Daniel McConnell: How Michael Collins and Éamon de Valera went from friends to rivals 

The relationship between Michael Collins and Eamon de Valera was fraught long before the Civil War started. Political Editor Daniel McConnell writes of how the pair went from friends and comrades, to political rivals

Members of the Sinn Fein Ard Fheis in 1922. From left to right: Harry Boland, Michael Collins, Eamon de Valera and Eamon Duggan. Picture: Walshe/Topical Press Agency/Getty Images

When friends become enemies, the consequences are devastating.

In 1922, Éamon de Valera and the mythic Michael Collins had opposing views of the Anglo-Irish Treaty and de Valera’s rivalry with Collins also seems to have played a significant role in leading Ireland to Civil War, historian Julia Walsh concluded in 2012.