The Big Fellow

The Big Fellow is a 1937 biography of the famed Irish leader, Michael Collins, by Frank O'Connor. The Big Fellow covers the period of Collins's life from the Easter Rising in 1916 to his death during the Irish Civil War in 1922. Unlike most conventional biographies of famous leaders, O'Connor establishes a clear goal in portraying Collins's character and human qualities above his major achievements. O'Connor, having served with the Anti-Treaty fa... more

The Big Fellow is a 1937 biography of the famed Irish leader, Michael Collins, by Frank O'Connor. The Big Fellow covers the period of Collins's life from the Easter Rising in 1916 to his death during the Irish Civil War in 1922. Unlike most conventional biographies of famous leaders, O'Connor establishes a clear goal in portraying Collins's character and human qualities above his major achievements. O'Connor, having served with the Anti-Treaty faction during the Irish Civil War, wrote The Big Fellow as a form of reparation over the guilt he felt with regards to taking up arms against his fellow Irishmen and Collins's untimely death. less