Controversy Over Garret FitzGerald’s Praise for ‘Michael Collins’
When Neil Jordan’s biopic of Michael Collins premiered in 1996, it sparked significant controversy among historians and politicians who criticized its portrayal of the Irish rebel leader and the country’s war of independence. Critiques ranged from Liam Neeson’s depiction of the charismatic guerrilla leader and his romance with a character played by Julia Roberts to the film’s historical inaccuracies concerning the 1919-21 conflict with Britain and the subsequent Irish civil war.
Nearly three decades later, Jordan has brought new attention to an endorsement of his film by Ireland’s former Taoiseach, Garret FitzGerald. Jordan claims that FitzGerald anticipated payment from Warner Bros, the film’s producers, for an article praising the biopic. In the Irish Times on September 14, 1996, FitzGerald wrote an op-ed commending the film despite its historical liberties, noting its dramatic purposes and accurate portrayal of the era’s idealism, courage, heroism, and violence. “Neil Jordan merits our applause, and our gratitude,” he concluded.
Jordan’s forthcoming memoir recounts a conversation with FitzGerald, in which the former Taoiseach mentioned an unpaid invoice from Warner Bros. This revelation raises questions about FitzGerald’s motivations for writing the article. Known for his integrity, FitzGerald’s reputation included “puritanical propriety,” as noted by The Guardian in its obituary following his death in 2011.
Jordan expressed his shock at the encounter, though his memoir, “Amnesiac,” does not delve into the incident further. The biopic was widely acclaimed, winning two awards at the Venice Film Festival, including the Golden Lion, and achieving commercial success and positive reviews in the United States.
In his article, FitzGerald acknowledged his bias, having led Fine Gael, a party descended from Collins’s faction in the civil war, and admired Collins, who was assassinated in 1922. While he criticized the film’s artistic license and perceived unfairness to Éamon de Valera, he praised its authenticity, dramatic intensity, acting, and integrity. The article did not mention any payment from Hollywood.
Jordan recalled that Julian Senior, the head of Warner Bros in Europe at the time, had shown the film to journalists and FitzGerald. A Warner Bros spokesperson stated that it was impossible to verify any payment due to the time elapsed.
Mark FitzGerald, Garret’s son, insisted that his father, a man of great probity, would not have accepted an undisclosed payment. He emphasized his father’s integrity and noted that he was a full-time carer for his wife during that period, rarely leaving their Dublin home. Mark suggested that if the conversation with Jordan occurred, his father was likely joking, highlighting his father’s sense of humor, which Jordan might not have fully understood.
Garret FitzGerald, named after Michael Collins, was driven by a sense of unfinished work stemming from the 1916 Easter Rising in which Collins participated, according to his son.
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