"Collins was a reluctant delegate to the negotiations that produced the Anglo Irish treaty, but accepted their outcome and was appointed chairman and minister for finance of the Provisional Government responsible for the establishment of the new Irish state. He regarded the treaty only as a means toward obtaining a 32-county republic. His conspiratorial nature came to the fore in his secret arrangement with the anty-treatyites to attack Northern Ireland while officially recognizing it. He became commander-in-chief of the Free State army when the Irish Civil War broke out, and was killed on 22 August 1922 at Beal na Blath, Co. Cork, during an inspection tour of the south. Generally seen as a man of action, he commanded great respect, admiration, and loyalty among those around him. He has been much idealized since his death, often described as the man who singe-handedly defeated the British forces. This view has been challenged in more recent writing. The widespread admiration for him has nevertheless, fuelled much speculation about what Ireland would have been like if he had lived. Such speculation emphasizes his view of the treaty as a stepping stone, his progressive social views, and his potential to reunite a divided republican movement."