HIDDEN HISTORY Get Collins – The Intelligence War In Dublin

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• published: 04 Aug 2016
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Get Collins, uncovers a murky struggle of deception, betrayal and assassination that played a crucial role in winning Irish independence. The popular image of the Tan War is of Flying Columns battling it out with British troops in the hills of Cork and Tipperary. In truth, however, the decisive battles of that time were fought in the streets of Dublin. It was a personal affair, as each side raced to identify their opponents – and kill them. Now, recently uncovered testimonies from those at the centre of the intelligence war shine light on a world in which no-one could be trusted and nothing was what it seemed. Extensively dramatised, Get Collins reveals this network of ‘backchannels’ – how, at the height of the war, secret contacts were made between British officials and senior Republicans including Michael Collins. The documentary also features newly discovered IRA surveillance photographs which were taken during this dramatic period. The documentary tells the story of how Michael Collins – an obscure Volunteer officer in 1916 – established himself at the top of the Republican Movement just a few years later. As Minister of Finance, he controlled the purse strings. And as Director of Intelligence, Collins found the perfect weapon with which to take on the British Empire: information. Operating from an anonymous office in Crow Street, in the shadow of Dublin Castle, Collins’ men established a network of spies and informers at the heart of the British administration. He assembled a handpicked group of Volunteers from the Dublin Brigade to act on the information gathered at Crow Street. The Squad would operate in pairs, one man shooting the target in the body to bring him down, the other finishing him off on the ground with a shot to the dead. Killing the ‘political detectives’ of the Dublin Metropolitan Police was a brutal but effective tactic. The British were now fighting blind. In response, the British Government sent two very different groups of men to Ireland, pursuing two distinct policies. The hardliners were represented by the new Chief of Intelligence, Colonel Ormonde Winter – codename ‘O’ – who mused that, “the Irishman, without any offence being intended, somewhat resembles a dog. He understands firm treatment”. In contrast, the Castle’s Assistant Under-Secretary, Alfred ‘Andy’ Cope, had a very different mission – to make contact with the IRA and work out a political deal. Cope established himself as a go-between, passing information between the IRA and No. 10. Some of these documents were captured in Army raids, placing Cope’s life in danger from hardliners on his own side. Captain Jeune, a British intelligence officer, noted ruefully that “it was decided that no drastic action could be taken against him, as it turned out that he was a protégé of Lloyd-George.” Get Collins uncovers this network of ‘backchannels’ that led directly to Michael Collins, and shows how the Intelligence War was a vital, though brutal, element of the fight for independence. NO COPYRIGHT INFRINGEMENTS INTENDED Shown on RTE 2007