Getty Images. His iconic Dodge, in which he was often seen driving around Clare during his presidency, was completely restored in and is a tourist attraction in Clare. Sign up to IrishCentral's newsletter to stay up-to-date with everything Irish!
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The top twenty books every Irish American should read. During his college and university years de Valera had developed a strong sense of Irish nationalism and a deep hatred for the British and their interference in Irish affairs. He was a strong supporter of the Irish language and joined the Gaelic League where he met his wife, Sinead. In he was second in command of the Easter Rising which was an attempt to overthrow British rule and make Ireland a republic.
The Rising failed and the leaders were publicly executed. De Valera imprisoned rather than executed because he was an American citizen. In he broke with the extreme Republicans and founded a constitutional opposition party, Fianna Fail, which entered the Dail in Fianna Fail won the election, and De Valera formed a government which lasted for 16 years. As prime minister, he removed the last remaining restrictions on Irish sovereignty imposed by the treaty. His refusal to continue payment of land-purchase annuities to Britain led to an economic war between the two countries, which enabled him to pursue plans to make Ireland more self-sufficient economically.
His government also extended social services, suppressed extremist threats to the state, and introduced a constitution in which made the Free State a republic in all but name. In agreements made with Britain ended the economic war and British occupation of Irish naval bases retained under the treaty. De Valera was unable, however, to end the partition of Ireland.
De Valera had been a strong supporter of collective security through the League of Nations, but he maintained a policy of neutrality, with overwhelming popular support, throughout World War II. In the postwar period Fianna Fail alternated in power with two interparty governments, the first of which formally established the Irish Republic in Returned to office with a decisive majority in , De Valera retired from active politics in , when he was elected president of the republic. He was reelected in , the fiftieth anniversary of his entry into Irish political life.
Failing eyesight troubled him from the s onward and left him almost blind before his retirement from active politics in
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