Eamon de valera biography examples

Not all of the teachers, however, held Maguire's opinion towards mathematics, and his arithmetic teacher, Tim O'Sullivan, inspired him to such an extent that he came first in his class. He was also placed first in Euclid, and when all results were combined it was discovered that de Valera ranked highest in the class, winning him Student of the Year.

At this time, the Royal University of Ireland held open examinations, which meant students could sit examinations irrespective of college attendance. As a result, some second level institutions, such as Blackrock, decided to offer third level training to students. When de Valera completed Senior Grade and had matriculated successfully, he entered University College Blackrock with the intention of pursuing a degree in mathematics and mathematical physics.

In his final year, he received the offer, which he accepted, of teaching in Blackrock's sister College in Rockwell, Co. It was reported that de Valera was a very talented teacher, and therefore, he was entrusted with teaching both Senior Grade students and undergraduate degree students, though he still had to finish his own degree! The pressures of a full teaching load left him little time to study and as a result, he had to be contented with a pass degree.

He graduated in and afterwards attended post-graduate lectures at Trinity College Dublin for a while. After meeting Conwayde Valera's interest in quaternions began to grow. He began to study them in depth and Conway reported that [ 17 ] During this time, de Valera was engaged by several of the top Dublin schools to teach higher mathematics and mathematical physics classes.

Without application, he was offered a post lecturing mathematics in Carysfort Teacher Training College. This was an all-female third level institution which was dedicated to preparing girls as primary teachers. Arising from this, and his friendship with Conway and Whittakerde Valera's confidence grew and he applied for the Chair of Mathematical Physics in University College, Cork, in A reference, written by Whittakerdescribes de Valera's knowledge as both 'broad and deep', and additionally, Whittaker wrote he was impressed by [ 18 ] After all the applications were assessed the Governing Body took a straw vote to decide who they would recommend to the National University of Ireland NUI Senate for the position.

In this vote de Valera secured 11 votes, two higher than the nearest competitor, E H Harper. He had every right to hold a grudge against the British—a very Irish trait! He returned Allied fliers downed in Ireland while interning German ones. He also kept a close eye on the German diplomatic delegation to make sure they were not plotting espionage from Ireland.

The one giant stain on this neutral policy in favor of the Allies was an odd one—he traveled to the German legation on Northumberland Road to express his condolences on the death of Adolf Hitler. Oddly enough, he did not extend the same courtesy for President Roosevelt, who had died three weeks earlier. His biggest political fault may have been his narcissism—he would not leave.

But as a student of Collins, the three things that disturb me most about de Valera are his dealings with Collins between and I will give you two pieces of advice—study economics and read 'The Prince. A way for exerting gangsterism on a part of Italy. I cannot think of similar situations where a revolutionary leader left his country voluntarily during wartime.

During this period May December the war was essentially won by Collins and his men. The eamon de valera biography examples blow was on Bloody Sunday, November 21,when the Squad assassinated 14 British intelligence officers, terminating much of the British control of Dublin, and thus Ireland. John Devoy, leader of Clan na Gael, came to despise him and his Machiavellian ways.

De Valera asked how things were going. It was during this period December July that the Irish and English tried to figure out how to get out of the quagmire that had become Ireland. Now it was payback time. Collins and de Valera also differed on how the war was to proceed. This odd shooting of a policeman here and there is having a very bad effect, from the propaganda point of view, on us in America.

What we want is, one good battle about once a month with about men on each side. Collins was incensed. On his release, he stood as a Sinn Fein Party candidate in the general election. Sinn Fein won the majority of seats outside Ulster, but refused to take their seats at Westminster, instead establishing an independent parliament Dail Eireann to govern Ireland.

De Valera was elected president of the Dail. After two years of violence, a truce was agreed and a treaty with the British negotiated by a Sinn Fein deputation, which de Valera chose not to join. Michael Collins, who led the Sinn Fein negotiating party, described the result as 'the freedom to achieve freedom'. But de Valera opposed the agreement, because it involved the partition of Ireland and did not create an independent republic.

