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The Big Fellow by Gerry Shannon and Steve
Payne
 Author
says: what if Michael Collins had survived the assassination attempt,
changed Ireland forever and achieved mythical status?. Please note that the
opinions expressed in this post do not necessarily reflect the views of the
author(s).
In 1996,
Neil Jordan's epic movie "Michael Collins" premiered on
this day. In an Oscar-winning performance, actor Kevin Costner played the
role of one of Ireland's most revered historical figures.
Collins, also known as "the Big Fellow" was at the
forefront in the fight for independence from Britain in the years 1919 -
1921, and would go on to play a leading role in the subsequent Irish Free
State over the next five decades. The film covers much of the pivotal events
in Collins' life over the course of three hours, including the War of
Independence, his friendship with the first Irish Taoiseach, Arthur
Griffith, and Collins' near-death as a result of an assassination attempt in
his native Cork during the Civil War. Collins would eventually recover and
be part of several cabinets in several governments led by the Fine Gael
party.
The second half of the film deals with two of Collins' main achievements as
Taoiseach (Irish Prime Minister) from 1937 - 54, and it's President from
1955 - 64.
1) Uncovering the existence of several child abuse
scandals in the Roman Catholic Church, shocking the Western world and
damaging the institution's grip on Irish society for the better and
2) Building strong social and economic relations with the
Unionist government of the partioned Northern Ireland state, which text
before the credits reveals ultimately paved the way for reunification of the
country in 1969.
Though Jordon is criticized for embelishing several legends and myths
surrounding the man who virtually created the Irish Free State,
(particularly the suggestion Collins personally oversaw the execution of
Irish republican Eamon De Valera in 1922), there is consensus the director
had great foresight that Coster who had previously starred in "Robin
Hood:Prince of Thieves", was the man to portray this catalyst of the Irish
nation's history, this Irish Lawrence of Arabia, even it's Lincoln...
Author
says
to view guest historian's comments on this post
please visit the
Today in Alternate History web site.
Other Contemporary Stories
Gerry Shannon and Steve Payne
Guest Historians on
Today in Alternate History, a Daily Updating Blog of Important Events In
History That Never Occurred Today. Follow us on
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Imagine what would be, if history had occurred a bit
differently. Who says it didn't, somewhere? These fictional news items
explore that possibility. Possibilities such as America becoming a Marxist
superpower, aliens influencing human history in the 18th century and Teddy
Roosevelt winning his 3rd term as president abound in this interesting
fictional blog.
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