MICHAEL COLLINS [1890-1922] The following collection of Michael Collins letters and documents comes from a family source, initially from his elder sister Johanna (Hannie), to whom almost all of...

MICHAEL COLLINS [1890-1922] The following collection of Michael Collins letters and documents comes from a family source, initially from his elder sister Johanna (Hannie), to whom almost all of the letters were written. Collins was the youngest of eight children. Hannie, the third-born, was already living and working in London when Michael joined her in 1906 as a young man of fifteen, to work as a junior post office clerk. He lived in her flat (she was unmarried) for the next nine years, and she remained a close confidant thereafter. A co-worker in London, John McCaffrey, 'was convinced that Michael Collins owed his success in London to the influence and cheerful companionship of his sister Hannah .. This exceptionally clever girl passed the open competitive examination for lady clerkships in the British Civil Service and was appointed to the permanent staff of the Post Office Savings Bank [in] 1899. This was a great achievement for an Irish girl in her teens.' Collins told an acquaintance that Hannie was 'the only member of the family who was any good'. She herself said she and Michael thought alike about many things, though not about politics [all quoted in Peter Hart: Mick, the Real Michael Collins]. Collins wrote a great many letters, but most of them have to do with business of one sort or another. He had few intimate friends, and a personal correspondence such as this is rare. There are many interesting things in the letters, not least a strong vein of pro-German comments during the later stages of the World War. Although Hannie was not one of Collins' 'agents', she evidently helped him on occasion, and there are some cryptic instructions which further research may elucidate. There is much family news. Mary and Katie are his sisters, also Celestine who is a nun; 'Kathy' or 'Katty' is the wife of his brother Johnny. It is notable that even at the height of his commitments in 1918-19 he still found time regularly to visit his Aunt Hannah, and was able to do so without attracting attention. Unusually, Collins signs as 'Michael' (not the Irish form 'M?che?l' which he generally used after 1916). With only two exceptions the letters are all handwritten; evidently Collins did not wish to involve his typists in his correspondence with Hannie. The letters have been inherited by direct family descent, and have never been on the market. They were seen by the historian Margery Forester, who quotes from them sparingly in her book on Collins, but apparently were not seen by later biographers. MICHAEL COLLINS AS A LINESMAN A short ALS from D. Brennan to 'Dear Mr. Collins', dated 12 May 1911, apologising for 'the informal way we have asked you to act as linesman for us tomorrow', with details of referee, starting time etc. With related envelope addressed to Mr. M. Collins headed 'On His Majesty's Service'. During his years in London Collins was an active member of the Geraldines and other GAA clubs. The tone of the letter suggests that Collins was annoyed at not receiving appropriate notice. Provenance: Collins family, by descent.

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