The treaty was passed by a narrow margin in the Dail and de Valera resigned as president. In this way, he would be pursuing republican policies and lessening the popularity of republican violence and the IRA. He also refused to dismiss from office those Cumann na nGaedheal, Cosgrave supporters, who had previously opposed him during the Civil War.

O'Higgins, Kevin O'Higgins's brother. This organisation was an obstacle to de Valera's power as it supported Cumann na nGaedheal and provided stewards for their meetings. The ACA changed its name to the National Guard under O'Duffy and adopted the uniform of black berets and blue shirts, using the straight-armed salute, and were nicknamed the Blueshirts.

This march struck parallels with Mussolini's march on Romein which he had created the image of having toppled the democratic government in Rome. De Valera revived a military tribunal, which had been set up by the previous administration, to deal with the matter. O'Duffy backed down when the National Guard was declared an illegal organisation and the march was banned.

Smaller local marches were scheduled for the following weeks, under different names. Internal dissension set in when the party's TDs distanced themselves from O'Duffy's extreme views, and his movement fell asunder. On that date, de Valera's post automatically became that of Taoiseach which was a considerably more powerful office. Notably, he could advise the President to dismiss Ministers individually — advice that the President was bound to follow by convention.

The old Executive Council had to be dissolved and reformed en bloc if its President wanted to remove a Minister. Additionally, he could request a parliamentary dissolution on his own authority. Previously, the right to seek a dissolution was vested with the Council as a whole. In social policy, de Valera's first period as Taoiseach saw the introduction in of means-tested allowances for people suffering from infectious diseases.

With the new constitution in place, de Valera determined that the changed circumstances made swift resolution to Ireland's ongoing trade war with the UK more desirable for both sides—as did the growing probability of the outbreak of war across Europe. The return of the ports was of particular significance since it ensured Irish neutrality during the coming Second World War.

During the s, de Valera systematically stripped the Irish Free State constitution — a constitution originally drafted by a committee under the nominal chairmanship of his rival, Collins — of features tying Ireland to the United Kingdom, limiting its independence and the republican character of its state. De Valera was able to carry out this program of constitutional change by taking advantage of three earlier modifications of constitutional arrangements.

First, though the constitution originally required a public plebiscite for any amendment enacted more than eight years after its passage, the Free State government under W. Cosgrave had amended that period to sixteen eamon de valera biographies examples. This meant that, untilthe Free State constitution could be amended by the simple passage of a Constitutional Amendment Act through the Oireachtas.

Secondly, while the Governor-General of the Irish Free State could reserve or deny Royal Assent to any legislation, fromthe power to advise the Governor-General to do so no longer rested with the British government in London but with His Majesty's Government in the Irish Free State, which meant that, in practice, the Royal Assent was automatically granted to legislation; the government was hardly likely to advise the governor-general to block the enactment of one of its own bills.

Thirdly, though in its original theory, the constitution had to be in keeping with the provisions of the Anglo-Irish Treaty as the fundamental law of the state, that requirement had been abrogated a short time before de Valera gained power. The opposition-controlled Senatewhen it protested and slowed down these measures, was also abolished.

Inthe British Parliament passed the Statute of Westminsterwhich established the legislative equal status of the self-governing Dominions of the then British Commonwealth, including the Irish Free State, to one another and the United Kingdom. Though a few constitutional links between the Dominions and the United Kingdom remained, this is often seen as the moment at which the Dominions became fully sovereign states.

The constitution contained reforms and symbols intended to assert Irish sovereignty.

Eamon de valera biography examples: De Valera, Éamon ('Dev') (–), teacher,

These included:. As Paul Bew concludes, in the constitution of de Valera was "trying to placate left-wing Republicans with national phrases and pious people with expressly Catholic bits [and] patriarchal Catholicism". The Constitution was approved in a plebiscite on 1 July and came into force on 29 December By Septembera general European war was imminent.

This policy had overwhelming political and popular support, though some advocated Irish participation in the war on the Allied side, while others, believing that " England's difficulty is Ireland's opportunity ", were pro-German. Strong objections to conscription in the North were voiced by de Valera. Now or never! A nation once again. I will meet you wherever you wish.

