Michael Collins had many roles in his short lifetime. He fought in the 1916 Easter Rising. He was Commander-in-Chief of the Irish Army, Minister for Finance, leader of a network of spies battling against the British forces and a chief negotiator in the Anglo-Irish Treaty.

He was killed in 1922 in an ambush at Béal na Bláth at the age of 31. His death robbed Ireland of one of its finest leaders.