FILM · 1996 · IRELAND
Michael Collins
35 archived facts 5 topics 1 source Last reviewed Oct 2026
All facts (35)
- #001
Michael Collins adopted the guerrilla tactics used by the Boers during the Second Boer War (1899-1902).
- #002
Despite containing several brutal scenes of violence, the film received a very light 'PG' rating in Ireland, mainly because of its historical context. Sheamus Smith issued a press statement defending the decision, claiming the film was a landmark in Irish cinema and saying he believed "that because of the subject matter, parents should have the option of making their own decision as to whether their children should see the film." The quad poster used to advertise the film in Ireland carried the message: "WARNING TO PARENTS AND GUARDIANS: This film contains coarse language as well as scenes of explicit brutality and violence. Children under 12 are recommended to be accompanied by a parent or adult guardian." It became the second most successful film ever released in Ireland.
- #003
The Treaty ports were returned to Ireland in 1938, which allowed the country to remain neutral throughout World War II.
- #004
The film suggests that Eamon de Valera gave the order to assassinate Michael Collins. In real life de Valera always denied ordering the killing, but it was widely believed that he had given the order.
- #005
Like most films featuring historical characters, the film alters real events for dramatic effect. Harry Boland was shot and killed as he left a hotel in Skerries, North Dublin, not in a river (along with many other character changes, the timing of events and precise details).
- #006
Brendan Gleeson played Collins in the film The Treat (1991). Liam Neeson consulted Gleeson on portraying the character during pre-production and on set.
- #007
Most of the Black and Tans served in the 10th Irish Division during World War I.
- #008
Recently released documents show that Michael Collins used former Black and Tans against the IRA during the Battle of Dublin (28 June-5 July 1922). It is unclear whether Collins requested these reinforcements or whether the United Kingdom government supplied them because it did not believe the National Army could drive the anti-Treaty forces out of Dublin.
- #009
The first DVD release was reversible and had two sides much like an old LP (similar to the first DVD release of Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves (1991)). In one of the first scenes, Michael Collins fought with the rebellion against the army. When you flip the DVD over, the first scene shown is Collins now fighting on the military side against the newly forming rebellion. The DVD's side change dramatically marks the change in Collins's position.
- #010
The character Ned Broy is a composite of Ned Broy, a double agent in the police, and Dick McKee, Commander of the IRA's Dublin Brigade and a central figure alongside Collins in planning intelligence operations. McKee was captured the night before the attack on British agents and was reportedly shot while trying to escape. Broy, a Sergeant in the Dublin Metropolitan Police, survived the war and later went on to head the Garda, the new national police force of the Irish Free State. Ironically, he encouraged former Royal Irish Constabulary officers to join the new force, giving them preference in recruitment and in incorporating the Dublin Metropolitan Police into the new organization.
- #011
Michael Collins had a major influence on the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) and the Cuban Revolution.
- #012
Michael Collins was accused of betraying Ireland by signing the Anglo-Irish Treaty, which approved the partition of Ireland. He also accepted weapons from the British to defeat the anti-Treaty IRA. The British could not have attacked the Four Courts in June-July 1922, because that would have united everyone in Ireland against the Treaty. The agreement was signed on 7 December 1921 at the grand Heathenden Hall. If the name seems vaguely familiar to film enthusiasts, it is the same buildings and grounds that would later be reused as the original Pinewood Studios in Buckinghamshire, England.
- #013
Mary-Louise Parker was about to sign on for the role of Kitty when Neil Jordan received a phone call from Julia Roberts expressing interest in the part.
- #014
While the film was in production, the IRA detonated a bomb in Canary Wharf, London, thereby ending the ceasefire in the Northern Ireland conflict.
- #015
In the opening scene, as Michael Collins (Liam Neeson) and Harry Boland (Aidan Quinn) surrender along with other revolutionary forces, a female soldier wearing a distinctive hat can be seen limping in the background. This is a depiction of Constance Markievicz (1868-1927), an influential figure in Irish history who played a significant role in the Rising and would go on to many further achievements.
- #016
Gabriel Byrne was cast in the role of Michael Collins, with Michael Cimino set to direct.
- #017
Bray Wanderers' Carlisle Grounds substituted for 1920s Croke Park, at a cost of about one million Irish pounds to renovate the pitch accordingly.
- #018
Matt Dillon was in fact a candidate for the role of Harry Boland.
- #019
Elliot Goldenthal's final piece in the film, "Funeral/Coda," was originally his rejected ending for Heat (1995), which director Michael Mann replaced with an existing Moby track.
- #020
With an estimated budget of 25 million dollars, Michael Collins (1996) was one of the most expensive films ever made in Ireland. Shooting took place in Dublin, and the score was composed by the acclaimed composer Elliot Goldenthal.
- #021
Epilogue: "When Michael Collins died he was 31 years old. Half a million people attended his funeral in Dublin. All sides of the conflict, both British and Irish, were briefly united in grief. Throughout his short life he fought until he was deadlocked with the British Empire, negotiated the first Independence Treaty for Ireland and oversaw its transition to democracy. Paradoxically, he died in the end while trying to remove the gun from Irish politics." "In my opinion, history will record the greatness of Michael Collins at the appropriate time, and it will be recorded at my expense." — Eamon de Valera, President of Ireland, 1966.
- #022
John Turturro turned down the role of Eamon de Valera.
- #023
John Boorman's short segment for Lumière and Company (1995) was shot on this film's set (more precisely, at the location used for the Easter Rising sequence) and stars Liam Neeson, Aidan Quinn, Stephen Rea and Alan Rickman.
- #024
This was originally to have been a Kevin Costner vehicle.
- #025
Robert Redford spent a short time in Dublin in the early 1980s researching a Michael Collins biopic that never came to be.
- #026
Tom Cruise was offered the role of the assassin played by Jonathan Rhys Meyers. Cruise would later appear alongside Rhys Meyers in Mission: Impossible III (2006).
- #027
The film's cast includes one Oscar® winner, Julia Roberts, and three Oscar® nominees: Liam Neeson, Stephen Rea and Brendan Gleeson.
- #028
Richard Harris and Kevin McClory planned a Michael Collins biopic in the mid-1960s.
- #029
Julia Roberts and Liam Neeson had previously appeared together in Satisfaction (1988). The pair briefly dated in 1988.
- #030
Alan Rickman, Brendan Gleeson and Ian Hart later appeared in several films in the Harry Potter series.
- #031
Much of the cast, including Brendan Gleeson and Sean McGinley, reunited on The General (1998).
- #032
Brendan Gleeson, Gerard McSorley and Sean McGinley had previously appeared in Braveheart (1995), another historical film about a nation's independence, in that case Scotland's.
- #033
Stephen Rea, Brendan Gleeson, Ian Hart, Stuart Graham, Sean McGinley, Aisling O'Sullivan and Jer O'Leary reunited on Neil Jordan's next film, The Butcher Boy (1997).
- #034
It lost both of its Oscar nominations (Best Original Score and Best Cinematography) to The English Patient (1996).
- #035
Brendan Gleeson played the fiddle in his scenes as a stand-in for the instrument. In reality he is a talented, accomplished player.
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