I think Collins, Dev, Griffith, the leaders of 1916 and all those who fought and died for our freedom would vomit if they saw the state of the country today.

If Collins was still around then many of the bankers and developers would be in jail. Would not be surprised to see one or two prosecuted for treason and possibly executed. And rightly so.

I don’t think Collin’s response would have been purely political.

We’re talking about the man who created modern guerrilla warfare (out of necessity), & who was able to stir thousands to action with a speech.

I’m pretty sure we would have been looking at a coup situation.

~ Gonna go off now & write the first draft of “Zombie Michael Collins” & make millions :)

Collins would have seen the banks for what they were, inept, corrupt and a threat to our sovereignty. He certainly wouldn’t have propped Anglo up to benefit his friends to the detriment of the Irish people.
Neither would he have stood by and let a succession of politicians, mostly FF/FG, use their positions to personally enrich themselves at the expense of the people they claim to represent.
As for the financial regulator, lets just say he wouldn’t have been handsomely pensioned off to live happily ever after.
In short he would be sick to see what has come to be to the country he fought and died for.

The bottom line is Collins had balls and our current government are a pathetic spineless bunch.

But we already knew that!

It sounds very much like crystal ball gazing from Coogan. Government has changed completely in the 90 years since Collins was killed. After all Dev tried the self sufficient Ireland, isolationist and outside of Europe. It didn’t work. It wasn’t until Lemass onwards that the country’s economy picked up and living standards increased – greatly sped up after 1973 onwards. Don’t forget that women had to leave their jobs after getting married up to around 1975. It has become popular to bash everything in relation to the EU recently but it has had lots of good outcomes for Ireland as well as bad. These are quickly forgotten about though by media and the public.

I do hope they raise funds for the Cemetery though, which is the primary purpose of the event.

It’s time to bring back a few flying columns for all those boyos who can’t remember the password to laptops in Anglo Irish.

A very “if” and “but” scenario, but interesting to think what Collins would think and how he would have acted. I often wonder what he would have thought of what DeValera did to Ireland the wake of his death. And it makes me think – surely even though things are awful at the moment, at least Ireland has reaped a better infrastructure from being in the EU (roads, hospital investments, etc).

I think what DeValera did to Ireland set us up for the position we’re in today. His self-sufficiency, ultra catholic, containment-like policies bred parochialism and educational ineptitude (e.g. intelligent Catholics needing permission from their local priests to attend TCD – many not allowed. These people receiving poor education but bright, landing political jobs with no experience: easy mistakes made, more willing to to fall into corruption), which I think are two of the biggest factors in how corruption came to be so rife in politics and also why we needed the EU funding, loans – because up until the 1980s Ireland was bordering on third world status.

Of course the actions of the banks and politicians in our contemporary world are the reason that the country has been betrayed so heinously. But without DeValera leaving a bad legacy, it might not have been so easy for the banks to act the way they did. Partition issues aside, DeValera took what Collins had been fighting for and turned Ireland into a country at the mercy of the church, where women were actively encouraged to occupy the domestic sphere (even thought women were more or less treated as equals in the fight for Independence), where education and parochialism were inherently linked. And these problems – particularly the last one, which I personally think it one of the major reasons we’re in the situation we’re in now – these set Ireland up for the fall, as after DeValera’s death, politicians emulated his way of doing things.

I tend to romanticize Collins a little perhaps, thinking of him more as “driven” to committing his acts of terrorism. Funny how time allows me to justify his actions, yet the IRA and anything to do with them make me sick. But I will indulge my rose-tinted side and say that if Collins had lived and got into power, I think he was an intelligent man, and someone who understood the economy. I would like to think he wouldn’t have involved religion with government in any way and helped promote education for all.

I think sometimes of the wonderful renaissance of literature and culture that was going on in Ireland pre-civil war. Where did all that go? We lost so much of what made Ireland unique: progressive, exciting writing changed into a cult of “book burning”. Maybe Collins would have been no different, but I think his background would have reflected how he engaged with politics: making Ireland more than a pet project for himself, and rather a country that could stand alone, with an identity.

