In the first of a two-part series based on his forthcoming book, ‘Michael Collins and the Civil War’, Ryle Dwyer gives a deep insight into why the Big Fellow is often depicted as an architect of modern urban terrorism and how his attempt to secure southern unity spiralled into an orgy of murder and mayhem.

Ninety years ago today, Michael Collins supposedly accepted the surrender of Dublin Castle, but Ryle Dwyer notes that this was really a sly piece of press manipulation