The government secured wide powers for the duration of the Emergency, such as internment, censorship of the press and correspondence, and government control of the economy. The Emergency Powers Act lapsed on 2 Septemberthough the State of Emergency declared under the constitution was not lifted until the s. However, de Valera did respond to a request from Northern Ireland for fire tenders to assist in fighting fires following the Belfast Blitz.

His St Patrick's Day radio addressnow widely derided, showcased his traditionalist views, extolling an Ireland "satisfied with frugal comfort", populated by "sturdy children" and "happy maidens". Controversially, [ 92 ] [ 93 ] de Valera visited and offered condolences to the German ambassador in Dublin on the death of Adolf Hitler inin accordance with diplomatic protocol of neutral nations.

The de Valera government was reputedly harsh with Irish Army deserters who had enlisted to fight with the Allied armies against the Axis. On 18 OctoberThomas F. O'Higgins moved to annul the order. General Richard Mulcahy also spoke against the Order, disagreeing with the way in which it applied to enlisted men and not to officers.

Eamon de valera biography examples: Eamon de Valera was an

It was revoked with effect from 1 August[ ] but was in effect continued by section 13 of the Defence Forces Temporary Provisions Act, In the electionde Valera lost the outright majority he had enjoyed since Conventional wisdom held that de Valera would remain Taoiseach with the support of independent deputies. Costello of Fine Gael as its compromise candidate for Taoiseach.

Costello was duly nominated, consigning de Valera to opposition for the first time in 16 years. The following year, Costello declared Ireland as a republicleaving partition as the most pressing political issue of the day. Returning to Ireland during the Mother and Child Scheme crisis that racked the First Inter-Party Government, de Valera kept silent as Leader of the Opposition, preferring to stay aloof from the controversy.

That stance helped return de Valera to power in the general electionbut without an overall majority. Costello again as Taoiseach. The two men had seen each other at a party inbut without speaking. He surprised the UK Prime Minister by claiming that if he had been in office in Ireland would not have left the Commonwealth. It was during this period that de Valera's eyesight began to deteriorate and he was forced to spend several months in the Netherlandswhere he had six operations.

Inwhile in opposition, de Valera spoke against the formation of a European Parliament and European federalismnoting that Ireland " did not strive to get out of that British domination [ Like the first coalition government, the second lasted only three years. At the general election ofde Valera, then in his seventy-fifth year, won an absolute majority of nine seats, the greatest number he had ever secured.

A new economic policy emerged with the First Programme for Economic Expansion. De Valera's final term as Taoiseach also saw the passage of numerous reforms in health and welfare. Inunemployment insurance was extended to male agricultural employees, child allowances were extended to the second child, and a maternity allowance for insured women was introduced.

De Valera was inaugurated as President of Ireland on 25 June Five months later de Valera attended the state funeral for Kennedy in Washington, D. Inseventy-three countries sent goodwill messages to NASA for the historic first lunar landing. These messages still rest on the lunar surface. De Valera's message on behalf of Ireland stated, "May God grant that the skill and courage which have enabled man to alight upon the Moon will enable him, also, to secure peace and happiness upon the Earth and avoid the danger of self-destruction.

His body lay in state at Dublin Castle and was given a full state funeral on 3 September at St Mary's Pro-Cathedralwhich was eamon de valera biography examples on national television. Overpeople reportedly lined the three-mile funeral route from Dublin city centre to Glasnevin Cemetery. De Valera's political creed evolved from militant republicanism to social and cultural conservatism.

Ireland's dominant political personality for many decades, de Valera received numerous honours. He was elected Chancellor of the National University of Ireland inholding the post until his death. Inhe was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society FRS[ 4 ] a recognition of his lifelong interest in mathematics. He also served as a member of the Parliament of Northern Ireland for Down from to and for South Down from toalthough he held to the republican policy of abstentionism and did not take his seat in Stormont.

