Collins rose through the ranks of the Irish Volunteers and Sinn Féin after his release from Frongoch . He became a Teachta Dála for South Cork in 1918 , and was appointed Minister for Finance in the First Dáil . He was present when the Dáil convened on 21 January 1919 and declared the independence of the Irish Republic . In the ensuing War of Independence , he was Director of Organisation and Adjutant General for the Irish Volunteers , and Director of Intelligence of the Irish Republican Army . He gained fame as a guerrilla warfare strategist , planning and directing many successful attacks on British forces , such as the assassination of key British intelligence agents in November 1920
assassination of key British intelligence agents
Bloody Sunday (1920)
Michael Collins (Irish leader)