This thesis examines the socially and culturally defined character of masculinities through a case study of the heroic legacy of Michael Collins. Utilising a mu ltidisciplinary methodology the study investigates; both biographical and prominent written historical material, Neil Jordan’s movie, Collins’ contribution to the Treaty debates o f 1921-22, his private correspondence with Kitty Kiernan and a selection of remembrance rhetoric pertaining to him over the course of the twentieth century. This treatise interprets Michael Collins from a different perspective than previous analyses. The methodology is fashioned by a desire to develop a more substantial and comprehensive body of material that addresses the histories of masculinities in Ireland. Priority is given to determining the influence of socially and culturally defined expectations of masculinities on conceptualisations and perceptions of the heroic image and conversely for the influence and relevance this image has for the historical identity of Michael Collins. The dissertation addresses the complex and socially determined political nature of that composition, where politics is understood firstly as the social and cultural intricacies that influence gender configuration, and secondly as the ideology of political power. In six chapters, an outline, contextualisation and examination of the selected sources are undertaken incorporating the use of contemporary theories of masculinities and comparative histories o f masculinities studies. The application of prominent interdisciplinary theoretical and comparative material that informs the composite nature of masculinities is also employed. These are discussed and set in context in the specific methodologies of the relevant chapters. Careful consideration is directed towards discovering definable male characteristics that appear so obvious as to render their gendered significance invisible to conventional historical analysis.