Collins’ first job since his release was with the Amalgamated National Aid Association, an organization devoted to providing aid to widows, orphans, and dependents of those who were killed or imprisoned in the Easter Rebellion. While doing that, Collins made many contacts that would prove extremely useful over the next few years. In February 1917, Collins became a member of the IRB’s Supreme Council of the IRB and shortly thereafter, he became its secretary. Two years later, in the summer of 1919, Collins was elected president of the IRB.

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In October 1917, Eamon de Valera, the senior surviving leader from the Easter Rebellion, was elected president of Sinn Fein. At the same time, Collins was elected to the Sinn Fein Executive Council. A few days later, de Valera was re-elected president of the Irish Volunteers and Collins became their Director of Organization. Collins became adjutant general of the Irish Volunteers in March 1918, and a few months later, he also became the director of intelligence for the Volunteers. It was as director of intelligence that Collins established a vast intelligence network that operated throughout Ireland and England. He had spies and informers everywhere including the police, the British army and even in Dublin Castle, which was the British administrative center in Ireland. His spies allowed him to intercept British messages and there were numerous occasions where Collins had copies of British orders before they reached the intended recipient.

On April 3, 1918, Collins was arrested in Dublin for a speech that he had given in County Longford. Collins posted bail and went on the run. During the next three years, he was the most wanted man in Ireland. On May 18, the British arrested the leadership of Sinn Fein, including de Valera, leaving Collins to assume almost total control of the republican movement.

In December 1918, just a month after World War I ended, there was a general election of the British Parliament. Since Ireland was part of the United Kingdom, elections were also held there. The result was that the Sinn Fein Party won 73 seats, the Unionist Party (members from northern Ireland who wanted to remain part of the United Kingdom) won 26 seats, and the Irish Parliamentary party, which had been the dominant party in Ireland, only won six. Collins was elected to the British Parliament on a Sinn Fein ticket.

The Sinn Fein members refused to go to London to take their seats. Rather, they set up their own Parliament in Dublin. Since they were essentially setting up a separate government, the British viewed their actions as treason. The Irish Parliament (called the Dail) held its first meeting on January 21, 1919. On that same day, a small group of Irish Volunteers attacked a police transport at Soloheadbeg, in County Tipperary, killing two policemen. Most historians use that incident as the start of the War of Irish Independence, or as it is more commonly known, the Black and Tan War (referring to the black and khaki uniforms worn by the Irish paramilitary forces that enforced British rule at the time). During this period, the Irish Volunteers renamed themselves the Irish Republican Army. A few months later, in addition to his duties with the IRA, Collins was appointed Minister of Finance for the Dail, but he was not present for its first meeting. He was in England at the time, working on a plot to spring Eamon de Valera out of Lincoln Jail. The plot proved successful and on February 3, 1919, Collins personally participated in de Valera’s escape. Collins was back in Dublin by March 29, when he organized a mass escape of about 20 prisoners from Mountjoy Prison.

Although there were regular British troops stationed in Ireland at that time, the British primarily used the Royal Irish Constabulary (RIC), and the Dublin Metropolitan Police (DMP) to rule the country. The RIC was a paramilitary force that was stationed in barracks, armed with rifles and had spies and informers in every village and town throughout Ireland. Somewhat surprisingly, the RIC was composed primarily of Irish Catholics. The DMP had seven divisions. Divisions A-D operated in Dublin, Divisions E-F operated outside the city, and Division G was its intelligence unit, composed of plainclothes detectives.

On the night of April 7, 1919, Collins, with the assistance of one of his spies, sneaked into G Division Headquarters and spent the night examining top secret files. After viewing them, Collins concluded that the key to defeating Britain was to cripple its intelligence network. He wrote that England could replace every soldier that was killed but that, without her spies, she was helpless. He also realized that spies are less willing to replace spies that have been killed and that, even if Britain could find replacements, the new spy would not have the previous spy’s knowledge. Therefore, Collins began a sustained and systematic attack on both the RIC and G Division.

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