EAMON DE VALERA PAPERS P150

The Eamon de Valera Papers were transferred to University College Dublin from the Franciscan Library Killiney under the terms of the

UCD-OFM Partnership. The copyright in the papers is the property of the Irish Province of the Order of Friars Minor and is administered

by UCD Archives

UCD Archives School of History and Archives

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archives @ucd.ie www.ucd.ie/archives T + 353 1 716 7555 F + 353 1 716 1146 © 2005 University College Dublin. All rights reserved

http://www.ucd.ie/archives

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Introduction xv

Appendix: Chronology xviii

EAMON DE VALERA PAPERS: CONTENT AND STRUCTURE

1. PERSONAL

I. Birth and early childhood 1

II. Schooldays a. Bruree and Charleville C.B.S., 1889–98 3 b. Blackrock College

(i) Contemporary documents, 1898-1903 5 (ii) Continued association with the college, 1942-70 7

III. Royal University, 1901-04 9

IV. Teaching career, 1903-16 a. General documents and photographs 10 b. Rockwell College

(i) contemporary documents, 1903-05 11 (ii) continued association with the college, 1934-72 12

c. Post-Rockwell College 13 d. Irish language, 1903-59 19

V. Bruree, County Limerick a. Correspondence with natives of the village, 1943-73 22 b. History and recollections of Bruree, 1954-61 24

VI. Chancellor of the National University of Ireland, 1921-71 26

VII. General health and eyesight, 1929-70 30

VIII. Donation of artefacts and documents to museums and libraries, 1935-67 32

IX. Memorabilia, 1916-60s 34

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2. FAMILY I. Sinéad de Valera, née Flanagan 36

II. Marriage and wedding anniversaries 38

III. Children and grandchildren 42

IV. His father, Vivion de Valera 48

V. His mother, Catherine de Valera-Wheelwright, née Coll 48

VI. His siblings a. Annie Wheelwright 55 b. Thomas J. Wheelwright 55

VII. His extended family 59

VII. Biographical notes and genealogical research on de Valeras, Colls and Carrolls, 1921-71 63

3. HIS PERSONAL SECRETARY, KATHLEEN O’CONNELL

I. Correspondence and diaries, 1913-24 70

II. Correspondence and her death, 1928-56 72

4. DE VALERA BIOGRAPHICAL MATERIAL

I. Chronologies, 1916-27 74

II. Diaries, 1916-61 76

III. Newspaper series, 1935-56 84

IV. Publications, 1933-82 84

V. The official biography, 1953-71 86

VI. Films, recordings and radio broadcasts, 1932-73 93

VII. Dissociated family material 97

5. EARLY PUBLIC CAREER, 1910-16 100

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6. IRISH VOLUNTEERS

I. 1914-15 101

II. 1917-18 105

7. EASTER RISING, 1916

I. Dissociated material 106

II. Proclamation and signatories 110

III. Other leaders, executed or killed 119

IV. G.P.O. Garrison 122

V. 3 Battalion Dublin Brigade – Boland’s Mills and Mount Street Bridge 124

VI. British documents 130

VII. Contemporary accounts and reminiscences, 1916-68 136

8. IMPRISONMENT, May 1916-June 1917 139

9. ELECTIONS, 1917 145

10. SINN FÉIN

I. Mainly concerning Ard Fheiseanna, 1917-28 153

II. Sinn Féin funds case, 1948 161

11. BY-ELECTIONS AND ANTI-CONSCRIPTION CAMPAIGN, January-March 1918 163

12. LINCOLN JAIL, 1918-19 167

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13. GENERAL IRISH AFFAIRS, 1919-23

I. 1919-20 173

II. Association with Mary MacSwiney, 1921-25 180

III. Association with other members of the MacSwiney family, 1920-23 184

14. MISSION TO THE UNITED STATES, 1919-20

I. Travel and arrival 186

II. Notes and preparatory material for speeches 188

III. Press releases, newspaper interviews and reportage 194

IV. Correspondence with members of the public 205

V. Communications with Ireland 206

VI. Reports from foreign representatives 212

VII. Diaries and accounts of the tour 214

VIII. Progress of the tour a. Planning and itineraries 216 b. Tours, June 1919-October 1920 218 c. Dissociated tour material 265

IX. Diaries of Seán Nunan and Liam Mellowes 266

X. Activities of the Irish Diplomatic Mission 267

XI. Frank P. Walsh, Head of the American Commission on Irish Independence 270

XII. Association with the Friends of Irish Freedom 275

XIII. Republican and Democratic Party Conventions, June 1920 287

XIV. Judge Daniel Cohalan and John Devoy 290

XV. Congressional activity 292

XVI. American Association for the Recognition of the Irish Republic 300

XVII. St. Patrick’s Day, 1920 303

XVIII. Reaction to the arrest and death of Terence MacSwiney 304

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14. MISSION TO THE UNITED STATES, 1919-20 contd.

XIX. U.S. tour by Dr. James A.H. Irwin 306

XX. Friends of Freedom for India and the Hindustan Gadar Party 307

XXI. Personal material 309

XXII. American Commission of Investigation [Atrocities Commission] 310

XXIII. Songs, films and poetry 314

XXIV. Departure for Ireland 316

XXV. Dissociated photographs 317

XXVI. Dissociated documents 320

XXVII. Recollections of the tour and correspondence with American republicans, 1946-71 323

15. HARRY BOLAND’S ACTIVITIES IN THE U. S., 1919-22

I. Correspondence with Ireland 333

II. Correspondence in the U.S. 339

III. Correspondence with members of the A.A.R.I.R. 351

IV. Clan na Gael and the I.R.B. 352

V. Invitations to functions 355

VI. Speeches and statements 355

VII. Arrangements for de Valera’s tours 356

VIII. Dissociated documents 358

IX. Diaries 359

X. Return from the U.S. and his death 361

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16. REPUBLICAN ACTIVITY IN THE U.S. AFTER 1920

I. Activities of the Irish Diplomatic Mission, Washington D.C. 364

II. Joseph McGarrity, 1914-75 370

III. James O’Mara, 1919-21 376

IV. Stephen O’Mara, 1921-32 379

V. Association with the A.A.R.I.R. , 1921-41 382

VI. A.A.R.I.R. annual conventions, 1921-41 386

VII. Fr. Michael O’Flanagan, 1921-22 388

VIII. Republican representatives, consuls and military attachés in the U.S., 1918-25 389

IX. Cumann na Poblachta delegation, 1922-23 401

X. Association with the Carmelites in the U.S., 1922-67 404

XI. Dáil Éireann funds and bond litigation in Ireland and the U.S., 1922-34 405

XII. Congressional activity, 1921-24, 1940-41 413

XIII. American Commission of Investigation, 1920-21 415

XIV. American Committee for Relief in Ireland, 1910-22 416

XV. Dissociated documents, 1921-64 417

17. FIRST AND SECOND DÁIL ÉIREANN, 1919–22

I. General documents 420

II. Dáil Éireann decrees 435

III. Cabinet minutes and decisions 436

IV. Ministerial communications 437

V. Departmental reports 443

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18. ANGLO-IRISH TREATY, 1920–22

I. Peace moves and indirect negotiations 448

II. Truce and preliminary negotiations with Lloyd George 464

III. Negotiation and signing of the Treaty 473

IV. Treaty debates 489

V. Compilations of Treaty documents 497

VI. Commemorative material and commentaries 508

19. CIVIL WAR, 1922–23 513

20. PROVISIONAL GOVERNMENT AND EXECUTIVE COUNCIL, 1922–24 551

21. THE REPUBLICAN GOVERNMENT, 1922–25

I. General documents 557

II. Communications between Ministers 565

III. Communications with Army General Headquarters 576

IV. Cabinet meetings 594

V. Communications with overseas representatives 595

VI. Dáil Éireann and I.R.A. accounts 597

22. REORGANISATION OF SINN FÉIN, PEACE MOVES AND CEASEFIRE, November 1922–August 1923 599

23. ARREST AND IMPRISONMENT, August 1923–July 1924 617

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24. CAMPAIGNING AND ARREST IN NEWRY, COUNTY DOWN, August–December 1924 627

25. CAMPAIGNING AND BOUNDARY AGREEMENT BILL, 1925 634

26. COMHAIRLE NA DTEACHTAÍ, 1924–26 641

27. ST. PATRICK’S DAY CELEBRATIONS, 1923–73 644

28. PARTITION, 1921–58 657

29. FOUNDATION OF FIANNA FÁIL AND ENTRY INTO DÁIL ÉIREANN, January 1926–August 1927 660

30. FIANNA FÁIL

I. Ard Fheiseanna, 1926–59 674

II. Histories and commemorative publications, 1935–76 680

31. GENERAL ELECTIONS

I. Results and statistics, 1918–69 683

II. Individual elections, 1927–57 684

32. FIANNA FÁIL IN OPPOSITION, 1927–32 689

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33. PRESIDENT OF THE EXECUTIVE COUNCIL AND TAOISEACH, March 1932–February 1948

