BBC - Infamous Assassinations (2007) Part 17 Michael Collins

Get ready to witness the 20th Century's most damaging and outrageous assassination attempts, first-hand. From the assassination of John F Kennedy to the gunning down of Mahatma Gandhi, the tragic shooting of John Lennon to the brutal bombing of one of Hitler's henchmen, the BBC series Infamous Assassinations brings you as close to the killers as the cameramen themselves - which sometimes means just a few feet.

Using rare archive footage and reconstructions, each episode of this BBC documentary series focuses on a different story, from attacks on royalty, politicians and guerrilla leaders to media personalities who all, for one reason or another, stepped in the way of an assassin determined to bring their life to an end. Many of their motives have remained shrouded in mystery. Until now…

Part 17: Assassination of Michael Collins

Eire, 1922

One of the most charismatic leaders in the struggle for Irish independence from British rule, Michael Collins came to realise that only compromise could secure southern Ireland's independence and peace. Many of his former colleagues disagreed and, on 22 August 1922, as newly-independent Eire lapsed into civil war, Collins was gunned down in an ambush.