Michael Collins (Irish actor)

Collins spent most of his early life travelling around Offaly and Kildare with his family, often having to beg for scraps from households or take whatever they could find on the side of the road. The family would move into a halting site in Dublin in the 70’s where they’d stay for 20 years before moving into a mobile in Cavan. In 1985, Collins began acting when playwright Anton O’Flaherty, asked him to play a “Young Teddy Boy character called Rocky” In his play about Irish Travellers. Collins loved the idea so much, he said yes immediately. ^[2] He started learning about education in theatre at TEAM Educational Theatre Company in 1988 and took acting lessons at the Gaiety School of Acting in 1992. ^[3]

Collins has always been heavily involved in Traveller Activism. In 2012, Collins spoke about the discrimination he faced during a wrap party in a bar in Dublin with the cast and crew of King of the Travellers, where he was denied entry to said bar, due to his Traveller heritage. Collins claimed this was a normal occurrence for Irish Travellers and praised fellow actor Peter Coonan for defending him. ^[4]

Following the 2015 Carrickmines fire accident in Dublin, Ireland, Collins expressed his feelings on the situation, saying he was ‘weary and angry’ over the incident. ^[5] In 2016, he released the play 'Ireland Shed a Tear?' Which was a fictional storytelling for the aftermath of the fires. Michael spoke openly of his disapproval of how the situation had been handled, saying "These people shouldn't be forgotten and the way they were treated by Irish society and the Government is an Irish shame. I would call it an Irish shame.” ^[6] The play was produced as part of Dublin Theatre Festival 2016.

In 2005, Michael wrote the play ‘It's a Cultural Thing, or is it? - A Traveller in progress', a play based around his real life experiences as an Irish Traveller. He performed the play for five years across venues in both Ireland and the UK. ^[7]

In 2010, Collins wrote the play 'Worlds Apart' about the new communities in Ireland, and a young Traveller woman leaving her husband because of domestic violence. Collins is also frequently involved with Traveller Wagon Wheel Theatre Company, receiving an award from Social Entrepreneurs Ireland in recognition of his work with them in 2006. ^[8]

In 2022, Collins worked alongside researchers at TravAct in Coolock and Pavee Point Traveller and Roma Centre to create a map of traditional traveller spots in Coolock. ^[9] As part of the Traveller Pride celebrations in 2021, Collins filmed his reading of his poem ‘A Dignified Life’ Which explored the topics of culture, identity and discrimination experienced by members of the Travelling community. The project was supported by The Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth. ^[10]

Collins brought his one man play ‘Magpies on the Pylon’ to life in 2025, performing it in Kilkenny. The play is set in a tiny bedroom belonging to Jim, a Traveller father who struggles to cope with the suicide of his 23-year-old son. ^[11]