On this day 103 years ago, August 22, 1922 (June 30, 1922), Michael Collins, the head of the Irish government, was ambushed and killed. Michael Collins August 22, 1922 Michael Collins, the head of the provisional government of the Irish Free State and the commander of the Irish National Army, was ambushed and killed today in his hometown of County Cork. Collins, 31, was shot and killed by a group of men in a motorcade bound for a hill near Bandon. This is believed to be the work of the Republicans. Collins, who promoted negotiations between Ireland and the United Kingdom to establish a free state, had been attacked several times before. His death is presumed to be revenge for the killing of Harry J. Boland. Mr. Boland was a close friend of Mr. Collins but an opponent of the Anglo-Irish treaty. Mr. Collins, who led the guerrilla war against Britain, was on a military tour of south-west Ireland. His death was the second serious blow to the Irish Free State government this month. On August 12, Arthur Griffiths, the president of the House of Representatives, died suddenly of a heart attack. In the new Irish Free State, Mr. Griffiths was considered a think tank and Mr. Collins a military genius.