A Tale of Two Irishmen



Liam Neeson's inspiring performance
 in the film Michael Collins



Earlier this week, in anticipation for my family’s trip to Ireland, my parents and I watched a movie called Michael Collins.  This movie details the true story of the title character and his leadership in the early 20^th century Irish revolution.  Michael Collins fought in the Easter Rising of 1916 and henceforth played a major role in fighting against the oppression of the United Kingdom.  The English rule over Ireland was, in a word, ridiculous; simply to assert their authority, the British crown would find any way to tax Irish citizens.  For example, they taxed the amount of light entering a citizen’s house.  As I said: ridiculous.  So when Michael Collins led his band of revolutionists against the British rule and their policemen-like representatives in the island called “G” men, much of Ireland regarded Collins as a hero.  This little history lesson provides a clear parallel between Irish history and the tale of Michael Collins and Ken Kesey’s One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest and its protagonist, R.P. McMurphy.  I cannot help but think Kesey didn’t have Michael Collins in mind when he created his hero, McMurphy.  His Irish surname, red hair, boisterous personality, and assertive and brash nature create a grand comparison to Collins.  In addition, the manner in which he went about fighting Nurse Ratched and the oppressive forces of the Combine greatly resemble Collins’ tactics of persuading the Irish masses to join him against the U.K. and only because he found it necessary to get his point across to the “G” men, used violence.  In Michael Collins, the title character says to rally a group to support him, “if they shut me up, who will take my place?”  I believe this inspirational question mirrors McMurphy’s behavior in trying to pass on his brave strength to the rest of the patients, the way he gave Chief Bromden self-confidence to speak and other members independence on their fishing adventure.  He needed someone to take his place because he knew the fight against Nurse Ratched embodied more than a personal quarrel and he needed someone to carry it out when he left.  Unfortunately, both heroic leaders of these revolutions died untimely deaths, acting as martyrs for each cause.  After Collins negotiated with Great Britain and created the Anglo-Irish Treaty, a controversial treaty that established the Republic of Ireland as a free state, but kept Northern Ireland under British jurisdiction, a member of treaty opposition murdered the Irish leader.  To parallel with the fictional Irishman, McMurphy, Bromden killed him after he had carried out his plan to free many of the patients, emotionally and physically, from the rule of Nurse Ratched.  These figures present the heroic idea to stand up and fight for what you believe in to bring life and freedom to the downtrodden.  I leave with another quote from the movie that could very well apply to McMurphy and his loyal followers: “life without him seems impossible. But he’s dead. And life is possible. He made it possible.”