# Liam Neeson's "MICHAEL COLLINS"

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/liam-neesons-michael-collins/233151>\
**Category:** Cafe Society\
**Created:** [March 8, 2004, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/liam-neesons-michael-collins/233151 "2004-03-08T18:09:04Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 2\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![ralph124c](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/8797f3/32.png) [@ralph124c](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ralph124c)\
**Post date:** [March 8, 2004, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/liam-neesons-michael-collins/233151/1 "2004-03-08T18:09:04Z")

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I just saw the movie (about the Irish war of independence). All in all, a pretty good flick. I have a few questions for our Irish friends:  
-Eamon DeValera comes a cross as a pretty devious character-did he (DeValera) really use Collins as a dupe?  
-The British forces (Black and Tans) came across as extremely brutal-did they really fire machine guns into the crowd at the football game?  
-Collins was portrayed as supremely honest and dedicated-is it true that he ended his life a broken man?  
Anyway, what was Ireland like from 1923-1960? What was the country so conservative?  
I DO recommend this film!

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**Author:** ![Rex\_Fenestrarum](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rex_fenestrarum/32/7265_2.png) [@Rex\_Fenestrarum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rex_Fenestrarum)\
**Post date:** [March 8, 2004, 6:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/liam-neesons-michael-collins/233151/2 "2004-03-08T18:24:51Z")

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- Yes. DeValera knew the “Free State” agreement would be terribly unpopular with the Irish people. Rather than take the fall himself, he sent Michael Collins.

- Yes, the black and tans were that brutal. They were mostly soldiers left over from WWI. The British always thought that the Irish were as “subhuman” as the Zulu.

- Yes, he was assassinated.

Why was the country so conservative? Well, for one I think most Western countries were far more conservative back then. It wasn’t like it was “cool” to be a pregnant teenager in the USA either. Two, the Roman Catholic Church had a huge influence in Ireland. Hell, divorce was only made legal in Ireland back in the 1990s.