While some celebrated the fact that a rising had happened at all, believing in Pearse's theory of "blood sacrifice" (namely that the deaths of the Rising's leaders would inspire others), Collins railed against the military blunders made, such as the seizure of indefensible and very vulnerable positions like St Stephen's Green, which were impossible to escape from and difficult to supply.

In May 1921, Ireland was partitioned under British law, creating Northern Ireland, and unionists formed a Northern government. In a private conference he informed Liam Deasy, Florence O'Donoghue and Liam Lynch that there would have to be some compromise in the current negotiations in London. Collins, Dick McKee and regional commanders such as Dan Breen and Tom Barry oversaw tactics and general strategy. This led to his appointment as financial advisor to Count Plunkett, father of one of the Easter Rising's organisers, Joseph Plunkett. 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 past, present and future.

The first meetings were held in strict secrecy soon after the Custom House battle, with Andrew Cope representing Dublin Castle's British authorities. Collins' profoundly mixed feelings about this situation are recorded in his private and official correspondence. Michael Collins: The Man and the Revolution by Diarmaid Ferriter which came out recently is another book I'm considering.

The book does, however, do justice to a multilayered revolution and its manifold visual representations. In the 1918 general election Sinn Féin swept the polls throughout much of Ireland, with many seats uncontested, and formed an overwhelming parliamentary majority in Ireland. For the first time all the strands of the adventure with its cast of disparate characters are woven together, resulting in a riveting account.As to his afterlives, authors of books, plays and memoirs as well as filmmakers posited the Collins they needed and he “endured in all the ways we wanted him, far more than any other figure from that time”. His object was that the Constitution would allow participation in the Dáil by dissenting TDs who opposed the Treaty and refused to take any oath mentioning the Crown.

He did not subscribe to a particular social or economic ideology, and his religious practice appears to have been driven by pragmatism.

Lloyd George was a tough negotiator and Collin's diary on the night the treaty was signed was ominous . The republican view of the same meeting is that Collins met FitzAlan to accept the surrender of Dublin Castle, the official seat of British government in Ireland.

The results were pro-Treaty 58 seats, anti-Treaty 36, Labour Party 17, Independents 6, Farmers party 7, plus 4 Unionists from Trinity College Dublin.Many of the new members were World War I veterans and others who had not fought on the nationalist side before.