nd August marked the centenary since the death of Free State Army Chief, Michael Collins. 

I wrote a piece some time ago on this subject examining the possibilities of who shot Collins. I ruled out, and still do, chief suspect, Sony O’Neil, due to the fact he had an injured shoulder at the time, a very painful part of the body to injure. And no matter how good a marksman he was supposed to be the recoil from the rifle of the day would have caused him such pain he would have screamed out in agony giving his position away. He would almost certainly have missed his target and this discussion would not be underway.

Recently there have been, not surprisingly, a few programmes of television about Mick Collins not least because it is the centenary. Not once do any of these supposedly researched programmes contemplate any British involvement in the death of Collins. Lloyd George, British Prime Minister of the day along with his cronies, Winston Churchill and Lord Birkenhead may well have had more than a hand in the execution of the Irish Free State leader. The question then must be asked, if this was the case, who could their agent have been?

Prior to the outbreak of Civil War, which Collins was desperate to avoid, he was still supplying the second and fourth divisions anti-Treaty IRA in the North of Ireland. He was doing this clandestinely and very cleverly making sure no guns could be traced back to the Free State Army. He apparently exchanged Free State Army guns for southern anti-Treaty weapons and it was these southern anti-Treaty weapons which were passed to the north. Remember this was before the outbreak of Civil War.

Who had knowledge of this most secret act on continuing clandestinely the War of Independence, officially over since 11th July of that year, and the signing of the Treaty in December 1921? Major General Emmet Dalton would almost certainly have had knowledge of this and it is my guess he is the culprit. I have no evidence, apart from circumstantial historical occurrences, to back this up which is why it is a guess. On the day Collins was killed, 22nd August 1922, Dalton was his second in command on the journey, his Aide De Camp. It is my suspicion Dalton was the man who told, if indeed this was the case, Lloyd George of what was going on. Once Civil War broke out, something which Lloyd George and Churchill did everything to encourage, even indirectly starting the thing, Collins ceased supplying the IRA in the north. This would not have been enough for the “Welsh Wizard” born in Manchester, Lloyd George, he would have wanted Michael Collins to pay even if he only suspected what Collins had done. I believe he had more than a suspicion of what Michael Collins had been up to!

Emmet Dalton had fought bravely, by all accounts, in the First World War for the Crown. He was a Captain, a commissioned Officer, and had therefore sworn an oath of loyalty to that crown. However, the fact he had fought for the British in Europe would not be sufficient to point the finger of guilt at Dalton. After all, had the veteran IRA Cork Brigade Commander, Tom Barry, not fought for the British in the same war? Does anybody point the finger of suspicion at him? No, they do not, therefore something more must surround Emmet Dalton. Dalton was very close to Collins and had, perhaps unknown to Collins, worked for British Intelligence in the past and, reportedly, would “subsequently do so again”. 

It was Emmet Dalton, now a Major General in the Free State Army, who ordered no inquest would be held into the death of Free State Commander in Chief, Michael Collins. Why would he, Dalton, do this - everything in his power to prevent an inquest into the death of his boss and, according to interviews with Dalton, his friend? Dalton was Collins second in command that fateful day in Beal na Blath and could quite easily, amid all the mayhem, shot the Chief at close range! 

The autopsy report into Collins death carried out by Oliver St. John Gogarty, which would have shown the head wound, went conveniently missing! It was later, much later, reportedly destroyed in a fire in 1932, ten years after the event. Where had it been in those subsequent years I must ask? All this amounts to the most powerful man in the state at the time receiving no investigation into his death. Emmet Dalton appears to have done much to ensure no investigation would take place! Could Dalton have been working for the British all the while? Could Dalton have shot Collins on the orders of British Intelligence? In later years Emmet Dalton claimed he had no idea of Michael Collins supplying the IRA in the north and, to be fair, he is not around to defend himself. Therefore, all this is pure supposition and nothing more.

There are many unanswered questions about what happened on that fateful day back in 1922. For example, what happened to Collins rifle? What happened to his hat, which had a bullet hole in which would tell us where he was shot and at what distance, where is this hat? It has never been produced! Why did nobody pick it up on the day? Apparently, there is a fake hat, far too small for Collins head, in the National Museum with a bullet hole in the wrong place. Why go to these lengths? To please the tourists maybe. Why did the Free State never investigate their Commander in Chiefs death? Could it be because the role possibly played by Major General Emmet Dalton may be unearthed, along with the involvement of the British Government of the day?

Like myself, Paddy Cullivan (who I have never met) asks the question; “why is there such reticence to find out what happened – is it because there may have been British involvement in his assassination?” Paddy asks many questions on this topical subject in his audio and visual spectacular featuring hundreds of images, shocking new research and incredible songs, The Murder of Michael Collins.

Many of these questions are those I have been asking myself for many years, as the traditional narratives just do not add up. The popular myth going round for years was that de Valera had Collins shot. That was a very convenient way of nicely rounding off a delicate subject, particularly if it involved a foreign former colonising power!!

Caoimhin O’Muraile is Independent 
Socialist Republican and Marxist

Michael Collins –✑100 Years On

Caoimhin O’Muraile ☭ Monday 22nd August marked the centenary since the death of Free State Army Chief, Michael Collins. 