I. Negotiations with the U.K., 1932 707

II. 1932–37 723

III. Constitution, 1937 a. Early drafts, 1934–37 765 b. Drafting, publication and approval,

January–June 1937 774 c. Constitution Day, 29 December 1937 795 d. Associated material and amendments, 1938–72 798

IV. Negotiations with Great Britain, 1938 804

V. 1938–39 812

VI. The Emergency a. Contemporary material, 1939–45 825 b. Published material on the Emergency

and Irish neutrality, 1939–73 866

VII. 1946–48 869

34. LAND ANNUITIES, 1928–30s 880

35. INTERNATIONAL ORGANISATIONS

I. League of Nations a. Assembly reports, 1924–31 884 b. Communications with Seán Lester,

Commissioner in Danzig, 1933–38 886 c. Proceedings, 1932–40 886 d. Dissociated notes and photographs 899

II. United Nations Organisation, 1945–68 900

III. Council of Europe, 1949–51 901

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36. UNITED STATES PRESIDENTS

I. Frankin D. Roosevelt (1933–45) 903

II. Dwight D. Eisenhower (1953–60) 904

III. John F. Kennedy (1960-63) a. The President, 1961–64 904 b. The President’s family and

commemorative material, 1938–70 905

IV. Lyndon B. Johnson (1963–69) 908

V. Richard Nixon (1969–74) 908

37. RELATIONS WITH THE CHURCHES

I. Correspondence a. Church of Ireland hierarchy and deans, 1948–73 909 b. Catholic clergy, 1957–73 911

II. Correspondence, biographical material and photographs a. Irish Catholic hierarchy (1916–74) 912 b. Overseas Catholic hierarchy (1920–73) 922 c. Papal Nuncios and Cardinals (1935–73) 928 d. Popes (1923–70) 931

38. IN OPPOSITION, 1948–51

I. February–March 1948 933

II. Anti-Partition world tour 936

III. July 1948–April 1951 [–59] 944

39. TAOISEACH, 1951–54 958

40. IN OPPOSITION, 1954–57 970

41 TAOISEACH, 1957–59 979

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42 PRESIDENTS OF IRELAND

I. Dr. Douglas Hyde (1938–45) 995

II. Seán T. Ó Ceallaigh (1945–59) 997

43. DE VALERA’S PRESIDENCY

I. Election and inauguration, June 1959 1000

II. First term, July 1959–June 1966 1006

III. State visit to the U.S. and Canada, 1964 1039

IV. Fiftieth anniversary of the 1916 Rising a. Easter Week commemorative events 1046 b. Commemorative publications 1051 c. 1916 executed prisoners 1053 d. Memorabilia 1054 e. General commemorative events 1055

V. Second term as President, June 1966–June 1973 1056

44. RETIREMENT 1084

45. DEATH OF EAMON DE VALERA, 29 August 1975 1091

46. COMMEMORATIVE MATERIAL ON EAMON DE VALERA, 1976–85 1093

47. COMMEMORATIVE AND REFERENCE MATERIAL COMPILED BY EAMON DE VALERA

I. Nationalists, Republicans, labour officials and literary figures 1095

II. Thomas Davis lecture series, 1964–67 1103

III. Roger Casement 1104

IV. War of Independence fatalities 1110

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V. Civil War fatalities 1112

VI. Origin of the Civil War 1118

VII. Unionists leaders 1120

VIII. Bureau of Military History 1120

IX. Publications on the period 1916–23 1124

X. Dorothy Macardle and The Irish Republic 1126

XI. Memorial cards 1129

48. MATERIAL CONCERNING COLLEAGUES WHO OUTLIVED DE VALERA 1132

49. DISSOCIATED NOTES BY DE VALERA 1134

50. RELEASE OF BRITISH CABINET PAPERS, 1967–71 1139

51. PRINTED MATTER

I. Irish newspapers and serials, 1915–53 a. Newspapers 1140 b. Associated material 1164

II. American newspapers, 1918–23 1166

III. Australian newspapers 1168

IV. Political cartoons and election posters, 1930s–40s 1168

52. DISSOCIATED AND UNDATED PHOTOGRAPHS

I. Portraits of Eamon de Valera, 1920s–50s 1169

II. Group photographs including Eamon de Valera 1169

III. President de Valera, 1960s–70s 1177

IV. Persons other than de Valera 1178

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Eamon de Valera 14 October 1882 – 29 August 1975

Introduction: ‘Eamon de Valera is the most significant figure in the political history of modern Ireland. This is a statement of incontrovertible historical fact, and it does not necessarily involve a laudatory judgement…If there were no other reasons for de Valera’s importance, he was at the centre of political life in this country for forty-three years, not including the fourteen year period as President. We have here a span of political power and influence virtually unparalleled in contemporary Europe and in Irish history’ 1 In January 1970 President Eamon de Valera wrote his last will in which he bequeathed his ‘letters manuscripts documents memoranda pamphlets newspaper files and writings’ to the Irish Province of the Orders of Friars Minor. These papers remained in the Franciscan Library, Killiney, Co. Dublin until July 1997 when they were transferred to University College Dublin Archives Department under the terms of the UCD-OFM. Partnership Agreement. The papers are a vital source for the study of all aspects of the history of Ireland in the twentieth-century. They are of special interest to scholars researching the foundation of the modern Irish state and offer immense possibilities for enhancing historical teaching and research at all levels. From an early stage in his career de Valera was concerned with the historical record and the future verdict of historians. In a letter written to an unidentified Franciscan on 22 June 1923 he outlined arrangements for the safekeeping, cataloguing and provision of access to his papers, in the event of his imprisonment or death. He wrote ‘It is my hope that I may be able myself to superintend the cataloguing and annotation of these papers some day. … As you know, very many of the papers – important links in the chain – have had to be destroyed. I have endeavoured to save these in order that there may be some documentary material for the history of this period and for a proper appreciation of the motives and actions of the Republican Government and Army Executive. … I need scarcely lay stress on the necessity of keeping all the papers together. They throw light one upon another and help to make understood what in isolation might be misconstrued or be altogether unintelligible.’ (P150/1698) De Valera’s contribution to the shaping of modern Ireland has already been the subject of much historical research. Countless articles and monographs in addition to numerous biographies have been produced. However for too long much of de Valera’s career has been researched from British, American, German and Canadian archives and from other Irish collections. The task of the archivist was to present the documents recording de Valera’s political career in a systematic and ordered fashion to aid historians in their continuing study of the movement for independence and the first fifty years of the history of the Irish state. Thanks to the foresight of de Valera himself that task has been made easier. 1 John A. Murphy, ‘The Achievement of Eamon de Valera’ in J.P. O’Carroll & John A. Murphy eds. De Valera and His Times Cork University Press, 1983

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Arrangement of the Collection: Eamon de Valera is the most enduring figure in the history of twentieth-century Ireland. There are few major events in Irish political history during the period in which he was not involved. In the main, the collection documents de Valera’s early career between 1916 and 1927 with additional major sections on the various rounds of negotiations with the U.K. in the 1930s, the drafting of the 1937 Constitution and the operation of neutrality during the Second World War. It should be noted that there is relatively little ‘official’ material on Fianna Fáil’s long years in government between 1938 and 1959 – the bulk of that material is to be found in the National Archives. The papers have been arranged chronologically for the most part, rather than thematically or by dividing de Valera’s professional life into sections such as offices held, as his career was too complicated and diverse. He held a large number of offices, often simultaneously, and it is frequently impossible to completely isolate differing functions in the documents. In addition, one can rarely draw a clear distinction even between ‘personal’ and ‘official’ material – many of his colleagues were or gradually became close friends over long years of association and this duality is reflected in the papers. However certain thematic sections have been compiled, such as the series on de Valera’s League of Nations activities in the 1930s, a series of files relating to church relations, a general election series, a series of ‘files on persons’ compiled by de Valera and the Sinn Féin series. These however, are the exception rather than the rule and the documents have largely been arranged in the sequence of their production. Observers will note, however, that contemporary documents relating to a specific event are often juxtaposed with later comments on, or reminiscences of those events. As John Bowman has observed, de Valera, throughout his political career, was preoccupied by the verdict of history. He was sensitive to criticism and rather self-righteous about his own political record 2. Thus in later years he often wrote brief accounts of events that shed light on the surviving contemporary documents dealing with those events – for example a memo written in later years on the reasons why he did not go to London to head the 1921 Treaty negotiations has been kept with the contemporary 1921 documents, rather than put into a separate ‘reminiscences’ section. Often these commentaries were produced sporadically over a long number of years and it was thought more appropriate to place them in the sections dealing with the specific events to which they referred. Files on persons compiled by de Valera have been arranged in the year in which the individual concerned died if there was a predominance of material relating specifically to the death and funeral in the file. However if the individual played a significant role at a certain time for which they are chiefly remembered, the file can be found within the context of that role e.g. Liam Pedlar, appointed military attaché to the U.S.A. in September 1924, died in December 1963, but his file can be found in the section concerning Republican Representatives in the U.S.A. 1918–25.

