Michael Collins 1890-1922) Irish Nationalist, Sinn Fein leader, founder and director of intelligence of the Irish Republican Army 1919, minister for finance in the provisional government of the Irish Free State 1922, and for ten days Head of State before being killed. Born in County Cork, he became an active member of the Irish Republican Brotherhood and in 1916 fought in the Easter Rising. In 1918 he was elected a Sinn Fein member to the Dail, and became a minister in the Republican Provisional government. In 1921 he and Arthur Griffith were mainly responsible for the treaty that established the Irish Free State. During the ensuing civil war, Collins took command and crushed the opposition in Dublin and the large towns within a few weeks. When Griffiths died Collins became head of the state and the army, but he was ambushed near Cork by fellow Irishmen on 22nd August and killed.