The Diaries of Michael Collins, 1918-1922
DIARIES ON DISPLAY
The diaries of Michael Collins on public display in the National Archives
In November 2021, the diaries of Michael Collins 1918–1922 were officially loaned to the National Archives by the family of the late Liam and Betty Collins, Clonakilty, Cork, a nephew of Michael Collins. We are very grateful to the Collins family for entrusting these precious diaries to our care.
This deposit, in the context of the State’s Decade of Centenaries 1912–1923 Commemorations Programme, was hugely significant for the National Archives. It not only recognised the statutory role of the National Archives in preserving and protecting the memory of the State in the form of its written records but it also recognised the substantial contribution made by Michael Collins to the development of the Irish Free State from 1916 to his death in 1922.
From 1918 to 1922 Michael Collins kept working diaries of his busy revolutionary life. The diaries are not the diaries many people might be expecting. These are the working diaries of someone in the midst of exceptional times, but also the diaries of an everyday life, with dental appointments to endure and football matches to enjoy.
They are a collection of hurried notes, necessary lists, names and appointments, things to do, and things not done. They are a record of his long working days, and they got him to where he needed to be on time. Though these diaries do not contain conventional lengthy entries in which Collins finally reveals his innermost thoughts, they still tell us much about this extraordinary man.
The diaries begin with Collins a revolutionary among many; they end in 1922 with Collins as the most powerful figure in Ireland. They begin with Collins a single man; they end with him about to be married. The diaries reveal much of that transformed life in between.
Location: National Archives, Bishop Street, Dublin 8, D08 DF85
Dates: From 30 September 2022
Opening hours: Monday-Friday, 10am – 5pm
PUBLICATION
‘Days in the life: reading the Michael Collins diaries, 1918-1922’
By Anne Dolan and William Murphy
Published in partnership with the Royal Irish Academy.
From 1918 to 1922 Michael Collins kept working diaries of his busy revolutionary life. They are a collection of hurried notes, necessary lists, names and appointments, things to do, and things not done. They are a record of his long working days, and they got him to where he needed to be on time. Though these diaries do not contain conventional lengthy entries in which Collins finally reveals his innermost thoughts, they still tell us much about this extraordinary man.
In this book, Michael Collins’s biographers, Anne Dolan and William Murphy, capture the nature of this new Collins source. They reflect on how the diaries change what we know about him, and challenge us to think differently about his life. The diaries begin with Collins a revolutionary among many; they end in 1922 with Collins as the most powerful figure in Ireland. They begin with Collins a single man; they end with him about to be married. The authors present thematic reflections on what the diaries reveal of his transformed life.
As they are also the diaries of his everyday life, the book examines very particular episodes, the curious and ordinary entries, which allow us to see Collins from new angles. Rather than offering the final piece that will solve the Collins puzzle, the diaries pose new questions to be asked.
About the authors
Anne Dolan is an associated professor of modern Irish history at Trinity College Dublin. Her publications include Commemorating the Irish Civil War: history and memory 1923-2000 (Cambridge, 2003). She is joint editor of ‘No surrender here!’ The Civil War papers of Ernie O’Malley (Dublin, 2007). She co-wrote Michael Collins: the man and the revolution (Cork, 2018) with William Murphy.
William Murphy is an associate professor in modern Irish history at Dublin City University. He is author of Political imprisonment and the Irish, 1912-1921 (Oxford, 2014). He co-edited The Gaelic Athletic Association, 1884-2009 (Dublin, 2009) and Leisure and the Irish in the nineteenth century (Liverpool, 2016). He co-wrote Michael Collins: the man and the revolution (Cork, 2018) with Anne Dolan.
‘Days in the life: reading the Michael Collins diaries, 1918-1922’ is published in the context of the National Archives’ 2022 Commemoration Programme as part of the Decade of Centenaries 2012–2023.
Order a copy here: https://www.ria.ie/days-life-reading-michael-collins-diaries-1918-1922