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Tag Archives: Eamon de Valera

The making of Éamon de Valera

It was 2.33pm on the afternoon of Wednesday, August 15, 1923, and the man everyone had come to see was finally prepared to speak to a crowd that had first embraced him as one of their own just six years previously and would remain faithful to all his causes for another 50 years. He was the ‘Man of Clare’, even though he wasn’t from Clare. Eamon de Valera. The Chief. The East Clare by-election victor of 1917 that kickstarted the revolution once more. The Sinn Féin leader. The former President of the Dáil. The Anti-Treaty leader. The man on the run. On this day, the Feast of the Assumption, the warrant for his arrest because of his leadership of the Anti-Treaty side in the Civil War that had only finished a few months previously, had yet to be served, but this was the day. He was banned from public speaking, but at an election rally called by his Sinn Féin …

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De Valera’s ‘indispensable secretary’ profiled in new book

A NEW book on Éamon de Valera’s personal secretary provides a fascinating insight into the life of Kathleen O’Connell and her support for the Fianna Fáil founder’s political career.  The Life and Times of Kathleen O’Connell by Patrick and Paul Murray also sheds light on de Valera himself, through painstakingly compiled details of their communications. Described as “Éamon de Valera’s Indispensable Secretary,” Kathleen, a native of Caherdaniel, County Kerry, is described as someone with an unwavering attachment to the causes she believed in.  Published by De Búrca Books, this is the first biography dealing with the life and times of Kathleen O’Connell. When her name is mentioned, it is almost invariably in association with that of Eamon de Valera. This is because her life derived its deepest significance from her unwavering attachment to whatever cause he espoused. For this reason, any record of her life is bound to throw incidental insights of varying quality on several aspects of de Valera’s career and …

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Eamon de Valera’s Dodge Car Finds a New Home at Clare Museum

A 1947 DODGE car once owned by Eamon de Valera has been moved from its display building in Harmony Row to a new home in the newly refurbished exhibition area at Clare Museum. The car, which was used by Eamon de Valera during his years as President of Ireland, was often to be seen on the roads of Clare in the 1960s and is fondly remembered by the Clare public. It was manufactured in Detroit, Michigan, US, in 1947 and was originally the property of President Sean T O’Kelly. Although de Valera continued to use a Rolls Royce for State occasions while President of Ireland, he purchased the Dodge from Sean T O’Kelly, the outgoing President, and had it resprayed from its original maroon to black for his personal use in the late 1950s. The black Dodge would go on to be a familiar sight in Clare. Many older Clare people associate the vehicle with the annual Clare Agricultural Show …

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Martin hails legacy of Dev in Clare visit

Taoiseach lauds ‘revolutionary leader’ at DeValera Commemoration THE legacy left by founding leader of Fianna Fáil Éamon de Valera was lauded by An Taoiseach, Micheál Martin, at the 40th annual commemoration of his statute in Ennis on Sunday. Following his release from prison in June 1917, de Valera was elected Sinn Féin deputy for East Clare. During the Civil War of 1922 – 23, de Valera supported the anti-Treaty Republicans. De Valera was arrested on August 15 1923, under the Public Safety Act, as he was about to make a speech at Ennis and was imprisoned until July 1924. Despite his imprisonment, Clare elected de Valera top of the poll in the 1923 General Election. He continued to represent Clare for the rest of his active political career. In a wide-ranging oration, Mr Martin stated the life of Eamon de Valera was one of overcoming adversity and remarkable achievement. “His positive legacy remains strong, and remains central to achieving progress …

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An Taoiseach Lauds de Valera Legacy At Ennis Commemoration

THE legacy left by founding leader of Fianna Fáil Éamon de Valera was lauded by An Taoiseach, Micheál Martin, at the 40th annual commemoration of his statute in Ennis on Sunday. Flanked by Deputy Cathal Crowe and Senator Timmy Dooley, Mr Martin laid a wreath at the foot of the de Valera memorial in front of Ennis Courthouse to mark this commemoration. A second wreath was laid by former Clare Deputy and Senator, Brendan Daly, who is one of the surviving members of the local committee that organised and secured funding for the statue, which was erected by Kilbaha-based sculptor, Jim Connolly. The 1916 Proclamation was read by Clare Fianna Fáil Comhairle Dáil Ceantair secretary, Rita McInerney, and this ceremony was hosted by the local ceantair. De Valera commanded the Boland Mills garrison during the 1916 Rising. After the surrender of the main leaders, he was sentenced to death, but later it was decided to sentence him to life imprisonment. …

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Taoiseach to visit Ennis next month

THE Taoiseach will be in Ennis on Sunday week (December 5) for the annual Éamon de Valera Commemoration. Micheál Martin has attended previous gatherings at the de Valera monument in the town park at Ennis Courthouse, in his capacity as Fianna Fáíl leader. This visit has added significance due to Micheál Martin’s role as Taoiseach, and the event will be attended by members of the party faithful from Clare as well as the upper echelons of Fianna Fáil. The event will be the 40th annual commemoration of the founding leader of Fianna Fail, Taoiseach and President of Ireland. The ceremony will be hosted by Clare Fianna Fáil Comhairle Dáil Ceantair. The statue of Éamon de Valera, by Jim Connolly, was unveiled in 1981 and has been the focal point for commemorative events for the last four decades.

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Key Clare images from War of Independence brought to life in colour

COLOURISED images of key moments in Clare’s revolutionary history have been included in a new book on the period between the East Rising and the foundation of the State. Among the pictures that author Michael Barry has included in An Illustrated History of the Irish Revolution (1916-1923) is a photograph of Eamon De Valera at Ennis Courthouse after the by-election of 1917. Other shots include scenes of tanks in Clare and an armoured car at the RIC barracks in Ennis. There is also a picture of De Valera’s arrest in 1923 at a Sinn Féin gathering. The latter appeared in the Illustrated London News just after the outbreak of the Civil War.   There’s also a photo of De Valera in America in the period 1919-1920. During a visit to the Chippewa Reservation Reserve in Wisconsin, he was famously made honorary chief of a Chippewa tribe, and the colourised image shows him wearing a Native American ceremonial headdress. “I specially …

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Kilkishen Tidy Towns Forges Ahead

WHILE there may be no national Tidy Towns competition this year, that doesn’t mean that local groups around the county are sitting on their laurels. Quite the contrary. Since lockdown ended, most groups have never been busier and many have seen a bump in membership, because people have been spending more time closer to home. In Kilkishen, the Tidy Towns group is close to ticking another project off its ‘To Do’ list. That is the renovation of the old forge building, which dates back some centuries. “The forge building goes back to the 1700s, but we don’t officially know the date it was built,” Elizabeth Brady of Kilkishen Tidy Towns outlined. “It was built without plaster. It’s across the road from the old blacksmith’s house, which is in private ownership. That’s very quaint and Éamon de Valera visited it in the 1960s. It was a spontaneous thing. He saw it and asked his driver to stop. The locals who had …

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