2 Bowman, John ‘Eamon de Valera: Seven Lives’ in J. P. O’Carroll & John A. Murphy (eds.) De Valera and His Times (Cork University Press, 1983) p182 – 195

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Biographical articles on de Valera written for publication in various newspapers and journals have generally been placed in the year in which they were originally written as they were often produced to inform the public or shed light on de Valera’s character in view of a specific event e.g. following a success or defeat in a General Election or on the occasion of a commemorative anniversary. However long series of newspaper articles and documents concerning various published biographies have been placed in a separate ‘Biographical’ category. Conclusion: In an evaluation of his life, written a few days after the death in 1956 of Kathleen O'Connell, his faithful personal secretary for thirty-seven years, de Valera reflected ‘I have had a wonderful life. … I have not achieved the things I would have wished to achieve, but I have achieved more than I would ever have dreamed of. … I have had all the things that in a human way make for happiness. … I have had as co-workers some of the finest people that God has made − noble, devoted, loyal.’ (P150/249) The opening of the de Valera collection in full to the public for the first time will aid historians in their continuing reassessment of various aspects of twentieth century Irish history. However the collection also reveals the humanity of a man, for example in letters to his mother, step-brother and wife, whose external image has traditionally been one of cold cerebral, unyielding rectitude. In a letter to de Valera’s personal secretary Marie O’Kelly, niece of Kathleen O'Connell, written a few days after the ‘Chief’s’ death in 1975, Seán MacEntee makes his own assessment of de Valera’s character and comments ‘He set a standard in public conduct and private behaviour that those around him were led by his example to emulate. And with it, he was so simple, so human, so merry and full of fun. It must have been a wonderful experience to have been so close to him as you were; to know his little mannerisms, peculiarities and caprices, the things he liked and the things he didn’t. You must record them all; so that posterity may know of him, not just as a historic figure, as a patriot and a statesman, but as a human being who was infinitely loveable’. Hopefully the opening of his papers will ensure that posterity will know of him in all his capacities, as patriot, soldier, scholar, statesman, loving father and son. July 2001 The core listing of the de Valera papers was carried out between 1998 and 2001 by Helen Hewson who wrote the foregoing introduction. The descriptive list was revised and edited and the papers prepared for microfilming in 2001 and 2002.

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Chronology 1882 14 October: born in Manhattan, New York, only child of Vivion de Valera, born

in Spain and Catherine Coll, born in Bruree, Co. Limerick, Ireland 3 December: baptised in the Church of St. Agnes, 141 East 43rd Street, New

York 1885 Following his father’s death and his mother’s return to employment, he is

brought to Ireland by an uncle, Edward ‘Ned’ Coll, to live at his grandmother’s home near Bruree, Co. Limerick

18 April: arrives at Cobh, Co. Cork with Uncle Edward Coll 1888–96 7 May 1888–9 October 1896: primary education at National School, Bruree, Co.

Limerick 1896–98 2 November 1896–August 1898: secondary education at Christian Brothers’

School, Charleville (later renamed Ráth Luirc), Co. Cork 1897 Death of half-sister Annie Wheelwright in U.S.A. (b. 1889) 1898 September: Scholarship to Blackrock College, Dublin 1898–1900 Blackrock College, Dublin, Junior, Middle and Senior Grade examinations 1902 June: First Arts honours examinations of the Royal University October: Mathematical Scholarship examination 1903 Second Arts examination September: begins teaching at Rockwell College, Cashel, Co. Tipperary (until

1905) 1904 28 October: awarded B.A. by Royal University in Mathematical Physics and

Mathematics (pass) 1903–16 Teaching and lecturing in Mathematics in various institutions including

Blackrock College, Co. Dublin; Rockwell College, Cashel, Co. Tipperary (1903–05); Belvedere College, Dublin (1905–06); Dominican College, Eccles Street, Dublin (1906–0[8]); Holy Cross College Clonliffe, Dublin; Loreto College, Dublin; St. Mary’s Rathmines, Dublin; Training College of Our Lady of Mercy, Carysfort, Blackrock, Co. Dublin (1906–12); Castleknock College and Clareville Road, Sandymount Passionist Fathers).

1905 [July]: appointed Lecturer in Mathematics at Belvedere College, Dublin (until

1906)

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1906 September: appointed Professor of Mathematics at Carysfort Training College, Blackrock (until October 1912)

1908 Joins the Gaelic League/Cuman na nGaedheal October: joins beginners’ class in Leinster College and meets Sinéad Flanagan 1909 Summer: attends Tourmakeady Irish College 1910 8 January: marries Sinéad Flanagan, a schoolteacher and teacher of Irish Summers 1910–19[12]: teaches in Irish language summer school on island of

Tawin, Co. Galway 29 October: awarded Higher Diploma in Education by the National University of

Ireland 13 December: birth of first child Vivion de Valera 1912 13 April: birth of second child Máirín de Valera [April]: applies for Professorship in Mathematics at University College Galway,

retires before appointment is made [October]: applies unsuccessfully for position as Junior Inspector of Schools October: appointed temporary Head of the Mathematics Department, St.

Patrick’s College, Maynooth 1913 May: unsuccessfully applies for vacant Chair of Mathematical Physics in

University College Cork 11 October: birth of third child Éamonn de Valera 1913 25 November: joins the Irish Volunteers, at its inaugural meeting in the Rotunda

Rink, Dublin 1914 1 May: awarded B.Sc. degree automatically after foundation of the National

University of Ireland 1915 Becomes Commandant of the 3rd Battalion, Dublin Brigade, Irish Volunteers Joins the Irish Republican Brotherhood (I.R.B.) 25 July: birth of fourth child, Brian de Valera

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1916 24 April: as Commandant 3rd Battalion, Dublin Brigade, Irish Volunteers, takes charge of the Westland Row-Grand Canal Street area, covering the south-eastern approaches to Dublin, in the Easter Rising

30 April: obeys Patrick Pearse’s order to surrender and is taken prisoner with

surviving officers and men under his command (surrenders to Captain E.J. Hitzen). Lodged first at Royal Dublin Society grounds

4 May: taken from R.D.S. grounds to Richmond Barracks for trial 8 May: sentenced to death, later commuted to life imprisonment 10–17 May: detained in Mountjoy Jail, Dublin 17 May–9 June: Dartmoor Jail, Devon June–[October]: Maidstone Jail, Kent November–December: Lewes Jail, Sussex 3 November: birth of fifth child, Ruairí de Valera 1917 [January–June]: Maidstone Jail and Pentonville Prison 16 June: released from prison under the general amnesty 23 June–9 July: attends campaign meetings in Limerick and Clare 10 July: polling day, East Clare By-Election 11 July: elected Sinn Féin T.D. for East Clare [re-elected as Representative for

East Clare at subsequent General elections until his election as President of Ireland in 1959]

25–26 October: elected President of Sinn Féin at Sinn Féin Ard Fhéis held in the

Mansion House, Dublin [remained President of Sinn Féin until 1926] 27 October: elected President of the Irish Volunteers (1917–22) 1918 18 April: member of the Mansion House Conference to arrange the anti-

conscription campaign 17 May: arrested in ‘German Plot’ arrests, detained in Gloucester and Lincoln

Jails 3 July: Sinn Féin, the I.R.A. and other nationalist organisations are proscribed 15 August: birth of sixth child, Emer de Valera

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14 December: General Election. de Valera, still in prison, returned unopposed for East Clare and defeats John Dillon leader of the Irish Parliamentary Party, in East Mayo (1918–21). Defeated in Belfast by Joe Devlin

1919 21 January: in the Mansion House Dáil Éireann meets for the first time [many

of the Sinn Féin deputies, including de Valera, being absent in prison] and adopts a Declaration of Irish Independence as a Republic, a ‘Message to the Free Nations of the World’ and a ‘Democratic Programme’

3 February: escapes from Lincoln Jail, England with the aid of Michael Collins,

Harry Boland and others 20 February: arrives in Ireland 1 April: attends Dáil Éireann for the first time and is elected Príomhaire

