Michael Collins and Eamon De Velera Collins, Michael (1890-1922), Irish patriot and soldier, born in Clonakilty. From 1906 to 1916 Collins worked as a clerk in London, where he joined the Irish Republican Brotherhood, a revolutionary group working for Irish independence from British rule. He participated in the Easter rebellion of 1916 in Dublin and was captured and was interned at Frongoch (Wales), where he emerged as the natural leader of the prisoners.. After his release he became one of the chief workers for Irish freedom as a leader in the Sinn Féin movement. In 1918 he was again arrested. Later, in spite of persistent attempts to capture him, he