Éamon de Valera
Irish statesman (1882–1975)
Éamon de Valera (14 October 1882 – 29 August 1975) was an Irish statesman. He served as the president of Ireland from 1959 to 1973, and three terms as head of government. He had a leading role in introducing the Constitution of Ireland in 1937, and was a dominant figure in Irish political circles from the early 1930s to the late 1960s, when he served terms as both the head of government and head of state.
Born in New York City, de Valera was a Commandant of the Irish Volunteers (3rd Battalion) at Boland's Mill during the Easter Rising in 1916. He was arrested and sentenced to death, but released for a variety of reasons, including his American citizenship and the public response to the British execution of leaders of the Rising. He returned to Ireland after being jailed in England and became one of the leading political figures of the War of Independence. After the signing of the Anglo-Irish Treaty, de Valera served as the political leader of Anti-Treaty Sinn Féin until 1926, when he, along with many supporters, left the party to set up Fianna Fáil, a new political party – of which he became the founding leader – which abandoned the policy of abstentionism from Dáil Éireann in favour of working to republicanise the Irish Free State from within.
De Valera went on to be at the forefront of Irish politics until the turn of the 1960s. He took over as president of the Executive Council from W. T. Cosgrave in 1932 and later, with the adoption of the Constitution of Ireland in 1937, became Taoiseach. With a total of 21 years in office, he is the longest-serving Irish head of government by total days served in the post.
The public source identifies “Éamon de Valera” as irish statesman (1882–1975). This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Éamon, Valera and Irish.
Why this record matters
A short description can identify a subject without explaining its stakes. For “Éamon de Valera”, the useful work is to connect “irish statesman (1882–1975)” to the records capable of establishing context and consequence.
Biographical claims are most persuasive when dates, appointments and relationships can be traced to records created close to the events described. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 23, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q173347. VIAF identifies the subject as 44341843. The Library of Congress control number is n80082592. 3 of 3 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1882, 1975, 1959 and 1973.
Later biographies can compress uncertainty and repeat inherited reputations, so apparently settled claims may still require comparison. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Read biographical claims against dates, named institutions and the cited references. Distinguish a subject’s later reputation from evidence produced during their lifetime.
- Establishing names and roles
- Building a first chronology
- Locating cited institutions
Personal papers, civil or court records, institutional files and the scholarship cited by the source.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Éamon de Valera”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Éamon de Valera primary sources, Éamon de Valera archive and Éamon research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Éamon de Valera”?
- Which claims depend on a single source or contested interpretation?
- How has the subject’s reputation changed across later accounts?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Éamon de Valera” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.