Revolutionary Women
How females played a pivotal role in shaping the destiny of Michael Collins
LIZ GILLIS BEHIND every great man there’s a great woman, so the saying goes. It’s certainly true of Irish revolutionary Michael Collins.
Countless interviews with comrades describe their exploits together, from his rise through the ranks to become the key figure in the Irish Republican Brotherhood, to the Irish Volunteers, to the most powerful man in the fledgling Irish Free State.
Yet this is only part of his story. Understated is the role women played in his life.
His mother Mary Anne and sisters were so important in shaping his early years, giving him the drive and confidence to excel at whatever he did.
Kathleen Clarke, widow of Tom Clarke, hired him as Secretary of the Irish National Aid and Volunteers Dependants Fund, which gave him access to the Republican movement.
The intelligence war could not have been fought without women such as Nancy O’brien or Lily Mernin who risked their lives to pass information.
Collins knew how crucial women were in the fight for Irish freedom. His hero was not Wolfe Tone or Patrick Pearse, it was Anne Devlin, Robert Emmet’s trusted comrade, who the British could never break.
These are just some of the women who were so important in the life of Michael Collins.
Mary Anne, Johanna (Hannie) Collins and Mary Collins-powell
Michael Collins grew up surrounded by independent, strong women from his mother to his older sisters.
Mary Anne, took over as head of the family when her husband died in 1897 (Collins’ father Michael Snr was 75 when his son was born.)
Michael, the youngest of the eight children was just six years old at the time. Mary Anne instilled in her children a drive to succeed in life through education and hard work.
In 1906, when he was 15, Collins got a job as a clerk in the Post Office Savings Bank in Kensington, London. For nearly 10 years he lived with his sister Hannie, who also worked for the Post Office.
Their mother died shortly after Collins moved to London. Hannie became a mother figure and they shared a love of literature and theatre.
In London, Collins became involved in the Republican movement
– sworn into the
IRB in 1909 by none other than
Sam Maguire.
Collins lived with Hannie until he returned to Ireland in
January 1916 where he took part in the Easter
Rising, serving as aide-de-camp to Joseph Plunkett.
During the War of Independence, his sister Mary regularly hid guns for the Cork IRA and also passed on intelligence to her younger brother.
Kathleen Clarke
After the Easter Rising, she was the most important figure in the Republican
movement. The leadership of the IRB had been wiped out and it fell to her to begin its reorganisation. She did this through the Volunteer Dependents Fund, later the Irish National Aid and Volunteer Dependants Fund, set up with money left to her by her husband Tom who was shot after the Rising.
The Fund provided cover for Volunteers to travel and reorganise.
After his release from Frongoch, Collins applied for the job as Secretary.
Recognising similar qualities to Sean Macdiarmada, Kathleen hired Collins.
She said: “With his forceful personality, wonderful magnetism and organising ability, he had little trouble in becoming a leader.”
Kathleen Clarke served as a judge, was elected to the Dail and was the first Lady Lord Mayor of Dublin.
Nancy O’brien and Lily Mernin (Lt. G)
Michael’s second cousin worked in Dublin Castle and was given the task of decoding messages from London to Dublin Castle, which she duly passed on.
She would hand over the information every day to Collins’ most trusted intelligence officers.
Her home in Glasnevin was an arms dump and safe house for IRA men, she also transported weapons for the IRA.
Like Nancy, Lily Mernin also worked in the Castle as a typist. She was the cousin of Piaras Beaslai and was soon recruited to work as an intelligence agent, ‘Lt. G’. She would type up reports and identify British intelligence officers who were hunting Collins and his men.
Lily was instrumental in providing the names and addresses of the agents assassinated on Bloody Sunday. She was never suspected by her superiors.
Susan Killeen
From Co Clare, Susan met Collins through his cousin Nancy O’brien.
She and Nancy shared lodgings in London and Dublin and Susan and Collins began a relationship. It ended when WWI broke out and she returned to Dublin but they remained friends.
During the War of Independence, Susan worked in Hodges Figgis bookshop on Dawson Street, one of the many places where messages for Collins could be left or collected safely.
Catherine ‘Kitty’ Kiernan
Kitty Kiernan – born 1893, Granard Co Longford – came from a nationalist family. The Kiernans had businesses including the Greville Hotel, a bakery, grocery shop, hardware shop and a bar.
Kitty – played by Julia Roberts in the 1996 movie Michael Collins – met The Big Fella in 1917, but it was his friend Harry Boland who she was taken with.
Collins fell for her sister Helen, who was engaged to someone else. While Harry Boland was away in America, romance blossomed between Kitty and Collins, and she chose the latter.
They were due to be married on 20 October 1922, a double wedding with Gearoid O’sullivan and Kitty’s sister Maud. Sadly it was not to be.
In 1925 Kitty married Felix Cronin, Quartermaster General of the Free State Army. They had two sons, the youngest named Michael Collins Cronin.
Kitty Kiernan died in 1945. Honouring her wishes, Felix arranged for her to be buried close to Collins in Glasnevin. ■■Liz Gillis is the Historian in Residence for South Dublin County Council and author of numerous history books including Women of the Irish Revolution.