Six days later, Arthur Griffith, who was president of the Dail, was arrested and Collins then became its acting president, as well as its minister of finance for the president of the IRB, and director of intelligence, director of organization and adjutant general for the IRA.

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In December, the British sent out word that they were looking for a peaceful resolution of the Irish situation. On December 17, however, the British insisted that the IRA would have to surrender its weapons before any talks could begin. Collins rejected the demand.

During the Black and Tan War, Collins had numerous escapes that only added to his legendary status. On several occasions, his offices were raided and he narrowly escaped by running out the back or running up to the rooftop. On several occasions, he was stopped and questioned by the British, but they failed to recognize him, primarily because they did not have a good photograph. Part of his success, however, came from his sheer audacity. There were numerous times that he approached the British at checkpoints and asked what was going on. Although he was the most wanted man in Ireland, he never wore a disguise. Rather, he dressed as a businessman, wearing a suit and tie as he rode his bicycle throughout Dublin. Collins also relied for his safety on his vast network of friends and spies-and his reputation for ruthlessness. Most of the Irish supported Collins and those that didn’t support him realized that, had they turned him in, they would not live to spend the reward money.

On May 25, 1921, the IRA launched its biggest operation of the war when 120 men attacked and burned the Custom House in Dublin. It proved to be a costly operation, with six IRA men being killed, 12 wounded and 70 captured. Despite its apparent failure, however, the attack did have a decisive psychological impact on London. On June 22, King George V, in a speech in Belfast, proposed peace talks and on July 11, a truce was declared.

Treaty negotiations started in London on October 21. Among the British negotiators were David Lloyd George and Winston Churchill. Eamon de Valera sent Collins as one of the five Irish delegates. Collins strongly objected, feeling that, as a soldier who had fought the war, it was not his position to negotiate the terms of any treaty. He also stated that the task of being a delegate was a loathsome one, but that he went ‘in the spirit of a soldier who acts against his judgment at the orders of a superior officer.’ Once Collins became a member of the treaty delegation, however, he became totally committed to working for a peaceful solution. During the negotiations Collins, a devout Catholic, arose early each morning to attend daily Mass. After more than six weeks, the parties finally reached a compromise agreement on the morning of December 6. Although the treaty did not provide for a complete and free Irish Republic, it did create the 26-county Irish Free State, which had dominion status, leaving the six counties of Northern Ireland as part of Great Britain. As Lord Birkenhead signed the treaty on behalf of the British delegation, he remarked, ‘I may have signed my political death warrant tonight.’ Collins, realizing that many diehard IRA members would oppose any compromise with Britain, grimly replied, ‘I may have signed my actual death warrant.’ The proposed treaty still needed to be ratified by the Dail. When the Irish delegation arrived back in Dublin, it found its parliament split over the issue. Those who opposed the treaty did so because it did not establish an Irish Republic, only giving Ireland dominion status, and because it required the Irish to take an oath of allegiance to the British crown. In light of future events, it is amazing that the partitioning of Ireland was not a major issue. The debates, in which Collins and his supporters backed the treaty and Eamon de Valera and his supporters opposed the treaty, were extremely bitter. On a number of occasions, Collins was accused of treason and cowardice. (For a transcript of the debate, see http://www.ucc.ie/celt/online/E900003.001) Finally, after a month of heated arguments, the treaty was approved on January 7, 1922, by a vote of 64-57. After the vote was taken, de Valera and his supporters walked out of the parliament-thereby taking the first steps that would ultimately lead to civil war. Arthur Griffith was then elected president of the parliament and Collins was appointed minister of finance. However, in addition to the Irish parliament, the Irish also had to set up a provisional government to handle the transfer of power from the British to the Irish. Collins became chairman of that provisional government. The walkout by de Valera and his supporters led to the breakup of the Sinn Fein Party into the pro-treaty and the anti-treaty factions. In fact, the two main political parties in Ireland today can trace their origins to that event. Those who supported the treaty would eventually form Fine Gael, while de Valera and his followers would end up forming Fianna Fail.

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