Collins's diaries are not the diaries many people might be expecting. Published here for the very first time, they are pocket appointment bookscum- to-do lists, the working diaries of someone in the midst of the extraordinary times he was central to, but also the diaries of an everyday life, with dental appointments to endure and football matches to enjoy. In short accessible illustrated chapters the life of one of the great leaders of Ireland is revealed. Michael Collins (1890 1922), was born in Co. Cork, he was a staff captain in the GPO in 1916, and emerged as a leading figure during his internment in Frongoch camp. As the Director of Organisation with the Irish Volunteers, he masterminded their campaign in the Anglo-Irish war (1919-21). Having signed the Anglo-Irish Treaty, in 1922 he became chairman of the Provisional Government and commander-in-chief of the National Army. He was killed in an ambush in Co. Cork on 22 August 1922.