Michael Collins and the Women Who Spied for Ireland is the first book to concentrate on the crucial role played by women in Collins's personal and working life. From his boyhood in an overwhelmingly female household in West Cork, women brought out the best in him and he brought out the best in them. Susan Killeen, his first girlfriend, remained a steadfast ally throughout his life. From 1917, his girlfriend, Madeline (Dilly) Dicker, helped to ease the burden of his huge workload as well as acting as a secret agent. Society ladies Moya Llewelyn Davies and Lady Hazel Lavery were conduits between Collins and the British Establishment and active participants in his work of espionage. In the final years of his life the true romantic passion between him and Kitty Kiernan is testified to by their frequent correspondence.These women, and many others who participated in the national struggle, women such as Kathleen Clarke, Leslie Price, Peg Barrett, Nancy O'Brien, Madge Hales and Collins' sister Mary Collins Powell, are woven into this fascinating narrative of Collins' life.
Behind every great man ... From the day he was born Michael Collins was blessed by the women who surrounded him. Never was this truer than in the perilous years from 1916 to 1922 when, whether smuggling messages, spying on the British government or protecting him from arrest, Collins' women played a crucial role in his revolutionary activities. While the infamous Squad worked on one side of Collins' intelligence network, on the other a diverse range of women toiled behind the scenes. SinZad Mason, his loyal and intrepid personal secretary, saved him from arrest on several occasions while he was on the run; Madeline (Dilly) Dicker acted as a secret agent; Lt. G. (Lily Mernin) fed him confidential documents on troop movements, their strength and armaments. Society ladies Moya Llewelyn Davies and Lady Hazel Lavery were conduits between Collins and the British. In the frequent correspondence between Michael and Kitty Kiernan, we get a glimpse of romantic passion in the midst of the turmoil. The portraits of these women, and many others who participated in the struggle for independence, are woven into this fascinating narrative of the life of an Irish legend: Michael Collins.
