Say your prayers.
You know what it says, Kitty?
lt says, 'Give us the future. We've had enough of your past.'
The Lord is my shepherd....
''Give us our country back...
''...to live in...
''...to grow in...
''...to love. ''
So there is love there, Mick.
Hang on, Rosie.
Clean sheets, l think.
Come on!
So, Mick...
...flowers delivered.
Do you think they got the message?
Any casualties?
Are you deaf?
Broy.
Ned - fucking - Broy!
What are you talking about? Broy wasn't out.
They lifted him at Vaughan's.
What was he doing?
Oh, sweet mother of Jesus.
Can't risk it any longer, Mick.
Who'll give in first, Joe?
Us or them?
The body or the lash?
You look like a gangster!
You look like a ghost!
Welcome back, Harry!
How are you keeping?
Grand.
You're famous over there.
Where?
Over there, you thick.
So, how was America?
Great.
Dev never got to meet the President.
l didn't think he would.
How are you?
l'm grand.
Welcome back, chief.
The Big Fella sends his regards.
We'll see who is the big fella.
Apologies, gentlemen.
As you may know...
...we have had some communication from the British side.
There is a slim possibility...
...that they might want to talk.
But our...
...tactics...
...allowed the British press to paint us as murderers.
lf we are to negotiate as a legitimate government...
...our armed forces must act...
...like a legitimate army.
What exactly do you mean, Dev?
l mean large-scale engagements.
You mean, like in 1916?
The great heroic ethic of failure...
...marching to slaughter.
Why don't we save them the bother and blow our own brains out?
How dare you!
How did we get them to this point...
...to consider talking?
We brought them to their knees the only way we could!
They call us...
...murderers.
War is murder! Sheer, bloody murder!
Had you been here the past year, you'd know that!
l propose an assault...
...on the administrative center of British rule in lreland:
The Customs House.
Ashes to ashes, dust to dust.
How many lost?
6 dead, 70 taken! Bloody fiasco!
Christ, not again!
The guns!
We need the guns!
Leave them!
There's nothing we can do.
How much longer can we hold out?
Four weeks. But keep it a secret.
As little as that?
Unless we use bows and arrows.
Don't be flippant, Michael.
We nearly lost 80 men last week, Dev.
You tell him, Harry.
He's right, chief.
l lied.
You lied? About what?
We can't hold out for another week.
Christ! Do they know that?
Nobody knows.
Mick, Dev's negotiating.
Yes, so he doesn't know either.
lt's very important he doesn't know.
The world must believe we're invincible.
Maybe then we can talk.
Jesus Christ.
Kitty's down.
So l heard.
ls she down to see you or me?
Maybe both of us.
You take her down to Kingstown. Get some sea air.
No, why don't you take her?
No, you take her.
-No, you take her. -No, you do.
A horse called 'lrish Republic' ran at Donnybrook today.
What were the odds?
-50-to-1 . -Jesus, some odds, what?
There's 100,000 Tommies here and not 2,000 of us.
l'd say 50-to-1 is optimistic.
Optimistic or no...
...she won.
No, you're joking?
10 bob each way, that makes £25...
...plus the place money, £7,10.
So l won...
...£33,10, thank you very much.
Let the lrish Republic buy us dinner.
l know just where to go.
Which one of you will ask me to dance?
-Me, me, me, please! -No, l will. l will.
Heads, it's Harry. Tails, it's Mick.
-Kitty, may l have the pleasure? -The gangster wins again.
Watch his feet, Kitty.
Shut up, you.
l shouldn't have left, should l?
Why not?
l was a length ahead.
Now where am l?
lt's not a race, Harry.
Mind telling me what it is, then?
You without him...
...him without you...
...l can't imagine it.
Three-legged race.
Mick, where the hell have you been?
For God's sake, give me one free night to be a human being!
We looked all over! Have you heard?
No, l haven't heard!
Would the bloody lrish Republic leave me some time off?
lt's over!
What's over?
lt's over.
They called a truce.
lt's finished?
-The whole damn thing. -Yes.
We've won?
Lloyd George has thrown in the towel?
We've brought the British Empire to its knees?
Yes.
Why the fuck didn't you say so?
What was that horse called?
We did it! We did it! lt's a truce!