(President) of Dáil Éireann with Seán T. O’Kelly as Ceann Comhairle [1] June: leaves Ireland for New York via Britain for tour of the U.S.A. 1919–20 June 1919–December 1920: in United States seeking financial aid, moral support

and official recognition for the Irish Republic. Attends public meetings all over the country and sets up the Republican Bond Drive. Disagrees on questions of tactics and policy with some prominent Irish-American leaders, including Judge Daniel F. Cohalan and John Devoy. Establishes the American Association for the Recognition of the Irish Republic

1919 23 June: first public appearance in America at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel, New

York 30 June: addresses Massachusetts State Legislature at Boston 19 July: made a Doctor of Philosophy, St. Ignatius College, San Francisco,

California 30 July: addresses Montana State Legislature at Helena 28 August: addresses Virginia State Legislature [15 October]: Doctor of Philosophy, Notre Dame University, Notre Dame,

Indiana 11 November: first issue of the Irish Bulletin the Sinn Féin and Dáil Éireann

news-sheet 1920 [17] January: receives the Freedom of the City of New York 2 February: addresses New Jersey State Legislature 7 February: Doctor of Law, Holy Cross, Worcestor, Massachusetts

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20 March: Tomás MacCurtain, Lord Mayor of Cork, is shot dead in his home 1 April: addresses Maryland State Legislature at Annapolis 4 April: addresses Delaware State Legislature at Dover April: tours the Southern States 17 April: Doctor of Law, Loyola, New Orleans [8 June]: Doctor of Law, St. Joseph’s College, Mobile, Alabama 9 July: Doctor of Law, St. Paul’s University, Chicago, Illinois 18 August: Sineád de Valera visits her husband in the U.S. (returns to Ireland in

October) 20 October: de Valera presents the formal petition to the U.S. Government for

the recognition of the Republic of Ireland as a sovereign independent state 25 October: Lord Mayor of Cork, Terence MacSwiney, dies on the 74th day of

his hungerstrike in Brixton Prison, London 1 November: Kevin Barry is executed for killing a British soldier 10 December: de Valera leaves New York for Liverpool 23 December: arrives in Dublin and resumes functions as President 1921 30 March: declares the Irish Republican Army to be a ‘regular State force’ and

‘the national army of defence’ for whose actions the Republican Government is responsible

May: General Election, elected Sinn Féin T.D. for Down 21 June: de Valera urges a meeting of the Irish Hierarchy at Maynooth to issue a

statement recognising the Irish Government as the legitimate government of Ireland

22 June: arrested at Glenvar, Mount Merrion Avenue, Blackrock, Co. Dublin,

where he had been staying since 18 May, and taken to Portobello Barracks, Dublin, released 24 hours later

24 June: invited to London by Lloyd George ‘to explore to the utmost the

possibility of a settlement’ 8 July: agrees to meet Lloyd George and to discuss with him ‘on what basis such

a conference as that proposed can reasonably hope to achieve the object desired’ 9 July: truce proclaimed

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11 July: truce between the Irish and British armed forces comes into effect 14,15, 18, 20 July: negotiations with Lloyd George in London 21 July: de Valera informs Lloyd George that the memorandum of British

proposals for a settlement delivered late on 20 July, are unacceptable July–October: protracted correspondence regarding the terms of reference for

any formal negotiations 10 August: writes to Lloyd George confirming his judgement that British

Government’s proposals are unacceptable 24 August: informs Lloyd George that Dáil Éireann has rejected proposals by a

unanimous vote 26 August: offers the resignation of himself and his Ministers following the

election of a new Dáil. On the motion of Deputy Seán MacEoin, seconded by Deputy Richard Mulcahy, he is unanimously re-elected as ‘President of the Irish Republic’ by the Second Dáil. Lloyd George replies to de Valera’s letter of 24 August

31 August: Robert Barton and Joseph McGrath leave for Gairloch, Scotland to

deliver the Dáil Cabinet’s reply to Lloyd George’s letter of 26 August 1 September: Dáil Cabinet’s reply of 30 August presented to Lloyd George at

Gairloch 7 September: Lloyd George’s reply on behalf of his Cabinet to Dáil Cabinet’s

letter of 30 August 14 September: five plenipotentiaries appointed by Dáil in anticipation of

conference by Lloyd George 17 September: several telegrams pass between de Valera and Lloyd George 19 September: de Valera writes to Lloyd George 29 September: after ten days delay, Lloyd George’s final note of reply to letter of

19 September is telegraphed 30 September: de Valera accepts an invitation to send delegates to a conference

in London ‘with a view to ascertaining how the association of Ireland with the community of nations known as the British Empire may best be reconciled with Irish national aspirations’

11 October–6 December: Treaty negotiations in London

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November: elected to the office of Chancellor of the National University of Ireland, which he retains until his death in 1975

3 December: de Valera visits Clare and Galway and makes speeches defining his

Republican position 6 December: signing of the ‘Articles of Agreement for a Treaty between Great

Britain and Ireland’ [the Anglo Irish Treaty] in London 8 December: issues public statement that he cannot recommend acceptance of

the Treaty 14–22 December: Dáil Éireann Treaty debates 1922 3–10 January: Dáil Éireann Treaty debates 7 January: the Anglo-Irish Treaty is approved by the Dáil by 64 votes to 57 9 January: resigns as President of Dáil Éireann but stands for re-election 10 January: defeated in vote for Presidency by 60 votes to 58. He and all anti-

Treaty deputies walk out. Arthur Griffith elected President. Dáil adjourned to 11 February

14 January: establishment of Provisional Government, with Michael Collins as

Chairman 21–28 January: de Valera attends the World Congress of the Irish Race in Paris February–11 March: confrontation in Limerick between pro- and anti-Treaty

forces. The Mayor of Limerick and prominent leaders from both sides including Michael Collins, de Valera, Liam Lynch, Richard Mulcahy, Eoin O’Duffy, Frank Aiken and Oscar Traynor strive to prevent an outbreak of hostilities. Both forces evacuate the city on 11 March

15 March: Cumann na Poblachta, the anti-Treaty League of the Republic formed

under de Valera’s leadership 16–18 March: de Valera includes in public speeches a warning to the effect that

acceptance of the Treaty by the people would interpose an Irish Government and army between the British Government and any body of Irishmen that might subsequently desire to seek complete independence by armed force

22 March: vehemently denies suggestions that his statements of 16–18 March

were an incitement to civil war 26 March: members of the I.R.A. opposed to the Treaty hold an army convention

in defiance of prohibition by the new Dáil Cabinet

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9 April: the anti-Treaty army convention adopts a new constitution, acknowledging no responsibility to Dáil Éireann or to any political authority, and elects an Executive including Liam Lynch, Liam Mellowes and Rory O’Connor

14 April: Four Courts, Dublin, occupied by anti-Treaty forces led by Rory

O’Connor. De Valera refrains from public condemnation April–May: Dáil Peace Committee meets a number of times before the final

breakdown of talks on 16 May. De Valera attends the Mansion House Conference called by the Archbishop of Dublin Dr. Edward J. Byrne and the Lord Mayor Laurence O’Neill

20 May: Dáil Éireann approves the Collins-de Valera pact signed earlier on the

same day, providing that, in the general election to be held on 16 June, a national coalition panel of candidates representing both parties (pro-Treaty and anti-Treaty) in the Dáil and in the Sinn Féin organisation be sent forward

4 June: birth of seventh child, Terry (Toirleach) de Valera 14 June: in a speech in Cork, Collins virtually repudiates the Collins-de Valera

pact 16 June: publication of the proposed Constitution of the Irish Free State. Polling

takes place in the General Election. 22 June: assassination in London of Field-Marshal Sir Henry Wilson, military

adviser to the Government of Northern Ireland and former Chief of Staff of the Imperial General Staff, leading the British authorities to demand action from the Provisional Government

24 June: general election results: 58 pro-Treaty, 36 anti-Treaty and 34 others

elected. After the election the Dáil sits to formalise transfer of authority. There is another adjournment. The Dáil is prorogued on 4 August

26–28 June: Provisional Government gives orders for the bombardment of the

Four Courts. De Valera declares that ‘England’s threat of war–that, and that alone–is responsible for the present situation’. Rejoins his old unit–3rd Battalion, Dublin Brigade.

