It's fitting that a week after the most recent season of the Tommy Tiernan Show ended, RTÈ has decided to show Neil Jordan's famous biopic of 'The Big Fellah'.
Of course, during the most recent season of the chatshow, the Oscar-winning director was a guest on the show but during the conversation, the 1996 film never came up in discussion.
Well, for those that haven't seen it or those that fancy rewatching it for the 137th time, the drama which charts the rise and fall of one of the most important and controversial figures in Ireland's struggle for independence will air at 9.30pm on RTE1.
With Reeling in The Years (8.30 on RTE1), Line of Duty (9pm on BBC1) and the wonderful The Big Short (9pm RTE2) all being shown tonight, audiences really are spoiled for choice.
As for Michael Collins, the stories behind the making of it are legendary with The Carlisle Grounds in Bray standing in for Croke Park during the filming of the Bloody Sunday massacre, classes being given the day off from school to go and watch the film when it was released in the cinema, and the shootout at The Four Courts causing traffic in Dublin to come to a standstill.
Let's just not mention some of the more "liberal interpretations" the script takes with the actual historical events because when viewed solely as a piece of entertainment, the film still stands up.
Prior to this adaptation, the story of Collins could have been told very differently with Michael Cimino (director of The Deer Hunter) scheduled to direct. Elsewhere, the likes of Kevin Costner, Gabriel Byrne, Richard Harris and Robert Redford were all linked to a feature on Collins, either as directors or stars.
At the time of its release, the film was a massive hit with Irish audiences and became the highest-grossing film ever in Irish history and since then, Neil Jordan's drama has taken on a life of its own as it's a beloved classic with Irish film fans.
You can see why when Michael Collins airs at 9.30pm on RTE1.