What?
You must be joking?
No. l won't do it.
l'm not a politician. l'm not going to London.
You're the strongest card we have.
They call me an assassin and a murderer!
Will Churchill even shake my hand?
We've broached it and had no objections.
You go, Dev.
You're the statesman.
You know how far we can push them. They know you.
That's the point. They don't know you.
Don't do this to me, Dev. Don't do it.
l'm no good at talk. l'm a yob from West Cork.
Please!
You'll head our team, Michael...
...to negotiate a treaty for the first time in history...
...between lreland and England.
We need to keep a final arbitrator in reserve.
You.
That will be the lrish people.
And me...
...as president of the lrish Republic.
Why does he want me there?
Why?
-You put the fear of God into them. -Save me the bullshit.
Mick, you are the strongest card we have.
What's he up to?
-What are you talking about? -l have one simple asset.
All these years, no one knows what l look like.
Which one of you is Michael Collins?
He is.
That's him.
The small fella.
'From your very own plenipotentiary, to the provisions of the said document...
'...hereinafter to be referred to as The Letter:
'They didn't defeat us by force of arms...
'...but now they'll try to do it by force of verbiage.
'The English language wasn't meant to be spoken like that.
'How did these people ever get to run an empire?'
Don't.
Why not?
'Cause you'll get hurt.
How will l get hurt?
l'm in love with him.
l'm sorry.
l have to tell you.
Have you told him?
No.
And maybe l never will.
l'm only telling you because l can't hurt you.
Lucky Mick.
I did my best, Kitty, but it won't be good enough.
We'll have an Irish Free State, instead of an Irish Republic.
We'll have our own government.
But we have to swear allegiance to the English Crown.
The position of the north will be reviewed...
...but now it remains part of the British Empire.
This treaty isjust a steppingstone.
I hope the country sees it as such.
How are you?
ls this true?
lt's the best anyone could have got.
This gives up the north...
...divides the country.
You expect us to give an oath of allegiance to the Crown?
They can't comprehend giving us the Republic.
And that's why Dev sent me.
What?
He knew we'd get no Republic.
He wanted me to bring back the bad news.
We can use the lrish Free State to achieve the Republic we want.
lt's either this or war.
l won't go to war over words.
What if it's war either way, Mick?
You published the terms without my agreement!
-They were the best we could get. -ln your opinion!
You sent me there knowing they were the best we'd get.
-ldle speculation. -No, it's the truth.
Or else you'd have gone yourself.
We don't have the Republic...
...but freedom to achieve it. Peacefully.
Surely it's time for peace.
What would you know about peace?
You said we could negotiate on behalf of our government...
...the D il and the lrish people.
lf they reject it, l'll reject it.
lf they stand by it, l'll stand by it.
l want to know you'll do the same.
Will you come in for a pint?
He's read the papers.
Say something, would you?
l've known the two of you for four years.
You've slept together, lived together, fought together.
But your war is over now.
What if it's just the beginning?
Christ.
l'd be better off in Longford.
We were elected by the people of lreland...
We were elected by the people.
Did they think we were liars when we meant to uphold the lrish Republic?
The letters preceding the negotiations...
...not once demanded recognition of the lrish Republic!
We knew it would have been refused!
So Mr. Collins is asking us...
...to accept an oath of allegiance to a foreign king...
...and the partition...
...and the partition of the northern part of the country!
Mr. Collins, the man who won the recent war...
...has himself described the treaty...
...as a steppingstone toward the ultimate freedom!
Mr. Griffith has described Mr. Collins as the man who won the war!
Point of order, Mr. Chairman.
Are we discussing the treaty or myself?
The minister does not like what l say!
Anything about me, say it!
Mr. Collins, your position in the army...
...was as chief of one subsection.
Nobody sought notoriety except you!
Come on, Cathal!
One person was held up by the press...
...and put into a position he never held.
He was made a romantic figure...
...a mystical character...
...which he certainly is not!
The person l refer to is Michael Collins!
l would plead...
...with every person here.
Make me a scapegoat, if you will. Call me a traitor, if you will.
But please, let's save the country.
The alternative to this treaty is a war...
...which nobody in this gathering can even contemplate.
lf the price of freedom...
...the price of peace, is blackening my name...
