"When you have sweated, toiled, had mad dreams, hopeless nightmares, you find yourself in London's streets, cold and dank in the night air. Think — what have I got for Ireland? Something which she has wanted these past seven hundred years. Will anyone be satisfied at the bargain? Will anyone? I tell you this; early this morning I signed my death warrant. I thought at the time how odd, how ridiculous — a bullet may just as well have done the job five years ago."
Quote Details
Added by wikiquote-import-bot
Unverified quote
0 likes
Politicians from IrelandInterior ministersIrish nationalistsFinance ministersMilitary leaders of Ireland
Original Language: English
Available Languages (1)
Sources
Letter, 6 December 1921. Cited in T. R. Dwyer, Michael Collins and the Treaty (1981), ch. 4, and Cathal Liam, Blood on the Shamrock (St. Padraic Press, 2006), p. 194
https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Michael_Collins_(Irish_leader)
Revision History
No revisions have been submitted for this quote.
Categories
Michael Collins (Irish leader)
Michael Collins (in Irish Mícheál Seán Ó Coileáin; 16 October 1890 – 22 August 1922) was an Irish revolutionary leader, Minister for Finance in the Irish Republic, Director of Intelligence for the IRA, and member of the Irish delegation during the Anglo-Irish Treaty negotiations, both as Chairman of the Provisional Government and Commander-in-Chief of the National Army.
30 quotes on TrueQuotesView all quotes by Michael Collins (Irish leader) →
Related Quotes
"How could one argue with a man who was always drawing lines and circles to explain the position; who, one day, drew a…"
"There is no British Government anymore in Ireland. It is gone. It is no longer the enemy. We have now a native govern…"
"The Treaty is already vindicating itself. The English Die-hards said to Mr. Lloyd George and his Cabinet: "You have s…"
"The European War, which began in 1914, is now generally recognized to have been a war between two rival empires, an o…"
"Our army, if it exists for honorable purposes only, will draw to it honorable men. It will call to it the best men of…"
"We are a small nation. Our military strength in proportion to the mighty armaments of modern nations can never be con…"
"On January 21 they met in my room at the Colonial office, which, despite its enormous size, seemed overcharged with e…"
"From his earliest days Michael seems to have wanted to be the leader in everything that went on around him. His cousi…"
"Dr. Cagney, who had served through the Great War and had 'a wide knowledge of bullet wounds' told McGarry that Collin…"
"Now as one of the signatories of the document I naturally recommend its acceptance. I do not recommend it for more th…"