I wrote a piece some time ago on this subject examining the possibilities of who shot Collins. I ruled out, and still do, chief suspect, Sony O’Neil, due to the fact he had an injured shoulder at the time, a very painful part of the body to injure. And no matter how good a marksman he was supposed to be the recoil from the rifle of the day would have caused him such pain he would have screamed out in agony giving his position away. He would almost certainly have missed his target and this discussion would not be underway.

Recently there have been, not surprisingly, a few programmes of television about Mick Collins not least because it is the centenary. Not once do any of these supposedly researched programmes contemplate any British involvement in the death of Collins. Lloyd George, British Prime Minister of the day along with his cronies, Winston Churchill and Lord Birkenhead may well have had more than a hand in the execution of the Irish Free State leader. The question then must be asked, if this was the case, who could their agent have been?

Prior to the outbreak of Civil War, which Collins was desperate to avoid, he was still supplying the second and fourth divisions anti-Treaty IRA in the North of Ireland. He was doing this clandestinely and very cleverly making sure no guns could be traced back to the Free State Army. He apparently exchanged Free State Army guns for southern anti-Treaty weapons and it was these southern anti-Treaty weapons which were passed to the north. Remember this was before the outbreak of Civil War.

Who had knowledge of this most secret act on continuing clandestinely the War of Independence, officially over since 11th July of that year, and the signing of the Treaty in December 1921? Major General Emmet Dalton would almost certainly have had knowledge of this and it is my guess he is the culprit. I have no evidence, apart from circumstantial historical occurrences, to back this up which is why it is a guess. On the day Collins was killed, 22nd August 1922, Dalton was his second in command on the journey, his Aide De Camp. It is my suspicion Dalton was the man who told, if indeed this was the case, Lloyd George of what was going on. Once Civil War broke out, something which Lloyd George and Churchill did everything to encourage, even indirectly starting the thing, Collins ceased supplying the IRA in the north. This would not have been enough for the “Welsh Wizard” born in Manchester, Lloyd George, he would have wanted Michael Collins to pay even if he only suspected what Collins had done. I believe he had more than a suspicion of what Michael Collins had been up to!

Emmet Dalton had fought bravely, by all accounts, in the First World War for the Crown. He was a Captain, a commissioned Officer, and had therefore sworn an oath of loyalty to that crown. However, the fact he had fought for the British in Europe would not be sufficient to point the finger of guilt at Dalton. After all, had the veteran IRA Cork Brigade Commander, Tom Barry, not fought for the British in the same war? Does anybody point the finger of suspicion at him? No, they do not, therefore something more must surround Emmet Dalton. Dalton was very close to Collins and had, perhaps unknown to Collins, worked for British Intelligence in the past and, reportedly, would “subsequently do so again”. 

It was Emmet Dalton, now a Major General in the Free State Army, who ordered no inquest would be held into the death of Free State Commander in Chief, Michael Collins. Why would he, Dalton, do this - everything in his power to prevent an inquest into the death of his boss and, according to interviews with Dalton, his friend? Dalton was Collins second in command that fateful day in Beal na Blath and could quite easily, amid all the mayhem, shot the Chief at close range! 

The autopsy report into Collins death carried out by Oliver St. John Gogarty, which would have shown the head wound, went conveniently missing! It was later, much later, reportedly destroyed in a fire in 1932, ten years after the event. Where had it been in those subsequent years I must ask? All this amounts to the most powerful man in the state at the time receiving no investigation into his death. Emmet Dalton appears to have done much to ensure no investigation would take place! Could Dalton have been working for the British all the while? Could Dalton have shot Collins on the orders of British Intelligence? In later years Emmet Dalton claimed he had no idea of Michael Collins supplying the IRA in the north and, to be fair, he is not around to defend himself. Therefore, all this is pure supposition and nothing more.

There are many unanswered questions about what happened on that fateful day back in 1922. For example, what happened to Collins rifle? What happened to his hat, which had a bullet hole in which would tell us where he was shot and at what distance, where is this hat? It has never been produced! Why did nobody pick it up on the day? Apparently, there is a fake hat, far too small for Collins head, in the National Museum with a bullet hole in the wrong place. Why go to these lengths? To please the tourists maybe. Why did the Free State never investigate their Commander in Chiefs death? Could it be because the role possibly played by Major General Emmet Dalton may be unearthed, along with the involvement of the British Government of the day?

Like myself, Paddy Cullivan (who I have never met) asks the question; “why is there such reticence to find out what happened – is it because there may have been British involvement in his assassination?” Paddy asks many questions on this topical subject in his audio and visual spectacular featuring hundreds of images, shocking new research and incredible songs, The Murder of Michael Collins.

Many of these questions are those I have been asking myself for many years, as the traditional narratives just do not add up. The popular myth going round for years was that de Valera had Collins shot. That was a very convenient way of nicely rounding off a delicate subject, particularly if it involved a foreign former colonising power!!

Caoimhin O’Muraile is Independent 
Socialist Republican and Marxist

2 comments:

  1. Why would the British want him dead when he delivered? They would have wanted to shore up his position surely?

    ReplyDelete
  2. Not if they had discovered about him supplying the anti-Treaty IRA in the North. They wanted a man who could be manipulated to their way of thinking. Then there was the suspicion that Collins gave the order for the execution of General Henry Wilson in London. Yes, Lloyd George had plenty of reasons, not public, to want rid of Michael Collins, he had, after all, served his purpose.

    Caoimhin O'Muraile

    ReplyDelete