De Valera was criticised for becoming co-owner of one of Ireland's most influential group of newspapers, Irish Press Newspapersfunded by numerous small investors who received no dividend for decades. De Valera's preoccupation with his part in history, and his need to explain and justify it, are reflected in innumerable ways. His faith in historians as trustworthy guardians of his reputation was not absolute.

He made many attempts to influence their views and to adjust and refine the historical record whenever he felt this portrayed him, his allies or his cause inaccurately or unfavourably to his mind, these could often mean the same thing. He extended these endeavours to encompass the larger Irish public. An important function of his newspaper group, the Irish Press group, was to rectify what he saw as the errors and omissions of a decade in which he had been the subject of largely hostile commentary.

In recent decades, his role in Irish history has no longer been unequivocally seen by historians as a positive one, and a biography by Tim Pat Coogan alleges [ ] [ page needed ] that his failures outweigh his achievements, with de Valera's reputation declining while that of his great rival in the s, Michael Collins, was rising. A more recent work on de Valera by historian Diarmaid Ferriter presents a more positive picture of de Valera's legacy.

One of de Valera's finest hours was his regrouping of the Republican side after defeat in the civil war, and setting his followers on an exclusively peaceful and democratic path, along which he later had to confront both domestic Fascism and the IRA. He became a democratic statesman, not a dictator. He did not purge the civil service of those who had served his predecessors but made the best use of the talent available.

A notable failure was his attempt to reverse the provision of the Constitution in relation to the electoral system. On retiring as Taoiseach inhe proposed that the Proportional Representation system enshrined in that constitution should be replaced. De Valera argued that Proportional Representation had been responsible for the instability that had characterised much of the post-war period.

Eamon de valera biography examples: De Valera was a commandant

A constitutional referendum to ratify this was defeated by the people. Then there comes the question, what are qualifications? If I thought that the principle that the librarian in a Catholic community should be Catholic was a new principle, introduced merely to deny a Protestant an appointment, I would vote against it, but I know from my youth that it is not so.

Let us be clear and let us know where we are. But, in fact, he was just playing the role of a political hypocrite. It was cynical, but it should be stressed that he behaved responsibly in this regard when he came to power. He added clauses to the new Constitution of Ireland to "guard with special care the institution of marriage" and prohibit divorce.

His constitution also recognised "the special position" of the Catholic Church and recognised other denominations including the Church of Ireland and Jewish congregations, while guaranteeing the religious freedom of all citizens; however, he resisted an attempt to make Roman Catholicism the state religion and his constitution forbids the establishment of a state religion.

His policies were welcomed by a largely devout, conservative and rural electorate. An act of prohibited the importation or sale of contraceptives. The most rigorous censorship laws in Western Europe complete the picture. The specific recognition of Roman Catholicism was deleted by the Fifth Amendment of the Constitution of Ireland and the prohibition of divorce was removed by the Fifteenth Amendment of the Constitution of Ireland Nevertheless, the Irish Supreme Court declared in that the contraception legislation was not repugnant to the Constitution and therefore remained valid.

Contents move to sidebar hide. Article Talk. Read Edit View history. Tools Tools. Download as PDF Printable version. In other projects. Wikimedia Commons Wikiquote Wikidata item. Irish statesman — For other people with the surname, see De Valera surname. De Valera, c. Irish American [ 1 ]. Cumann na Poblachta — Juan Vivion de Valera father Catherine Coll mother.

Charleville Blackrock College. Early life [ edit ]. Early political activity [ edit ]. Revolutionary years [ edit ]. President of the Republic [ edit ]. Anglo-Irish Treaty [ edit ]. Civil War [ edit ]. Main article: Irish Civil War. President of the Executive Council [ edit ]. Taoiseach — [ edit ]. Anglo-Irish Trade Agreement [ edit ].

Constitution of Ireland [ edit ]. Opposition leader — [ edit ]. Final years as Taoiseach [ edit ]. Presidency [ edit ]. Death [ edit ]. Legacy [ edit ]. Catholic social policy [ edit ]. In popular culture [ edit ]. Governments [ edit ]. See also [ edit ]. Notes [ edit ].