The Michael Collins who fought for Irish freedom and the Michael Collins who piloted the Apollo XI command module during the 1969 moon landings had more than just a name in common. Family lore has it that, newly arrived in Cincinnati, the emigrant served as a drummer boy in the civil war. The oldest child, James Lawton Collins, became father of the astronaut, but in his own right was an army general, another echo of the Cork Collins. James Lawton Collins had inherited his father’s way with horses: he was a skilled polo player and a shrewd judge of breeding. This might be why he was also invoked in print after the death of the other Michael Collins – a fire carrier too, in a way–- in 1922.

Source: The Irish Times June 20, 2019 17:26 UTC