30 June: Four Courts garrison surrenders July–August: de Valera undertakes his ‘Southern Tour’ of military operations in

and around Carrick-on-Shannon and Clonmel 12 August: death of Arthur Griffith 22 August: Michael Collins, Commander-in-Chief- of the National Army is shot

dead in an ambush at Béal na mBláth, Co. Cork. Richard Mulcahy succeeds him

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25 August: William T. Cosgrave appointed Chairman of the Provisional Government, in place of Collins

15 October: the Army Emergency Powers Bill becomes effective 25 October: at the request of the executive body of the anti-Treaty forces and of

the anti-Treaty members of the second Dáil elected in May 1921, de Valera accepts appointment as ‘President of the Republic and Chief Executive of the State’ and forms a council of state of 12 members and an ‘emergency’ Republican Government

25 October: the Constitution of the Irish Free State (Saorstát Éireann) Act, 1922,

embodying the Constitution, enacted by Dáil Éireann 17 November: first executions under the Army Emergency Powers Act take place 24 November: Erskine Childers is executed for unlawful possession of a revolver 6 December: the Constitution of the Irish Free State (Saorstát Éireann) comes

into operation. T.M. Healy becomes the first Governor-General and William T. Cosgrave becomes President of the Executive Council (Cabinet)

7 December: the Parliament of Northern Ireland withdraws Northern Ireland

from the jurisdiction of the Parliament and government of the Irish Free State. Anti-Treaty forces assassinate Seán Hales, T.D.

8 December: in reprisal for Hales’ death, Rory O’Connor, Liam Mellowes, Joe

McKelvey and Richard Barrett are executed 1923 1 January: de Valera announces a reorganisation of Sinn Féin (of which he has

continued to be President) March–April: de Valera meets Papal Delegate Monsignor Salvatore Luzio during

his mission to Ireland to examine conditions and try to find a basis for peace 10 April: I.R.A. Chief of Staff Liam Lynch shot dead on way to attend meeting

of Executive in Cork 27 April: de Valera issues proclamation declaring readiness to negotiate an

immediate cessation of hostilities on the basis of certain stated principles. An accompanying order signed by I.R.A. Chief of Staff Frank Aiken directs commanding officers to ‘arrange the suspension of all offensive operations as from noon Monday, April 30th’

24 May: Cease Fire Dump Arms Order issued by Frank Aiken, with an

accompanying message from de Valera 15 August: de Valera arrested by Free State troops during an election campaign

rally in Ennis, Co. Clare, detained for one week in Limerick Jail, before being transferred to Arbour Hill Jail

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October: transferred to Kilmainham Jail 13 October: Republican prisoners in Mountjoy Jail begin a hungerstrike which

spreads to other prisons and lasts until 23 November 1924 Spring: transferred to Arbour Hill Jail 16 July: released from Arbour Hill Jail 15 August: addresses meeting at Ennis, Co. Clare, his first main public

appearance since his release from jail following his arrest in Ennis exactly one year previously

24 October: goes to Newry, Co. Down for an election campaign meeting and is

arrested, detained in Derry Police Barracks on 26 October, taken to Belfast, charged on 1 November and sentenced to one month imprisonment. Transferred to Crumlin Road Jail, Belfast

29 November: released from Crumlin Road Jail, Belfast 1925 9 May: de Valera sends letter to Pope Pius XI to bring to the Pope’s attention the

‘unwarranted and bitter partisan attitude of a great many of our Bishops and clergy in political matters’

14–15 November: an I.R.A. convention adopts a new constitution in which the

authority of the Republican Government established in October 1922 is repudiated

6 December: de Valera denounces the agreement concerning the boundary with

Northern Ireland and financial relations between the Irish Free State and Britain signed by representatives of the Free State and British Governments on 3 December

1926 9 March: Extraordinary Ard Fheis of Sinn Féin. De Valera proposes resolution

‘That once the admission oaths of the Twenty-six-County and Six-County assemblies are removed, it becomes a question not of principle but of policy whether or not Republican representatives should attend these assemblies’. Fails to secure majority approval of the declaration

11 March: de Valera resigns from Presidency of Sinn Féin 16 May: inaugural meeting of Fianna Fáil in La Scala Theatre, Dublin 24, 25 November: first annual Sinn Féin Ard Fheis held in the Rotunda, Dublin 1927 March–April: de Valera visits America to appear in the U.S. courts as a witness

in the case taken by the Irish Free State Government for possession of the residue of the money collected on bond certificates in 1920-21. Follows court appearance with a tour across the continent throughout March and April

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June: Fianna Fáil win 44 seats in the General Election 23 June: opening day of the new Dáil Éireann session, Fianna Fáil deputies

attend Leinster House and are refused access to chamber 12 August: following the assassination of Vice-President of the Executive

Council, Minister for External Affairs and Minister for Justice Kevin O‘Higgins, and the introduction of a Bill requiring candidates in future Dáil elections to bind themselves in advance to take the admission oath prescribed by the Constitution, the Fianna Fáil deputies enter Dáil Éireann stating they regard the Oath of Allegiance as an empty political formula. De Valera becomes leader of the Opposition in the Dáil

25 August: dissolution of Dáil Éireann September: Fianna Fáil wins 57 seats in the General Election 1927–1928 December 1927–February 1928: visits U.S.A. to establish Irish Press Inc. 1928 April, May: organises petition under Article 48 of the Constitution, with a view

to a constitutional amendment to abolish the Oath of Allegiance, presented to the Oireachtas in May

1929 5 February: arrested in train at Goraghwood Station, on way to Belfast to attend

the opening of Aonach na nGaedheal, for crossing the border in contravention of the exclusion order issued against him 5 years before. Detained in Belfast Jail

6 March: released from Belfast Jail 1929–1930 December 1929–May 1930: tours the U.S.A. completing arrangements for

financing the establishment of The Irish Press 1931 [6] September: first edition of The Irish Press 1932 9 March: following the general election in which Fianna Fáil secures 72 seats out

of a total of 153, de Valera becomes President of the Executive Council with the support of Labour (7 seats); also acts as Minister for External Affairs

22 March: on de Valera’s instructions Irish High Commissioner in London John

W. Dulanty, conveys verbally to British Secretary of State for Dominion Affairs James H. Thomas, confirmation of the Government’s intention to abolish the Oath of Allegiance

20 April: de Valera introduces the Constitution (Removal of Oath) Bill in Dáil

Éireann (enactment delayed by the opposition of Seanad Éireann until May 1933)

April–November: correspondence and conferences with the British Government

on the abolition of the Oath and the withholding of the land annuities and certain

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other payments. The British Government imposes penal duties on imports from the Saorstát and the Saorstát Government retaliates in kind. The ‘Economic War’ (1932–38) begins

June: Eucharistic Congress held in Dublin 12 June: death of mother Mrs. Catherine Wheelwright in Rochester, New York

(b. 21 December 1856, married Vivion de Valera 19 September 1881; married Charles Wheelwright 1888)

10 June–16 October: series of meetings in London between de Valera and Prime

Minister Ramsay MacDonald and other members of the British Cabinet 26 September: as Acting President of the Assembly of the League of Nations,

delivers a notable address to the League Assembly, stressing the importance of world public opinion and declaring that, regarding the League’s activities, ‘there is on all sides complaint, criticism and suspicion’

14, 15 October: London Conference 1 November: James MacNeill is removed from office as Governor-General, and

after a short interval, is replaced by Domhnall Ó Buachalla 1933 24 January: general election. Fianna Fáil win 77 seats out of 153 8 February: de Valera forms his second Government 23 April: in a speech at the graves of the 1916 leaders, outlines a programme of

constitutional changes designed to remove the Crown from the Constitution 3 May: Constitution (Removal of Oath) Act becomes law 24 May–4 June: official visit to Rome, receives the Grand Cross of the Pian

Order of Pope Pius XI [5–8] June: visits the Abbey of St. Colombano in Bobbio, Italy 11 August: in view of the activities of the Blueshirts led by General Eoin

O’Duffy and of the I.R.A., the Executive Council brings into operation the special powers conferred by the Constitution (Amendment No. 17) Act and prohibits proposed demonstration in Dublin by the Blueshirts

2 November: Constitution (Amendment No. 20) and Constitution (Amendment

No. 21) Acts become law. No. 20 transfers from the Governor-General to the Executive Council the function of recommending the purpose of the appropriation of money and No. 21 abolishes the Governor-General’s power to withhold the King’s assent to a Bill or to reserve a Bill for the signification of the King’s pleasure

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16 November: Constitution (Amendment No. 22) Act, abolishing appeals to the Privy Council becomes law

1934 12 September: de Valera addresses the League of Nations Assembly and

declares his willingness to support and vote for the admission of Russia to the League

18 September: addresses the League of Nations Assembly and urges the Russian

Government to guarantee liberty of conscience and freedom of worship to the nationals of all countries who reside in Russia and to the Russian people

1935 5 April: Constitution (Amendment No. 26) Act becomes law, removing from

Article 3 of the Constitution words which restricted Free State citizenship to the limits of jurisdiction of the Irish Free State

21 April: (Easter Sunday) de Valera unveils a statue of Cú Chulainn, the 1916

Rising Memorial, in the G.P.O., Dublin 30 April/2 May: de Valera instructs John J. Hearne, legal advisor in the

Department of External Affairs, to prepare draft heads for a new Constitution 18 May: Hearne submits draft heads 1936 9 February: death of son Brian, in a riding accident (b. 25 July 1915) March− May: lengthy stay in Zurich for specialist eye treatment by Prof. Dr.

