Michael Collins, Eamon DeValera and Harry Boland. True story?

Question

Just watched Michael Collins the film, and wanted to clear a few things up in my mind.

(1) Personally how well did Collins get on with DeValera, was there a genuine friendship

(2) Boland was portrayed as pursuing Kitty Kiernan, is that true, and was it a cause of contention.

No answers based on the film please!

Answer 1

yes all true. irish friends talk of it a lot.

Answer 2

In terms of being historically accurate, Michael Collins is actually pretty good.

Collins and deValera were actually friends, although Dev was American by birth, and as such was able to be captured without being killed. The quote at the end speaks volumes about DeValera, as he really didn't think history would look all that favorably on him, (even though he was the driving force in the creation of an Irish political state, and really the country's first really well known statesman.)

As for the second, that's more conjecture than anything. That's more in tune with making a lover interest story where there really wasn't one.

All in all though, still a great movie, and like I said, reasonably accurate, (which is virtually unheard of from Hollywood.)

Answer 3

They apparently got on well together (in as much as two politicans can ever have a genuine friendship) but had a serious falling-out over the peace treaty Collins signed with the British. Collins thought deValera had set him up by appointing him to negotiate a treaty that was bound to give the Irish less than they wanted and deValera thought Collins exceeded his authority and  shouldn't have agreed to partitioning Ireland.