A Critical Assessment of Eamon de Valera’s Term in Office & Legacy

This essay critically assesses Eamon de Valera's term in office, highlighting his famous 1943 speech, his response to Winston Churchill's criticism, and his efforts regarding Ireland's membership in the United Nations and the anti-partition campaign. It analyzes his political prowess, his role in shaping Ireland's neutrality during World War II, and the impact of his policies on the country's international relations and domestic politics. The essay also touches upon the 1948 election that led to Ireland's first Inter-Party Government, marking a significant shift in the country's political landscape.

Running head: CRITICAL ASSESSMENT OF EAMON DE VALERA’S TERM IN OFFICE
CRITICAL ASSESSMENT OF EAMON DE VALERA’S TERM IN OFFICE
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CRITICAL ASSESSMENT OF EAMON DE VALERA’S TERM IN OFFICE
In 1943, de Valera made one of the most famous speeches in Ireland’s history, which
came to be known as the Ireland that we dreamed of speech or the comely maidens’ speech. De
Valera made the speech at a time when the Second World War was at its peak and this makes it
clear the level of importance of the speech (Beacháin 2018). The reason was the threat posed on
Ireland by the Germans and British re-occupation. The 1943 speech was a reflection of De
Valera’s traditionalist views belonging to an isolationist.
The speech struck a chord with the general mass and helped de Valera win the 1943-1944
elections. The elections proved remarkable for de Valera’s party Fianna Fail as it managed to
win overall majority and de Valera was reelected as the Taoiseach (Beacháin 2018). De Valera
had the most vital role to play in the election and the consequent victories. The outgoing
minority Fianna government had faced defeat at the second reading of the Transport Bill
produced by it. Taoiseach de Valera noticed it and made the decision to call for a snap election,
that is, an election prior to its set time. The sweeping victory of Fianna Fail proved the political
prowess of Eamon de Valera.
Eamon de Valera also proved his might when he replied vehemently and yet politely to
the criticisms of Winston Churchill in 1945. After the European victory in the Second World
War, Churchill made a victory speech on BBC World Service where he criticized the Irish
Taoiseach Eamon de Valera for denying Irish ports to the British Army during the Second World
War and being neutral to the war. Eamon De Valera replied that Churchill was being blown
away by the excitement that he made the comments (Wulff 2017). He further stated that Ireland
was blessed not to involve in a war that ruined millions of lives.

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CRITICAL ASSESSMENT OF EAMON DE VALERA’S TERM IN OFFICE
After the Second World War ended in 1945, the United Nations came into being but
Ireland was excluded. The supporters of Churchill and opponents of de Valera’s policy of
neutrality termed it as a punishment for Ireland not stand by Britain’s side during the war.
However, in 1946, Taoiseach Eamon De Valera informed about Ireland’s desire to become a
member of the United Nations (UN) to the then UN General Secretary Trygve Lie (Dfa.ie, 2019).
Ultimately, in 1955, Ireland became a member of the UN.
De Valera also campaigned against the partition of Ireland during the 1945-1948 periods.
He employed anti-partition propaganda in countries like the US, Australia, New Zealand and
Great Britain. A league was formed with the name the Irish Anti-Partition League (IAPL) to
push the De Valera government into convincing the British government against Ireland’s
partition (Kelly 2011). De Valera left his office and began his long tour to the said nations to
campaign for anti-partition.
In the 1948 Irish general elections, De Valera’s Fianna Fail party emerged victorious
once again although it had lost some seats from the previous elections (Girvin 2018). The
election was historic because it led to Ireland’s first ever Inter-Party Government. The election
was historic also for the fact that it was the last election conducted under the British
Commonwealth.

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CRITICAL ASSESSMENT OF EAMON DE VALERA’S TERM IN OFFICE
References:
Beacháin, D.Ó., 2018. De Valera’s Northern Ireland policy, 1932–1948. In From Partition to
Brexit. Manchester University Press.
Dfa.ie (2019). IRELAND 60 YEARS AT THE UNITED NATION. [online] Dfa.ie. Available at:
https://www.dfa.ie/media/dfa/alldfawebsitemedia/aboutus/globalhorizonsyouthinitiative/
Ireland---60-Years-at-the-United-Nations.pdf [Accessed 29 Jan. 2019].
Girvin, B., 2018. Northern Ireland and the Republic. In Politics in Northern Ireland (pp. 220-
241). Routledge.
Kelly, S., 2011. A Policy of Futility: Eamon de Valera’s Anti-Partition Campaign, 1948-1951.
Études irlandaises, (36-2).
Wulff, H., 2017. Greater Than Its Size: Ireland in Literature and Life. Small Countries:
Structures and Sensibilities, p.301.