Éamon De Valera (1882-1975) was an Irish statesman, revolutionary and politician who governed as Ireland’s longest-serving Taoiseach. Born in America to an Irish mother and Spanish father, De Valera fought in the 1916 Easter Rising, commanding Irish Volunteer troops at Boland’s Mill. He avoided execution thanks to poor British intelligence and his status as an American-born citizen. Quickly released from prison after a June 1917 amnesty, he became President of Sinn Féin and led them to an overwhelming victory in the 1918 general election. Opposing the Anglo-Irish Treaty, De Valera was a key figure in the Irish Civil War on the Anti-Treaty side. Disillusioned by their later defeat, he resigned from Sinn Féin and formed a new political party in Fianna Fáil. First becoming head of state in 1932, De Valera would be a dominant figure in Irish politics for three decades, drafting the 1937 Irish Constitution, developing Ireland’s neutral foreign policy, economic protectionism and preserving the role of the Catholic Church in Irish social life.
NOTE: The following texts are in the public domain under the Copyright and Related Acts 2000 as they are works made by an officer or employee of the Government or State of Ireland in the course of his or her duties, created before 1st January, 1974.
Works
Speech to the League of Nations (1935)
Speech on Irish Neutrality (1941)