Michael Collins (Irish leader)
In the months leading up to the outbreak of civil war in June 1922, Collins tried to heal the split in the nationalist movement and prevent civil war. De Valera, having opposed the Treaty in the Dáil, withdrew from the assembly with his supporters. Collins secured a compromise, "The Collins/De Valera Pact", whereby the two factions of Sinn Féin, pro- and anti-Treaty, would fight the soon-to-be Free State's first election jointly and form a coalition government afterwards. This Pact was agreed without Griffith's knowledge and he opposed it as a potential betrayal of the Treaty. For a time it appeared that a split would occur in the pro-Treaty ranks but Griffith relented realizing that Collins held all the power. His friendship with Collins did not survive.