Michael Collins (Irish leader)

Michael Collins (Irish name Micheál Ó Coileáin; October 16, 1890 – August 22, 1922), an Irish revolutionary leader, served as Minister for Finance in the Irish Republic, as Director of Intelligence for the IRA, as a member of the Irish delegation during the Anglo-Irish Treaty negotiations, as Chairman of the Provisional Government and as Commander-in-Chief of the National Army. He was assassinated in August 1922, during the Irish Civil War. Members and supporters of the political party Fine Gael hold in particular respect his memory.

Controversy over sexual orientation

Along with other key figures in the Irish revolution Roger Casement, Eoin O'Duffy and Padraig Pearse, rumours have long existed as to Collins's sexual orientation. Collins' famous tendency to constantly physically touch men close to him was much commented about in his lifetime. Some suggested that it was purely platonic in nature; macho horseplay among men in stressful revolutionary situations where they could face death or torture at any time. Collins in particular liked to wrestle his men, often catching them off guard. Often the wrestling led to his biting of their ears, "a bit of ear" being a phrase often associated with Collins.

Related Topics:
Roger Casement - Eoin O'Duffy - Padraig Pearse - Sexual orientation

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Others however have suggested a sexual aspect to the horseplay. The rumours and rival interpretations were reflected in the controversy over the making of a film about Collins (see below). The original script for a film to be called Mick, by writer and historian Eoghan Harris unambiguously suggested that Collins was bisexual, based, according to Harris, on information supplied to him by people he had known in his younger days who had also known Collins. (Harris, like Collins, is from Cork, but is well known for his opposition to militant Irish republicanism, past and present).

Related Topics:
Mick - Eoghan Harris - Bisexual

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However, the script by Neil Jordan used for his film, while mentioning the physical touching in which Collins engaged, regarded it simply as macho horseplay. Jordan's script did make a number of controversial, factually inaccurate adaptations to the story, in part to appease U.S. audiences whom it was believed would not have understood, or not have appreciated, the full political complexity of the story. Critics of Jordan's script also claimed that any mention of Collins' alleged bisexualty was also removed because it would have offended predominantly Catholic Irish-Americans who reacted with fury when claims were made about the orientation of Pearse, seeing claims of Pearse's homosexuality as a 'slur' on his character.

Related Topics:
Neil Jordan - U.S. - Catholic - Irish-American

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Tim Pat Coogan, the author of one of the most comprehensive biographies of Collins, has emphatically rejected any suggestion that Collins was anything other than heterosexual. Despite being engaged to be married, Collins had numerous affairs, and there is no known documentary evidence confirming his alleged bisexuality.

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