When President of the Irish Republic Michael Collins signed the Anglo-Irish Treaty in December 1921 he remarked to Lord Birkenhead 'I may have signed my actual death warrant' & in August 1922 during the Irish Civil War that prophecy came true
- Collins was shot & killed by a fellow Irishman in a shocking political assassination So ended the life of the greatest of all Irish nationalists but his visions & legacy lived on This authorative & comprehensive biography presents the life of a man who became a legend in his own lifetime whose idealistic vigour & determination were matched only by his political realism & supreme organisational abilities Coogan's biography provides a fascinating insight into a great political leader whilst vividly portraying the political unrest in a divided Ireland that can help to shape our understanding of Ireland's recent tumultuous socio-political history