Alfred Vogt, Director of the University Eye Clinic. Dr. Eamonn de Valera stays with his father in Zurich for a period of six weeks

24 April: Constitution (Amendment No. 23) Act becomes law, abolishing

university representation in Dáil Éireann with effect from the date of the next succeeding dissolution

29 May: Constitution (Amendment No. 24) Act abolishing Seanad Éireann

becomes law 5 June: Executive Council authorises the President to inform King Edward VIII

of the intention of the Irish Government to introduce a Bill for the purpose of establishing a new Constitution

8 June: Irish High Commissioner in London John W. Dulanty delivers a

memorandum to Edward VIII outlining the intentions of the Irish Government 8 September: opens new City Hall, Cork 10 December: abdication of Edward VIII 11 December: Constitution (Amendment No. 27) Act is enacted, removing from

the Constitution all remaining references to the Crown and its representatives

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12 December: Executive Authority (External Relations) Act empowering the King recognised by the states of the British Commonwealth to act on behalf of the Irish Free State, on the advice of the Executive Council, in certain formal matters of external relations

1937 15 January: meeting with Dominions Secretary Malcolm MacDonald in London,

en-route from Zurich following consultation with eye specialist Prof. Dr. Alfred Vogt

10 March: draft Constitution Bill formally introduced in Dáil Éireann 16 March: confidential distribution of first draft Constitution without the Article

on religion, to the Cabinet and to certain members of the judiciary 1 April: first revision completed and printed 3, 5, 10 April: de Valera meets with Papal Nuncio Paschal Robinson; Cardinal

Joseph MacRory, Archbishop of Armagh and Primate of All Ireland; Dr. Edward Byrne, Archbishop of Dublin and Presbyterian minister Dr. James A.H. Irwin to discuss the drafting of the Constitution

10 April: Preamble in final form, second revision circulated 12 April: de Valera meets Nuncio Robinson; Dr. John Gregg, Church of Ireland

Archbishop of Dublin and Dr. Irwin 13 April: de Valera meets Rev. William H. Massey, President of the Methodist

Church in Ireland 14, 16 April: meets Dr. Irwin, Right Rev. F.W.S. O’Neill, Moderator of

Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in Ireland and his successor, the Moderator-designate who travelled from Belfast. Also meets the Nuncio

16 April: Joseph P. Walshe, Secretary of the Department of External Affairs, sent

to Vatican to seek Papal approval for draft Constitution 22 April: Walshe reports Vatican acquiescence 23 April: third revision completed 24 April: de Valera meets Nuncio Robinson and Cardinal MacRory 27 April: Executive Council discusses complete text and the printers are ordered

to print 1,200 copies for distribution to clergy, judiciary, Dáil and prominent public figures abroad

30 April: broadcasts an explanatory radio address on the proposed Constitution 1 May: draft Constitution published and circulated

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11 May: de Valera opens the Dáil debate (second-reading stage) on the draft Constitution

11–13 May: Second Reading in Dáil 17 May: The Irish Press reports praise for Constitution published by Osservatore

Romano 25 May–3 June: Third Reading (Committee Stage) 9–14 June: Fourth Reading (Report) 14 June: draft Constitution approved by Dáil Éireann by 62 votes to 48 14 June: second explanatory radio broadcast on the amended draft of the

proposed Constitution following its approval by the Dáil 1 July: Constitution enacted by plebiscite (685,105 votes in favour, 526,945

against). General Election held. Fianna Fáil win 69 seats out of 138 2 July: opens the 1937 Reading Room in Trinity College Dublin 21 July: de Valera forms a new Government 15, 17 September: discussions with Malcolm MacDonald in Geneva 24 November: de Valera suggests a meeting between representatives of the

British and Irish Governments to discuss certain important matters which would arise in the event of a war

4 December: British Government agrees 29 December: new Constitution comes into operation 1938 17–19 January: discussions begin on 17 January at No. 10 Downing Street

between Irish and British delegations led by de Valera and Neville Chamberlain, the British Prime Minister

20 January: de Valera and the delegates arrive back in Dublin 21 January: de Valera gives a general report at a meeting of the Government on

the matters discussed at the London conference 16 February: copy of the Constitution signed by the Taoiseach (de Valera), the

chief Justice (Timothy O’Sullivan) and the Chairman of Dáil Éireann 19, 20 February: discussions in London between de Valera and Dominions

Secretary Malcolm MacDonald resume 21–25 February: discussions continue

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26 February: discussions adjourned until 3 March 27 February: de Valera states in press interview ‘Until Partition is ended there

can be no final settlement’ 2 March: negotiations resume in London 3–12 March: negotiations continue 6 March: de Valera is the guest of Malcolm MacDonald at his home at Little

Waltham 13 March: Irish delegation arrive back in Dublin 22 April: simultaneous announcement made from Government Buildings and the

Dominions Office that discussions have been concluded and an agreement reached

23 April: de Valera, accompanied by Minister for Industry and Commerce Seán

Lemass, Minister for Finance Seán MacEntee and Minister for Agriculture James Ryan leave for London

25 April: signing of Anglo-Irish agreements covering finance, trade and

abrogation of the defence clauses of the 1921 Treaty, brings the ‘Economic War’ to an end

26 April: text of the signed agreement published in the newspapers 27 April: Seanad Éireann meets for the first time 4 May: President elected 24 May: death of Uncle Patrick Coll in Co. Limerick (b. 1 May 1864) 27 May: Dáil dissolved following the Government’s defeat in a vote concerning

arbitration for civil servants 25 June: with the inauguration of Dr. Douglas Hyde as the first President of

Ireland, the 1937 Constitution becomes fully operative 30 June: General Election. Fianna Fáil returned to office with a clear majority

(77 seats out of 138) 11 July: attends the taking over of Cobh Harbour defences and the raising of the

national flag at Spike Island, Cobh, Co, Cork 30 September: Munich Agreement signed. De Valera welcomes Agreement

speaking as President of the Assembly of the League of Nations at the close of the Assembly’s session

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13 October: in an interview with a correspondent of the London Evening

Standard (published 17 October) he initiates a campaign to inform British public opinion on Partition

1939 16 January: The I.R.A. begin a series of bombing outrages in British cities,

causing many deaths, injuries and widespread destruction of property 8 February: Offences Against the State Bill introduced in Dáil Éireann 16 February: speaking in Dáil Éireann de Valera reasserts Ireland’s right to

remain neutral in a war in which Britain is involved 10–19 March: visit to Rome for the coronation of Pope Pius XII on 12 March 4 May: following a public protest and private representations by de Valera,

Neville Chamberlain announces that his Government has decided to exclude Northern Ireland from the scope of a Bill introducing compulsory military service

14 June: Offences Against the State Act becomes law 23 June: I.R.A. declared an unlawful organisation 1 September: Germany invades Poland 2 September: de Valera reaffirms Ireland’s policy of neutrality 2 September: all stages of the First Amendment of the Constitution Bill, 1939

pass in both the Dáil and the Seanad, and the Bill is signed by the President 8 September: reorganises Government, transferring Frank Aiken to a new post of

Minister for the Co-ordination of Defensive Measures and assigning Defence to Oscar Traynor and Justice to Gerald Boland

27 September: becomes Minister for Education, in addition to being Taoiseach

and Minister for External Affairs 21 October: declines to afford naval facilities to Great Britain at an Irish port

when approached on the matter by Sir John Maffey, newly appointed British representative to Ireland, on instructions of the British War Cabinet

1940 29 January–6 February: in communications with Anthony Eden, Dominions

Secretary, and Neville Chamberlain, makes strong but unsuccessful appeals for clemency for two Irishmen sentenced to death in England for participation in 1939 bombings

12 May: protests against the German invasion of Belgium and The Netherlands

in a public speech

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23 May: authorises discussions between Irish military authorities and British service staff to co-ordinate plans for resistance to a German attack on Ireland

June: establishes the Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies with Schools of

Celtic Studies and Theoretical Physics 17, 21, 26 June: Malcolm MacDonald visits Dublin. Proposal to come in to war.