...l will gladly pay it.
Thank you.
The result, ladies and gentlemen...
...is 64 to 57.
A majority of seven...
...in favor of the treaty.
There is one thing l want to say.
l want it to go...
...to the country...
...and to the world.
And it is this:
The lrish people established the Republic.
lt can only...
...be disestablished...
...by the lrish people.
As a protest...
...against the ratification of this treaty...
...which can only subvert...
...the Republic...
...l...
...and my deputies...
...are leaving this house.
Traitors!
Traitors, all!
Not you, Harry.
All right, you've won.
You always win, Mr. Collins.
Rarely, Miss Kiernan.
Very rarely.
Jesus, l hate you.
Sure. Join the club.
You're seven minutes late, Mr. Collins.
You've kept us waiting 700 years.
You can have your seven minutes.
Let's get this over with.
Company, present arms!
So that's what caused all the bother?
Now what?
Do l get to wear that hat?
This treaty...
...bars the way to the Republic...
...with the blood...
...of fellow lrishmen!
lf it is only with civil war...
...that we can get our independence...
...then so be it!
The Volunteers...
...will have to wade through lrish blood...
...through the blood of some members of this government...
...in order to get...
...lrish freedom!
After 700 years....
Let him speak!
Kitty, don't!
Leave him be!
You put the heart across me, Kitty.
l like the sound of your voice.
They won't accept the treaty.
No matter how the vote goes.
You heard what de Valera said.
'And to wade through rivers of blood....'
And who's blood you think he's talking about?
Yours.
Will you marry me?
Yeah.
You will?
lt's that simple?
Yeah.
Who gave you that, you little runt?
What's all this about?
-We've taken over the Four Courts. -You fucking fool!
Mind your language.
You'll start a civil war!
We'll defend the Republic.
These kids don't know guns!
-We know how to train them. -The way l trained you?
-On whose orders? -The Volunteer Executive.
Dev's part of it?
His half of it?
Go away home to your mothers, all of you!
You know what this means?
The army's split down the middle.
-Who's in there? -Mellowes, Lynch...
...Tom Barry, Oscar Traynor.
Keep it off.
Why?
There's a gunman outside by the railings.
Jesus' sake.
They won't shoot me, then.
Jesus, what are you doing to me?
They can shoot us, but they can't get us.
-What are you talking about? -lt's not possible.
l'm going to live to see you old.
l am old.
Old enough to see your hair turn grey.
l come from a long line of baldies.
Bald, then.
l can live with that.
l will not fight against men l trained with, l fought with!
The people have spoken for the treaty you brought home!
They've occupied the Four Courts, Limerick, Cork. lt's anarchy.
Better anarchy than civil war!
-Churchill offered artillery! -He can do his own dirty work!
Maybe he will, Michael.
Maybe he will.
Stop!
-lt's not safe-- -Do as you're told.
Harry, talk to me, will you?
l don't want any bullshit, Mick.
Neither do l.
Come upstairs.
ls it true what l heard?
You're engaged?
Should l apologize for that, too?
No, no, no.
l'm happy for you both.
Me arse. You don't look it.
Maybe l don't, but l'm trying.
Do you understand? l'm trying.
l miss the way it used to be.
Me too.
l hear you're Dev's right-hand man.
Well, l suppose that's how it goes.
We were too dangerous together.
Know the funny thing, Harry?
For the first time in my life, l'm scared.
The Big Fella, scared?
l hate to say it, Mick, but you've a right to be.
You don't understand me.
You told me once l was good at bloody mayhem.
Right.
l left the Brits in the halfpenny place.
That's what l'm scared of, because once l start...
...there'll be no stopping me.
Don't let it start, then.
Tear up that treaty.
lt's the only thing we've got.
So, then it starts.
What?
We fight.
They fight. We don't.
You've said what you had to say and you can go now.
Listen, you don't know what you're saying!
l have nothing more to say to you!
-Do it! -Put the gun down!
Save us all a lot of bother. Do it!
Put the gun down.
Do you not hear me! l said put the gun down!
Get out!
-Do it! -Fire!
How would you like a new boss, Joe?
Check the other side.
What happened?
They shot their way to the Catacombs. He thinks Harry was with them.
-Let's go. -Mick, it's not safe!
