ABSTRACT
During the Anglo-Irish War, the Dail or Irish government formed several clandestine ministries and government departments which operated in secret. One of the most successful of these was the Ministry of Finance, under Michael Collins. Collins established rudimentary payment systems for clandestine Irish government workers, auditing and accountability of ministries and departments; made the Ministry of Finance pivotal in the structure of the Irish government; secretly managed and dispersed the funds available to the nascent Irish state; supported the ongoing independence struggle; attempted international arms purchases (risky and usually unsuccessful) and explored possible trade markets for the future.
It is due to Michael Collins’ massive efforts and work in the Ministry of Finance that the clandestine Irish government functioned as it did during the Anglo-Irish War, that an embryonic government and fiscal system of the future Irish Free state was established, and a fledgling Irish diplomatic service was established and funded. Above all the nascent Irish state and its guerrilla forces were able to continue and survive the independence struggle.
