28 August 1922,
At the funerals of Irish leader Michael Collins some half a million Irish met. Independence against the British was one of the most important men in the IRA during the war. In 1921 he was in favour of the Anglo-Irish Peace Treaty, although this meant, among other things, dividing Ireland into two. This treaty led to the Irish civil war and was murdered by the Irish against the treaty.
Source:
Tim Pat Coogan, The Man Who Made Ireland.