Possibility of immediate German invasion strongly urged 18 June: relinquishes the office of Minister for Education 4 July: in a letter to Neville Chamberlain de Valera formally rejects a British

Government plan for Ireland’s immediate entry into the war on the side the allies in exchange for a British Government declaration accepting the principle of a united Ireland

11 July: following complaints by the Irish Government concerning the landing in

Ireland by parachute of a German intelligence officer Hermann Goertz, the German Foreign Minister Joachim von Ribbentrop, gives an undertaking that Germany will respect Ireland’s neutrality

14 July: Irish Government informed by British Legation that British Intelligence

had information Germans would invade the following day 15 October: the Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies begins to exercise its

functions 7 November: in reply to a statement in the House of Commons on 5 November

by Winston Churchill deploring Britain’s inability to use the south and west coasts of Ireland, de Valera declares in Dáil Éireann that, so long as Ireland remains neutral, there can be no question of handing over ports ‘on any condition whatsoever’

27 November: Second Amendment of the Constitution Bill, 1940: introduced in

Dáil Éireann 1941 27 May: proposal to extend conscription to Northern Ireland is abandoned by

British Government after consideration of representations by de Valera, supported by all other party leaders and an expression of sympathy by U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt

30 May: Second Amendment to the Constitution Act, 1940 signed by the

President December: de Valera declines an invitation to a personal meeting with Churchill

received immediately after the Japanese bombing of Pearl Harbour (7 December), but meets Lord Cranborne, British Dominions Secretary (17 December) in Dublin, with no material result

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14 December: declares that, even though the U.S.A. is now involved in the war, Ireland’s policy of neutrality remains unchanged

1942 27 January: issues a statement defining Ireland’s position regarding partition,

following the landing of U.S. troops in Northern Ireland late February: receives a personal message from President Roosevelt assuring

him that there is no intention of invading Irish territory or threatening Irish security

25 March: the text of the Constitution of Ireland as amended by the first two

Acts to amend the Constitution prepared in accordance with Article 25 is enrolled in the Office of the Registrar of the Supreme Court

1943 1 July: appointed Taoiseach following General Election in June in which Fianna

Fáil won 67 seats out of 138 1944 21 February: rejects formal request by the U.S. Government ‘that the Irish

Government take appropriate steps for the recall of German and Japanese representatives in Ireland’

6 March: replies formally to the ‘American Note’ supported by the British,

requesting the removal of Axis representatives from Ireland, stating ‘The Irish Government…are safeguarding, and will continue to safeguard, the interests of the United States, but they must in all circumstances protect the neutrality of the Irish State and the democratic way of life of the Irish people’

24 March: appeals to the Governments of the belligerent powers for measures to

ensure the safety of the city of Rome 9 June: following a General election occasioned by a defeat in Dáil Éireann on a

Transport Bill, is returned to office with 76 Dáil seats out of 138 25 June: attends a function to commemorate the 300th anniversary of the death

of chronicler Br. Mícheál Ó Cléirigh, O.F.M. (1575–1643) ‘Chief of the Four Masters’, held in the Gaiety Theatre, Dublin

9 October: in reply to a request (21 September) by American Ambassador David

Gray, for assurances that ‘Axis war criminals’ would not be given asylum in Ireland, declines to give any assurance that would preclude the Government from exercising their right to grant asylum ‘should justice, charity or the honour or interest of the nation so require’

1945 13 April: pays tribute to the late President Roosevelt (died 12 April), in a

message to President Truman 30 April: pays a formal call of condolence on the German Minister in Dublin

Eduard Hempel, on the death of Hitler

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16 May: broadcasts an address expressing gratitude to God for the ending of the war and for Ireland’s escape from its worst effects, including a reply to certain comments on Irish neutrality made on 13 May by Winston Churchill

17 July: declares in Dáil Éireann that the Irish State possesses ‘every

characteristic mark by which a republic can be distinguished or recognised’ 1946 12 January: death of Uncle Edward Coll in U.S.A. (b. 6 June 1858) 29 January: receives Freedom of the City of Waterford 22 July: death of half-brother Fr. Thomas J. Wheelwright, following a car

accident in U.S.A. on 19 July (b.18 December 1890) 24, 25 July: proposes in Dáil Éireann that steps should be taken with a view to

Ireland’s admission to the United Nations 5 October: receives Freedom of the City of Galway 1947 Establishes the School of Cosmic Studies in the Dublin Institute for Advanced

Studies 13–23 July: tours the western islands of Ireland and the Scottish Hebrides–the

‘Macha Tour’–(on the corvette L.E. Macha) 22 September: addresses an international conference in Paris on co-operation in

use of American financial assistance for economic recovery in Europe (‘The Marshall Plan Conference’)

1948 18 February: Fianna Fáil Government replaced by a coalition Government led

by John A. Costello, S.C., having secured only 68 seats out of a total of 147 in the General Election. De Valera becomes leader of the Opposition

23 April–June: accompanied by Frank Aiken undertakes Anti-Partition World

Tour visiting the U.S.A., Australia, New Zealand, Tasmania and India (New Delhi, Calcutta and Bombay 14–16 June)

October–November: anti-Partition tours of Great Britain 24 November, 1 December: supports the inter-party Government’s Bill for the

repeal of the Executive Authority (External Relations) Act, 1936, the application to the State of the description ‘Republic of Ireland’ and the exercise by the President, on the advice of the Government, of executive power in connection with external relations

1949 January, March: visits U.K. to attend anti-Partition rallies 10 May: seconds Dáil motion by Taoiseach John A. Costello protesting against

the British Labour Government’s Bill declaring that in no event would Northern

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Ireland or any part of it cease to be a part of the United Kingdom without the consent of the Parliament of Northern Ireland

1950 February: anti-Partition tour of Wales July: attends the celebrations to mark the fourteenth centenary of the birth of St.

Columbanus (Colomban) in Luxeuil, France and subsequently goes on pilgrimage to Rome (24–26 July), Athens (26, 27 July) and the Holy Land (27 July–2 August) for the Holy Year, accompanied by his sons Dr. Eamonn and Vivion de Valera. Returns via Strasbourg (2, 3 August) and Zurich and attends a European Consultative Assembly meeting

1951 13 June: returned to office as Taoiseach, with 69 Dáil members out of 147 and

the support of some independent deputies, following a General Election occasioned by the dispute in the inter-party Government concerning the mother and child health scheme

14 June: Frank Aiken appointed Minster for External Affairs 15, 16 July: attends celebrations at the Carmelite Priory, Aylesford, England

marking the return of the relics of its first Prior St. Simon Stock, from Bordeaux October: attends the celebrations marking the 13th centenary of the death of St.

Gall in St. Gallen, Switzerland. Consults with eye specialist Prof. Wagner in Zurich during his visit

1952 19 August − 6 December: undergoes a series of six eye operations in Utrecht 1953 September: two week private visit to the continent accompanied by Dr. Eamonn

de Valera and his wife Sally and Fr. Thomas O’Doherty. Visits Paris, Lourdes, San Sebastien, Lisbon, Fatima and London. Meets Portuguese Prime Minister Dr. Antonio de Oliveira Salazar

1954 2 June: following a General Election (in which Fianna Fáil secured 65 out of 147

seats), John A. Costello forms his second inter-party Government. De Valera again leader of the Opposition

28 June: supports the new Government’s view in Dáil Éireann, that there are

serious objections to the granting of audience to Northern Ireland representatives in either the Dáil or the Seanad

October: N.B.C. records interview with de Valera as part of their ‘Wise Elders’

series. The film ‘Conversation with Eamon de Valera’ is broadcast on the N.B.C. network on 13 March 1955 and on Canadian television in [September] 1955

1956 7 April: death of Personal Secretary Kathleen O'Connell 1957 20 March: Fianna Fáil having secured 78 seats out of 147, de Valera begins his

last term of office as Taoiseach

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July: action previously initiated by the inter-party Government to defeat a renewed campaign of I.R.A. violence is intensified

5 July: de Valera signs a Government proclamation bringing into force Part II of

the Offences Against the State (Amendment) Act, 1940, which gives special powers of arrest and detention without trial

4–12 October: visit to Rome to attend the celebrations marking the 300th

anniversary of the death of Fr. Luke Wadding, O.F.M. 1958 September: visits Lourdes to attend the Marian Congress 1–9 November: attends the coronation of Pope John XXIII n Rome. Visits many

Irish centres and is made an honorary member of the Carmelite Order November: Government published a programme for economic expansion, based

on a report entitled Economic Development prepared by Dr. T.K. Whittaker, Secretary of the Department of Finance. De Valera recommends to Dáil Éireann a Bill to amend the Constitution so as to abolish proportional representation in Dáil elections (rejected in a referendum held simultaneously with a Presidential Election in June 1959)

