Born on this day 140 years ago: Éamon de Valera (14th October 1882)

26 comments
  1. I get and appreciate many of the criticisms of de Valera and am no major fan. But something that made me think a lot is this point I heard recently: if you look at a lot of the young democracies in Europe that got their freedom after the First World War very few of them survived into the 30s and 40s remaining full democracies. The democracies that were established were often extremely weak and brittle.

    It would be hard to argue that de Valera’s Ireland was an especially “liberal” democracy, but the fact that Ireland never collapsed into any major political extremism (though obviously there were groups attempting that) is something that he has to take partial credit for. He had such a major influence on Irish politics throughout most of the early-mid 20th Century that he did play a big part in maintaining that stability. That and him not making Catholicism the state religion despite pressure to, some positives. Though that is not to dismiss the negatives at all.

  2. Foreigner here, what’s up with the surname? Is that common somewhere in Ireland? Never heard of it apart from him.

  3. I understand that De Valrera is a very controversial person but he has so much presence and charisma in that picture.There is something about his profile that is almost regal.

  4. My Great Grandfather taught De Velara to speak Gaeilge. Taught it to him at his kitchen table when he first came over.

  5. Look at the quality of those coats. Even that flag looks like it would out live most of us.

    Better times.

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