Collins’s British civil service exams unearthed

EXAMINATION papers completed for the British Civil Service by War of Independence hero Michael Collins have been discovered in London.

The series of papers, which Collins completed in 1906 when he was just 15, have been found in the British National Archive in Kew by historian Dr Brian Murphy.

Considering that the west Cork man became a nemesis of the British, the papers show Collins had some surprising views about their empire.

“Without a knowledge of history we could not tell how such an island as Great Britain came to be the greatest power on the face of the earth, how her small armies won the battles of Crecy and Agincourt, of Quebec and Plassey and how her fleets destroyed those of all the great European powers in the time of Napoleon, and how this general was in the end defeated by Wellington,” Collins wrote in one paper.

Dr Murphy said there appeared to be a discrepancy between the written word of Collins and the accepted version of his youthful formation.

“One is forced to face the possibility that he may have deliberately written an essay which he did not believe in, but which he knew would be acceptable to the examiners,” Dr Murphy said.

Collins dealt ruthlessly with his British opponents, leading a squad which shot dead 14 spies in a single day in Dublin in 1920.

After signing the Treaty he prophesied his own death, which came to pass in 1922.

The documents also show which were his favourite subjects at school. History and geography were top of the list.

“Geometry, too, would be a favourite subject of mine if I were free to use my time as I please, as it interests me very much, and as it is rather difficult,” Collins wrote.

Collins, despite passing further civil service exams - with the caveat that he underwent dental treatment before being appointed - instead took a job in stockbroking firm Horne and Company in Moorgate on moving to London in 1910.

Meanwhile, a book featuring some of the exploits of Collins was launched last night in Inchigeelagh, Co Cork.

Published by the Aubane Historical Society, it also contains information about Batt O’Connor, a native of Brosna, Co Kerry. He became a builder in the USA and on returning to Ireland used his expertise to create false walls behind which people could hide without detection.