17 quotes
Legacy of Michael Collins and His Impact
Ending montage
Michael Collins was 31 when he died. Half a million people attended his funeral in Dublin. All parties to the conflict, both British and Irish, were temporarily united in grief. In his brief lifetime, he had fought the British Empire to a stalemate, negotiated the first Treaty of Independence for Ireland and overseen its transition to democracy. He died, paradoxically, in an attempt to finally remove the gun from Irish politics.
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Defining Roles in Political Chaos
Cathal Brugha
The Minister is as usual exceeding his brief!
Michael Collins
And what is my brief, Cathal?
Cathal Brugha
Intelligence.
Michael Collins
Bullshit! I'm Minister for Gun-Running, Daylight Robbery, and General Mayhem!
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Loyalty and Betrayal in Conflict
Michael Collins
You killed him you little uniform bit! You plugged him you little Free State gobshat! You were meant to protect him.
Free State Soldier
But, he was one of them, sir-
Michael Collins
No, son! You don't understand. He was one of us.
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Anticipation of Future Events
Eamon de Valera
Wait, Michael, wait...
Michael Collins
Till when?
Eamon de Valera
Until the next time.
Harry Boland
What happens next time?
Michael Collins
We won't play by their rules, Harry. We'll invent our own.
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Symbolism of Nature in Political Turmoil
Harry Boland
Oh, did you hear there's a butterfly been seen in West Clare? Its wings are green, white, and yellow.
Michael Collins
Oh, God!
Harry Boland
The lads say it's a sign.
Michael Collins
Sign? My... fuck it!
Harry Boland
I'm tellin ya.
Michael Collins
You know the problem with butterflies?
Kitty Kiernan
What's that?
Michael Collins
They only last one day.
Harry Boland
Aye, but what a day, Mick!
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Choosing Anarchy Over Civil War
Michael Collins
I will not fight against men I trained with, I fought with!
Dáil Member
The people have spoken, Mr. Collins, overwhelmingly in favour of the treaty you brought home!
Arthur Griffith
They've occupied the Four Courts, half of O'Connell Street, Limerick, Cork- it's anarchy out there!
Michael Collins
Better anarchy than civil war!
Arthur Griffith
We've got to do something. Churchill's offered us artillery!
Michael Collins
For Christ's sake, let Churchill do his own dirty work!
Arthur Griffith
Maybe he will, Michael. Maybe he will.
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Ireland's Struggle for Independence
Opening montage
At ], ]. Despite the extent of its power, its most troublesome colony had always been the one closest to it, Ireland. For over seven hundred years, Britain's rule over Ireland had been resisted by attempts at revolution and rebellion, all of which ended in failure. Then, in 1916, a rebellion began, to be followed by a guerilla war that would change the nature of that rule forever. The mastermind behind that war was Michael Collins. His life and death defined the period, in its triumph, terror and tragedy. This is his story.
[[w:Edwardian era|the turn of the century; [w:British Empire|Britain was the foremost world power and the British Empire stretched over two-thirds of the globe]
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Negotiating Legitimacy in Armed Conflict
Eamon de Valera
If we are to negotiate as a legitimate government, our armed forces must act like a legitimate army.
Michael Collins
What, exactly, do you mean, Dev?
Eamon de Valera
I mean large scale engagements.
Michael Collins
You mean, like, in 1916? The great, heroic, ethical failure. All marchin in step towards slaughter. Why don't we save them all the bother and blow our own brains out?!
Cathal Brugha
How dare you!
Michael Collins
How do you think we even got them to this point? Where they'll even consider talking? We brought them to their knees the only way we could!
Eamon de Valera
They call us murderers.
Michael Collins
War is murder! Sheer bloody murder! If you'd been here for the past year, you'd know that!
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A Legacy of Hope and Courage
Taglines
Ireland, 1916. His dreams inspired hope. His words inspired passion. His courage forged a nation's destiny. An epic tale of passion and destiny.
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A Call for Peace Amidst Conflict
Patron
Come to flog us that bloody treaty, have you?!
Michael Collins
I'm flogging fuck all; I've come to buy! Drinks for the county on me!
Michael Collins
Tell him... that Harry Boland's death was enough. Tell him that Mick Collins says he wants to end this bloody mayhem. Tell him I'm sorry I didn't bring back the Republic, but nobody could have! He was my chief always. I would have followed him to hell if he'd asked me... And maybe I did.
[''To an Anti-Treaty rebel relaying his message to Eamon de Valera''; ...]
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Disagreement Over Agreement Terms
Eamon de Valera
You published the terms without MY agreement!
Michael Collins
They were the best we could get.
Eamon de Valera
In your opinion!
Michael Collins
And what's more, Dev, you sent me there because you knew they were best we could get.
Eamon de Valera
That is idle speculation.
Eamon de Valera
What would you know about peace?
Michael Collins
When I agreed to go to London, you said we could negotiate on behalf of the Irish people and our government, the Dáil. If they accept it, I accept it; if they reject it I reject it. And I want to know you'll do the same.
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A Clash of Time and Patience
British officer
You're seven minutes late, Mr. Collins.
Michael Collins
You've kept us waiting seven hundred years. You can have your seven minutes.
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The Price of Sacrifice for Freedom
Joe O'Reilly
That's why he died. He knew the risk he was taking when he went down there, but he thought them worth taking. He took them for us, for every gobshite in this country, no matter what side they were on.
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Facing Fear in Turbulent Times
Michael Collins
For the first time in my life I'm scared.
Harry Boland
The Big Fellah, scared? I hate to tell you this, Mick, but you've got a right to be.
Michael Collins
You told me once I was good at mayhem, sheer bloody mayhem.
Harry Boland
Yeah.
Michael Collins
That's what I'm scared of because once I start... there'll be no stopping me.
Harry Boland
Don't you let it start, then. Tear up that treaty.
Michael Collins
It's the only thing we've got.
Harry Boland
So then it starts.
Michael Collins
What starts?
Harry Boland
We fight.
Michael Collins
They fight, we don't.
Harry Boland
You've said what you had to say, and you can go now, Mick.
Michael Collins
Listen to me, please- listen to me!
[''Moves toward Boland'']
Harry Boland
I HAVE NOTHING MORE TO SAY TO YOU!
Michael Collins
Do it, kid.
Harry Boland
Put the gun down!
Michael Collins
DO IT! Save us all a lot of bother!
Harry Boland
Didn't you hear me? I said PUT THE GUN DOWN! Get out.
[''Charges and slams the guard against a bed, aiming the pistol at his back''; ''To Collins'']
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Legacy of an Unexpected Leader
Joe O'Reilly
You've got to think of him the way he was. The way he cycled round Dublin in his pin-striped suit with £10,000 pounds on his head. "Why hide, Joe" he'd say "when that's what they'd expect?". But he never did what anyone expected. He got the British out of here and no one expected that. Some people are what the times demand, and life without them seems impossible. But he's dead. And life is possible. He made it possible.
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An Epic Tale of Passion and Destiny
Taglines
An epic tale of passion and destiny.
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Sacrifice for Peace and Freedom
Michael Collins
I would plead with every person here. Make me a scapegoat if you will, call me a traitor if you will, but please, let's save the country. The alternative to this treaty is a war which nobody in this gathering can even contemplate. If the price of freedom, the price of peace is the blackening of my name, I will gladly pay it.
[Trying to convince the Dáil to accept the Anglo-Irish Treaty]
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