Michael Collins 
The Path to Freedom 

Michael Collins  (16 October 1890 – 22 August 1922) was an Irish revolutionary, soldier and politician who was a leading figure in the early-20th century struggle for Irish independence. During the
War of Independence he was Director of Intelligence of the
Irish Republican Army (IRA) and a government minister of the self-declared Irish Republic. He was then Chairman of the Provisional Government of the
Irish Free State from January 1922 and commander-in-chief of the
National Army from July until his death in an ambush in August 1922, during the Civil War.



Collins bequeathed to posterity a considerable body of writing: essays, speeches and tracts, articles and official documents in which he outlined plans for Ireland’s economic and cultural revival, as well as a voluminous correspondence, both official and personal. Selections have been published in
The Path to Freedom and
 
Michael Collins in His Own Words .