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You probably won't be back to see it.
My grandda was a member of the Irish republican Brotherhood and a good friend and supporter of Michael Collins. So his point of view and his tales of those times are the same one-sided view of Eamon DeVelera. Of course, to many Irish DeVelera is their greatest hero. To the one sided view most prevelant in Ireland, he singled handedly got Ireland it's Independence. As a result he was overwhelmingly elected it's first President. There are, like my grand da, many Irish expatriates who see DeVelera as a devil who sold the Irish people out. In their view, it was DeVelera ego and desire to lead a free Irish nation that resulted in the partition of Ireland. Their thoughts are if he hadn't been in such a hurry to be recognized by the British as the leader of the Irish Independence movement, that they could have held out a little longer and the British would have given into a non-partictioned Ireland. That may well not have been true.
It is true, well he was the leader of the Irish Republican Brotherhood, there were members, such as Michael Collins who were more popular with the people and probably would have made a better leader. All this, of course, is the minority view.
What is a true fact though is that if DeVelera didn't himself order the assaination of Collins, he was at the very least knowledgable to the fact that it was going to happen.
If you should come back and read this, Nathan, Jr. (an Irish citizen would be the best to get the majority Irish view of DeVelera.
Myself, knowing what a true Irish patriot my grand da was and the familial involvement for hundred of years in the battle for Irish independence, I accept as true what he told me of DeVelera and Collins.
BTW, not only did the Irish rule Ireland with an ironfist and take away it's citizen's land, but banned both the Irish language (it's Gaelic not English) and their religion (Catholic). People were jailed or killed for practicing either.
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