We'll never get through!
Stop!
Come on! Come on!
Calm down! lt's the Big Fella!
What happened?
Who closed your eyes?
He tried to run across the river, sir. l plugged him.
l didn't ask you. l asked him.
You asked who?
l fucking asked him!
-But he's dead, sir. -And you killed him, you little git!
You plugged him, you Free State gob-shite!
-You were meant to protect him! -He was one of them, sir!
No, sonny! You don't understand.
He was one of us.
Go on!
Back to your posts.
The papers said his last words were:
'Have they got Mick Collins yet?'
You know it's not true, Mick.
l don't know anything, anymore.
Tell Dev Mick wants to talk. Nothing more, nothing less.
Not in Dublin.
Where, then?
West Cork...
...there might be a chance.
He'd never get out of there alive.
Doesn't he come from there?
That's bandit country.
They're bandits he trained, aren't they?
Maybe. But Mick doesn't know the new boys.
He'll have to get to know them now.
Gentlemen.
What time is it?
Seven. Have you been here all night?
Any news?
They say if you went to Cork there might be a possibility.
Fuck!
What do you think?
We've cleared them out except for West Cork.
They wouldn't kill me in my own county.
How would you like a new boss, Joe?
Still, be nice to go home.
-You'd be crazy to go. -So, l'm crazy.
Get the convoy together.
Go on.
-What? -Here. For the cough.
Here. New handkerchief.
Go on! You're like an old clucking hen, fussing all the time!
Sweet suffering Jesus!
lf you're going down, l'm going too.
That's where it all started, Joe.
Fenian stories by the fireside.
That's your home?
Was, till the Tans burned it.
What are you doing here, Mick?
Haven't l a civil war to run?
Come on! lt's my round.
Come to flog us that bloody treaty, have you?
l'm flogging fuck-all. l've come to buy.
Drinks for the county on me.
Come on, four pints.
ls it him?
Looks like it.
Looks like he wants to meet.
Can l trust him?
Can you trust anyone these days, chief?
'Oh, well do l remember...
'...the year of '48
'When l rose with comrades brave and true
'l was hunted through the hills by slaves
'Who served a foreign queen
''And that's
''Another reason why
''I left old Skibereen''
Say it to me, kid.
Put it away, Joe.
Who the fuck are you?
Who the fuck am l?
l'm the fucker that asked to meet Dev.
And who's Dev?
And who are you?
lf l did know this Dev, what would you say to him?
Tell him...
...Harry Boland's death was enough.
Tell him Mick Collins wants to stop this bloody mayhem.
Tell him l'm sorry l didn't bring back the Republic.
But nobody could have!
He was my chief, always.
l'd have followed him to hell if he'd asked me.
And maybe l did.
But it's not worth fighting for anymore.
We've got to build with what we have!
You tell him that.
Where can he find you?
Here.
So, l take it you heard?
Jesus, Mick.
God forgive us, Harry.
Have you got any reply?
He's come all this way.
Be rude not to give him an answer.
Well?
He says he'll meet you tomorrow.
What's wrong with now?
His nerves are at him.
Beal Na Blath. A farmhouse to the left on the Bandon side.
Around 12:00.
Hey kid...what's your name?
Little snot.
Beal Na Blath?
Should l ask them all to the wedding?
Do you think that'd fix it?
Be a big bloody wedding, Mick.
We'll invite the whole country. Marital diplomacy.
Dev as best man. Lloyd George, Winston Churchill as bridesmaids.
What's up?
We're stopped?
Roadblock.
Move it!
Get those carts off the road!
How long?
Two minutes.
Jeez, they're trying to fucking kill me.
Get down!
Give it to me! Get off!
No! Jeez, Mick!
Talk to me!
Don't go!
Don't go, Mick!
Jesus, don't go on us, Mick! Please!
Miss Kiernan?
l'm sorry.
l just heard.
l'm sorry.
That's why he died, Kitty.
He knew the risk he was taking to go there.
But he thought it worth taking.
He took them for us.
For every gob-shite in this country, no matter what side.
lf he saw you now, know what he'd say?
'Get off the parliamentary side of your arse and get some color.'
He would have said it better, Joe.
'No regrets, Kit.' That's what he'd say.
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