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Eamon DeValera Back to Ireland Main |
EAMON DEVALERA: AN IRISH LEADER
Foreword: Eamon DeValera was one of the most important figures in the
history of Ireland. His relationship with the people of the country was often
strained and his attitude and motives have frequently puzzled historians
throughout this century. The fact remains however, that without his involvement
in the Irish Nationalist movement the course of Irish history would have been
radically different.
He was born in New York on the 14th of October in 1882 to Catherine Coll (a
young Irish immigrant from County Limerick) and Juan Vivion DeValera (an
immigrant of Spanish origin).
Little is known of his early childhood except that his family moved from
America in 1885 to Ireland where the young Eamon studied at Blackrock
College in Dublin and was largely reared by his Grandmother. He studied
languages and mathematics and was, like Michael Collins, a student of
English Rule in Ireland. The early 1900s was a time of the great Gaelic cultural
revival in Ireland as literature, drama, sport and the language of the Gaelic
nation were all revived.
The main spearhead of the revival was The Gaelic League which he joined in
1908. He was greatly influenced by the League and learned the Irish language
whilst immersing himself in the Gaelic culture. The Gaelic League was an
obvious recruiting ground for the various revolutionary organisations of the
time and it was not long before DeValera became a member of the Irish
Republican Brotherhood. DeValera was second in command to Thomas
MacDonagh of the Dublin Brigade during the Easter Rising of 1916.
The Rising failed and the seven leaders, MacDonagh and Pearse among
them, were executed, along with 9 other rebels. DeValera was also sentenced
to death as an organiser of the revolt but was to escape the firing squad
because of the confusion surrounding his ancestry (the English authorities did
not want to risk the execution of an American citizen).
DeValera was elected as the leader of Sinn Fein upon his release and set
about the formation of an Irish parliament (the Dáil). He was arrested in 1918
for subversion and imprisoned in England in Lincoln prison. With the help of
Michael Collins he escaped to America to raise both funds for and
consciousness about, the Irish plight. In his absence the War of
Independence was being waged by Collins. The English Prime Minister of the
time was Lloyd George who wanted to see an end to the violence.
DeValera returned to negotiate with Lloyd George and soon realised that his
ambition of a free and independent Ireland would not be granted. He returned
home and sent a delegation led by Michael Collins to negotiate a settlement.
The subsequent Anglo-Irish Treaty was ratified by the Dáil in 1922 but
DeValera opposed both the partition of the country and the Oath of Allegiance
to the English crown that the Treaty required. A bloody Civil War followed which
saw both the defeat of the Anti-Treaty side, led by DeValera, and the death of
Michael Collins.
DeValera was again imprisoned but released in 1926 when he formed the
Fianna Fáil party. He now attempted to achieve his aims by the use of
constitutional politics. By 1932 he had removed the Oath of Allegiance and
sought about establishing an independent Ireland. He created an Irish
Constitution in 1937 but an Irish Republic was not declared because of the
partition of the country.
DeValera resisted both bribes and threats from Churchill during the war years,
('the emergency'), and it was not until the Costello led Government declared a
Republic in 1948 that the effects of the Anglo-Irish Treaty were finally removed
from the Southern part of Ireland. Partition remained.
DeValera was Taoiseach of Ireland for much of the fifties and on 25 June,
1959 he was inaugurated as President of Ireland, a position he held for 14
years. He retired in 1973 and died shortly afterwards, on 29th August 1975 at
the age of 92.
Éamon de Valera Timeline 1882–1975
Download a Biography in PDF format
The text of the 1937 Constitution of Ireland is available in PDF format as
amended to 2004.
The constitution contained a number of reforms and symbols intended to
assert Irish sovereignty. These included:
* the anti-partition articles needlessly antagonised Unionists in Northern
Ireland, while simultaneously attracting criticism from hardline republicans by
recognising the de facto situation.
* similarly, the recognition of the "special position" of the Catholic Church
was inconsistent with the identity and aspirations of northern Protestants
(leading to its repeal in the 1970s - though the religious articles were praised
by some Protestants and Irish Jews at the time) while simultaneously falling
short of the demands of hardline Catholics and the Church for Catholicism to
be explicitly made the state religion.
* the affirmation of Irish as the national and primary official language neither
reflected contemporary realities nor led to the language's revival
* though the King was removed from the text of the constitution, he retained a
leading role in the state's foreign affairs, and the legal position of the President
of Ireland was accordingly uncertain; there was also concern that the
presidency would evolve into a dictatorial position
* elements of Catholic social teaching incorporated into the text, such as the
articles on the role of women, the family and divorce, were inconsistent both
with the practice of the Protestant minority and with contemporary liberal
opinion
Ireland was declared a Republic on 18 April 1949 by Taoiseach, John A.