It is like comparing two different planets.

The situation with the Irish banks is the culmination of a lengthy process in the corruption of Irish politics. Michael Collins belongs to a different era – a different political culture & climate. This is the era of the backhander and brown envelope rather than the bullet and the sword and politics and political cultur that is typified by those that would lie and cheat to get elected and then drag their country down for a corporate donation to their party coffers or their own back pocket.
Of course the electorate has a part to play in all of this – people were not energized, votes were squandered by thoughtlessly supporting the party/politician who told the best lies or made the most attractive false promise. On the basis of these false promises we now have parties in government whose members stand in false reverence at the graves of Collins and Connelly. The biggest lie of all!

I love speculative waffle. If Jesus was around today he’d have been the first and second winner of the x factor. He’d also love the odd breakfast roll.

Nothing wrong with a breakfast roll

How does anyone know what a person would have thought ? ?

Tommy I think the former terrorist would have a fair bit to say as before he was a terrorist he worked in finance and was fairly good at it..he played a part in starting new ireland assurance and it proved to be very successful…his experience of matters financial were far superior to anyone in the current government

I honestly think he’s got more things to worry about! His daughter was kidnapped and trafficked into the sex industry over in Paris where he only had to rely on a est minute phone call from her and one of the men were in the end promised to look for him, find him then kill him

Is there really any point in speculating what someone from 90 plus years would do?

Change the name of the Anglo Irish treaty?

Lots of talk what Collins would have done about the bankers. What would he have done about the politicians? Am I alone in thinking that every political party leader in the state over the last 20 years should be put on trial for economic negligence (at best) or even wilful economic treason (at worst)?

It’s true that Collins probably wouldn’t have lost our sovereignty in the first place, but what do you do when sovereignty is already lost and you have to win it back?

If Collins were running things today he wouldn’t look to default, take us out of the euro or do anything else reckless. He’d prudently manage our finances, cut spending, raise some taxes and get the debt under control.

Thanks for this. I think our past heroes would indeed quake at the state of the Free State. I agree with CSEC BIO. After a period of standing alone, the men in mohair suits came along and the cute hoors sold off our sovreignity if it ever existed in the first place. Clientilism with multinationals and tweedle dum tweedle dee political culture basically annulled the political process. So I think that Mick would weep at the lack of distance travelled as a nation, only the post boxes’ colour changed. Maybe Connolly was right, Hold on to your rifles, boys. Easy for me to say in Olympic capital, Derrylondon. Peace.

Collins would have coolly looked at the options for the country, decided what was the perfect solution and acted to achieve it.

He was ruthless with anyone corrupt or dishonest; he would not have allowed the pyramid property scheme to have built up in the first place. If he had come to power after it had created its ruin, he would have sacked everyone involved and promoted people known for their stringency, and kept a strict oversight on financial dealings after that.

He would certainly not have been intimidated by the bankers as poor Lenihan was, and panicked into signing an open-ended guarantee that would bankrupt his country.

He,s be turning in his grave after what he fought and died for just got given away to the Germans to save the banks and give the employers €500,000 a year.

DISGUSTING!

R.I.P Michael Collins x

he would think that Glasnevin Cemetery is
in a mess overpriced parking charges, cafe charges
and unkept grounds
Better for a tourist to visit the Dunsink dump

The support is laughable, he was a very young man when he was killed, if he had lived he more than likely would have been corrupted himself sooner rather than later.

He’d scrap the treaty and instead negotiate our reunion with the UK. Our independence has been a disaster. Ruled by a corrupt political elite and out children abused by a theocratic pedophile infested clergy we have nothing to celebrate. Better we seek union with Britain before its too late. Germany is about to ditch us over the euro we need new allies

Collins had a habit of murdering people he disagreed with – this also goes for all of the 1916 gang of thugs.

Why do we care what a former “terrorist” would think with his voodoo economics?