Neil Jordan made a brilliant film about the IRA leader and Treaty Supporter Michael Collins, but Jordan took liberties with the truth, which buttressed the film directors pro-treaty sympathies : What is not so justifiable is that the film goes on to imply strongly that De Valera was behind Collinss assassination. A fictional teenage boy (played by a young Jonathan Rhys Meyers) is shown acting as De Valeras loyal spy and messenger, and afterwards shooting Collins in an ambush. In real life, though they fought each other in the civil war, De Valera wanted to negotiate with Collins. He was not involved in the ambush: actually, he tried to stop it. I dont mean to imply that De Valera had anything to do with the assassination, said Jordan. Really? Then why identify De Valeras boy as the assassin, and why end the movie on a quote from the real De Valera which is made to sound bitter and possibly guilty: History will record the greatness of Michael Collins, and it will be at my expense? theguardian/film/2010/dec/09/reel-history-michael-collins-irish In real life Kitty Kiernan, the bereaved fiance of Collins, seems to have been so overcome by the death of the Free State Commander that she changed her mind about the infamous B Specials. In many ways todays mini-cult around Collins is harmless: the man died in action over 90 years ago. But the Cork man was one of the founding fathers of partition, which turned out to be, in the prophetic words of James Connolly a Carnival of Reaction. A few lessons here for today, arent there?
Posted on: Wed, 14 May 2014 17:16:24 +0000
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