Costello. The state adopted an official description, the Republic of Ireland
while keeping its name, Ireland.[20] In doing so Ireland left the
Commonwealth. The last constitutional links to the United Kingdom had finally
been cut, ironically not by the revolutionary de Valera.
Foreword: Eamon DeValera was one of the most important figures in the
history of Ireland. His relationship with the people of the country was often
strained and his attitude and motives have frequently puzzled historians
throughout this century. The fact remains however, that without his involvement
in the Irish Nationalist movement the course of Irish history would have been
radically different.
He was born in New York on the 14th of October in 1882 to Catherine Coll (a
young Irish immigrant from County Limerick) and Juan Vivion DeValera (an
immigrant of Spanish origin).
Little is known of his early childhood except that his family moved from
America in 1885 to Ireland where the young Eamon studied at Blackrock
College in Dublin and was largely reared by his Grandmother. He studied
languages and mathematics and was, like Michael Collins, a student of
English Rule in Ireland. The early 1900s was a time of the great Gaelic cultural
revival in Ireland as literature, drama, sport and the language of the Gaelic
nation were all revived.
The main spearhead of the revival was The Gaelic League which he joined in
1908. He was greatly influenced by the League and learned the Irish language
whilst immersing himself in the Gaelic culture. The Gaelic League was an
obvious recruiting ground for the various revolutionary organisations of the
time and it was not long before DeValera became a member of the Irish
Republican Brotherhood. DeValera was second in command to Thomas
MacDonagh of the Dublin Brigade during the Easter Rising of 1916.
The Rising failed and the seven leaders, MacDonagh and Pearse among
them, were executed, along with 9 other rebels. DeValera was also sentenced
to death as an organiser of the revolt but was to escape the firing squad
because of the confusion surrounding his ancestry (the English authorities did
not want to risk the execution of an American citizen).
DeValera was elected as the leader of Sinn Fein upon his release and set
about the formation of an Irish parliament (the Dáil). He was arrested in 1918
for subversion and imprisoned in England in Lincoln prison. With the help of
Michael Collins he escaped to America to raise both funds for and
consciousness about, the Irish plight. In his absence the War of
Independence was being waged by Collins. The English Prime Minister of the
time was Lloyd George who wanted to see an end to the violence.
DeValera returned to negotiate with Lloyd George and soon realised that his
ambition of a free and independent Ireland would not be granted. He returned
home and sent a delegation led by Michael Collins to negotiate a settlement.
The subsequent Anglo-Irish Treaty was ratified by the Dáil in 1922 but
DeValera opposed both the partition of the country and the Oath of Allegiance
to the English crown that the Treaty required. A bloody Civil War followed which
saw both the defeat of the Anti-Treaty side, led by DeValera, and the death of
Michael Collins.
DeValera was again imprisoned but released in 1926 when he formed the
Fianna Fáil party. He now attempted to achieve his aims by the use of
constitutional politics. By 1932 he had removed the Oath of Allegiance and
sought about establishing an independent Ireland. He created an Irish
Constitution in 1937 but an Irish Republic was not declared because of the
partition of the country.
DeValera resisted both bribes and threats from Churchill during the war years,
('the emergency'), and it was not until the Costello led Government declared a
Republic in 1948 that the effects of the Anglo-Irish Treaty were finally removed
from the Southern part of Ireland. Partition remained.
DeValera was Taoiseach of Ireland for much of the fifties and on 25 June,
1959 he was inaugurated as President of Ireland, a position he held for 14
years. He retired in 1973 and died shortly afterwards, on 29th August 1975 at
the age of 92.
Éamon de Valera Timeline 1882–1975
- Birth 14 October 1882 in New York.
- 1885 Sent by his mother to live with her family in Ireland.
- 1904 Graduates from the Royal University of Ireland.
- 1908 Joins the Gaelic League.
- 1910 8 January marries Sinéad Flanagan.
- 1913 25 November: Joins Irish Volunteers.
- 1916 24 April: Commander in Bolands Mills during the Easter Rising.
Later sentenced to death for participation but death sentence not
carried out - 1917 Joins Sinn Féin and replaces long-time leader Arthur Griffith as
president. Elected MP for East Clare but refuses to take his seat in the
House of Commons. - 1918 November Elected MP in 1918 general election.
- 1919 1 April: Elected Príomh Aire (chief minister) of the new Dáil
Éireann, the assembly formed by a majority of Irish MPs. Forms his first
government. May Travels to the United States to lobby on behalf of the
Irish Republic. - 1921 July: Irish and British government call truce. October–December:
Envoys Plenipotentiary negotiate Anglo-Irish Treaty. December Dáil,
against de Valera's advice, approves Treaty. De Valera resigns as
president. Seeks re-election but is defeated. - 1922–1923 Irish Civil War
- 1926 March: Leaves Sinn Féin and sets up his own republican party,
Fianna Fáil. - 1927 Faced with disqualification from contesting elections, takes the
Oath of Allegiance and enters Free State Dáil. - 1932 Forms his first Free State government.
