Michael Collins: The secret spy network that saved Ireland

This looks at the graves of his DMP spies and the IRA intelligence HQ in the war of Independence.

A video produced by Eoin Dolly, many thanks to Eoin for sharing this production to us.

• Director of Intelligence: Michael Collins was appointed Director of Intelligence for the Irish Republican Army (IRA) in 1919.
• The Squad: Collins established a special unit in July 1919, known as “the Squad,” to kill British intelligence agents (nicknamed “G-Men”) and their informants.
  • It was a small group of plainclothes policemen from the Dublin Metropolitan Police’s G Division.
  • They were sometimes referred to as “the Twelve Apostles”.
• Vast network of informants: The network included a wide range of men and women in various walks of life who gathered information and provided support, such as giving the IRA access to their offices and homes.
• Counter-intelligence: The network was responsible for counter-intelligence as well as intelligence gathering, prison escapes, and smuggling weapons and people. 

• Disrupted British operations: The network’s ability to identify and eliminate key British intelligence agents was a major factor in disrupting the British administration in Ireland.
• Turned the intelligence war: Collins and his network successfully “beat Britain at its own game” by using their own intelligence methods against them.
• Contributed to independence: By weakening the British intelligence apparatus, the network played a significant role in the fight for Irish independence.