The Twelve Apostles: Michael Collins, the Squad, and Ireland's Fight for Freedom by Tim Pat Coogan; Michael Collins (Credit: Getty/Hulton Archive/Skyhorse Publishing) Excerpted with permission from The Twelve Apostles: Michael Collins, the Squad, and Ireland’s Fight for Freedom by Tim Pat Coogan. It is my contention that Michael Collins was one of the most extraordinary men ever to have been born in Ireland.