- 1937 Enactment of new constitution, Bunreacht na hÉireann,
becomes Taoiseach for the first time. - 1948 Loses power for the first time in the modern Irish state.
- 1951 Re-elected as Taoiseach.
- 1954 Loses power for the second time.
- 1957 Re-elected as Taoiseach for the last time.
- 1959 Elected as President of Ireland.
- 1966 Re-elected as President.
- 1973 Retires from Public Office.
- Death 29 August 1975
Download a Biography in PDF format
The text of the 1937 Constitution of Ireland is available in PDF format as
amended to 2004.
The constitution contained a number of reforms and symbols intended to
assert Irish sovereignty. These included:
- a new name for the state, "Éire" (in Irish) and "Ireland" (in English);
- a claim that the national territory was the entire island of Ireland,
thereby challenging Britain's partition settlement of 1921; - a new, popularly elected "President of Ireland" to replace the British
monarch and his representative, the Governor-General; - recognition of the "special position" of Roman Catholicism, which had
for most of Britain's rule in Ireland been suppressed and discriminated
against; - a recognition of the Roman Catholic concept of marriage which
excluded civil divorce; - the declaration that the Irish language was the "national language" and
the first official language of the nation although English was also
included as "a" second official language; - the use of Irish language terms to stress Irish cultural and historical
identity (e.g., Uachtarán, Taoiseach, Tánaiste, Rialtas, Dáil, Seanad,
etc.); and - Criticisms of some of the above constitutional reforms include that:
* the anti-partition articles needlessly antagonised Unionists in Northern
Ireland, while simultaneously attracting criticism from hardline republicans by
recognising the de facto situation.
* similarly, the recognition of the "special position" of the Catholic Church
was inconsistent with the identity and aspirations of northern Protestants
(leading to its repeal in the 1970s - though the religious articles were praised
by some Protestants and Irish Jews at the time) while simultaneously falling
short of the demands of hardline Catholics and the Church for Catholicism to
be explicitly made the state religion.
* the affirmation of Irish as the national and primary official language neither
reflected contemporary realities nor led to the language's revival
* though the King was removed from the text of the constitution, he retained a
leading role in the state's foreign affairs, and the legal position of the President
of Ireland was accordingly uncertain; there was also concern that the
presidency would evolve into a dictatorial position
* elements of Catholic social teaching incorporated into the text, such as the
articles on the role of women, the family and divorce, were inconsistent both
with the practice of the Protestant minority and with contemporary liberal
opinion
Ireland was declared a Republic on 18 April 1949 by Taoiseach, John A.
Costello. The state adopted an official description, the Republic of Ireland
while keeping its name, Ireland.[20] In doing so Ireland left the
Commonwealth. The last constitutional links to the United Kingdom had finally
been cut, ironically not by the revolutionary de Valera.
| An article provided by The Information about Ireland Site. Used with Permission : (C) Copyright http://www.ireland-information.com |
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Lesson Plans
Arts & Crafts
Irish Music & Poems, Lyrics &
Mid Files
The Legend of St Patrick
Irish Recipes
Gaelic Tales & Folk Lore
St Patrick's Day Cards for little
ones to print and make
St Patrick's Day Activities
St Patrick's Day/Irish Blessings
St Patrick's Day Clipart
St Patrick's Day/Irish
Downloads, WPP's,
Screensavers etc
St Patrick's Day Colour Sheets
St Patrick's Day / Irish Music
(links not yet linked - sorry)
Poems, Songs & Activities for
the little ones
The Irish National Anthem -
Music & Lyrics in Gaelic &
English
St Patrick's Day Portal -
hundreds of links to arts, crafts,
festivities and more
Free Full eBooks : Ireland
Send an e-Card
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this page. Use of this information indicates that you understand and accept and shall adhere to the terms of use. St Aiden's Homeschool
and/or Donnette E Davis and/or its/her duly representatives will not be held responsibile for any inaccuracies that may be contained herein. All
information provided is accepted as being accurate at the time of publishing and is derived from reliable sources. While the contents of much
of this information is in the Public Domain and is freely available in terms of the Creative Commons and/or GNU Free License, many man hours
have been spent compiling both web pages and printables and St Aiden's Homeschool and/or Donnette E Davis therefore hold Copyright
Compilation on this material. Thank you for respecting international Copyright Laws. Having said that, the information contained in this
website is freely available for you to use in your schoolroom, homeschool or for educational purposes.
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