1959 17 June: elected President of Ireland (538,003 votes to 417,536 votes for rival

candidate General Seán MacEoin of the Fine Gael party) 23 June: resigns from office as Taoiseach and is succeeded by Seán Lemass 25 June: inaugurated as President, in succession to Seán T. O’Kelly (1945–59) 1960 8 January: celebrates 50th (Golden) wedding anniversary 23 April: receives the Freedom of the Borough of Clonmel, Co. Tipperary 11 May: receives honorary degree of Doctor of Science from Dublin University

(Trinity College Dublin) 1961 Grand Cross of the Order of Charles 17 March: de Valera attends Patrician celebrations in Armagh (1,500th

anniversary of the death of St. Patrick) 10–14 June: Prince Rainier and Princess Grace of Monaco guests of the

President at Aras an Uachtaráin during their state visit to Ireland 31 December: broadcasts ‘Opening Message’ on Telefís Éireann 1962 16–24 March: state visit to Rome and the Vatican. Broadcasts St. Patrick’s Day

message from Vatican Radio (17 March). Attends consecration of Cardinal Michael Browne, O.P.. Decoration of the Supreme Order of Christ conferred on him on 16 March by Pope John XXIII

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1963 4–8 February: His Eminence Francis Cardinal Spellman guest of the President at

Aras an Uachtaráin 26–28 June: state visit to Ireland by U.S. President John F. Kennedy, welcomed

at airport by President de Valera 30 June–3 July: attends coronation of Pope Paul VI in Rome August: Prince Rainier and Princess Grace of Monaco visit Aras an Uachtaráin

during their private visit to Ireland 3 September: speaks at the ceremony laying the foundation stone of the new

Abbey Theatre in Dublin 6 November: broadcasts radio and television tribute to the late Rev. Dr. Daniel

Mannix, Archbishop of Melbourne (1917–63) [27–29] November: attends state funeral of John F. Kennedy 2 December: unveils plaque at Gate Theatre, Dublin commemorating the 50th

anniversary of the foundation of the Irish Volunteers 1964 9 January: made an Honorary Fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons in

Ireland 26–29 May: Presidential state visit to the U.S.A. 28 May: addresses both Houses of the Congress of the United States, meeting in

joint session 1–3 June: official visit to Canada 16–18 July: President of Pakistan Field Marshall Mohammad Ayub Khan guest

of the President at Aras an Uachtaráin during his state visit to Ireland 21–24 September: President of India Dr. Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan guest of the

President at Aras an Uachtaráin during his state visit to Ireland 22–24 November: President of Zambia Dr. Kenneth David Kaunda guest of the

President at Aras an Uachtaráin during his state visit to Ireland 1965 February: attends the interment of the repatriated remains of Roger Casement in

Glasnevin Cemetery, Dublin 1 March: address at the interment of the remains of Roger Casement in

Glasnevin Cemetery, Dublin 1 May: attends the blessing and opening of the new Liberty Hall, Dublin

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15 August: attends the consecration of Galway Cathedral 31 October: attends the opening of Cork Opera House 1966 20–22 March: Cardinal Laurean Rugambwa guest of President de Valera at Aras

an Uachtaráin 4 April: de Valera, Taoiseach Seán Lemass and former President Seán T.

O’Kelly are presented with 1916 Survivors’ Medals by Minister for Defence, the first of 900 medals presented on the 50th anniversary of the 1916 Easter Rising

10–30 April: official events to commemorate the fiftieth anniversary of the 1916

Easter Rising 10 April: formally opens Kilmainham Jail Historical Museum 11 April: formally opens the Garden of Remembrance in Parnell Square, Dublin 13 April: unveils statue of Robert Emmett at Iveagh House 14 April: conferral of honorary degrees by National University of Ireland upon

relatives of the signatories of the Proclamation of the Republic 15 April: unveils plaque at Bolands’ Bakery 16 April: unveils statue of Thomas Davis at College Green, Dublin and attends

the closing ceremony at the G.P.O., Dublin 19 April: Doctorate of the University of Louvain conferred at Iveagh House by a

delegation from the University 24 April: unveils memorial plaque at Arbour Hill 19 May: receives Doctorate of the University of Louvain at a ceremony in Iveagh

House 18 June: opens the new Abbey Theatre, Dublin 25 June: inaugurated President of Ireland for a second term, having defeated

Thomas F. O’Higgins of Fine Gael by 558,861 votes to 548,144 July: Donnchadh Ó Dualaing’s documentary series ‘The Boy from Bruree’

broadcast on Radio Éireann. President Richard M. Nixon visits Aras an Uachtaráin

18 August: dedication of a forest park in Kafr Kanna, near Nazareth, in Israel, in

honour of de Valera, by the Irish Jewish community 24–25 October: His Eminence Josef Cardinal Beran guest of the President at

Aras an Uachtaráin

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23 November: former President Seán T. O’Kelly dies. De Valera pays tribute to

him in a radio broadcast 1967 15 May: made at Honorary Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians 12 July: opens the new Berkeley Library in Trinity College Dublin 22 September: Field Marshall the Viscount Montgomery of Alamein visits Aras

an Uachtaráin 18 November: unveils Wolfe Tone Memorial at St. Stephen’s Green, Dublin 1968 Made a Fellow of the Royal Society 29 May: attends opening of the John F. Kennedy Memorial Park at Slieve

Coillte, Co. Wexford, with Mrs. Edward Kennedy and Mr. and Mrs. Sargent Shriver

14–17 May: Their Majesties The King and Queen of the Belgians (King

Baudouin and Queen Fabiola) guests of the President at Aras an Uachtaráin 11–12 July: U. Thant Secretary General of the United Nations guest of the

President at Aras an Uachtaráin 9 September: transfer to the State of the Chester Beatty Library 16–17 September: President of the Federal Republic of Germany Dr. Heinrich

Lübke and Mrs. Lübke guests of the President at Aras an Uachtaráin during their private visit to Ireland

1969 21 January: addresses a joint meeting of Dáil Éireann and Seanad Éireann in the

Round Room of the Mansion House, Dublin, where the first Dáil Éireann held its first meeting on 21 January 1919

17–19 June: Former President of the Republic of France General Charles de

Gaulle and Mrs. de Gaulle guests of the President at Aras an Uachtaráin during their private visit to Ireland

1970 10 January: celebrates 60th (Diamond) wedding anniversary 5 October: U.S. President Richard M. Nixon at Aras an Uachtaráin during his

state visit to Ireland (3–5 November) 2 November: publication of biography entitled Eamon de Valera by Thomas P.

O’Neill and Lord Longford 1971 4 April: private visit to Lourdes 14 October: receives the Freedom of the City of Wexford

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1972 8 October: attends opening of the Bruree Community Centre and the de Valera

Museum in Co. Limerick 14 October: celebrates 90th birthday 12 November: the Hon. John W. McCormack, former Speaker, U.S. States

Congress guest at Aras an Uachtaráin 1973 11 April: the Hon. John W. McCormack, former Speaker, U.S. Congress guest at

Aras an Uachtaráin April: (Easter Sunday) private visit to Lourdes 31 May: receives the Freedom of the City of Cork 24 June: last day in office as President of Ireland. Leaves Aras an Uachtaráin to

take up residence in Talbot Lodge, Linden Convalescent Home, Blackrock, Co. Dublin. On way, addresses a public meeting, for the last time, at Boland’s Mills (where he commanded his battalion during Easter Week 1916)

25 June: attends the inauguration of his successor President Erskine Hamilton

Childers in St. Patrick’s Hall, Dublin Castle 1974 26 May: unveils a bust of the late Most Rev. John Charles McQuaid, Archbishop

of Dublin, in the foyer of Blackrock College Chapel 1975 7 January: death of Sinéad de Valera on the eve of their 65th wedding

anniversary 7 March: receives the Freedom of the City of Dublin (along with John A.

Costello) 29 August: death of Eamon de Valera in his ninety-third year. Buried in

Glasnevin Cemetery Dublin.

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P150/ Eamon de Valera Papers

© UCD-OFM Partnership 2005 1

1. PERSONAL

I. Birth and early childhood

1 n.d. Typescript recollections by de Valera headed

‘My Parents, My Birth, and My Arrival in Ireland’. Two drafts. 2 items, 2pp each

2 16 July 1959 Holograph note to ‘Frank’ from Jim O’B[?]

enclosing a black and white photograph of an 1861 print depicting a view of New York’s 2nd Avenue looking up from 42nd Street, ‘a block’ from where de Valera was born (n.d., 25cm x 20cm).

2 items

3 1897-1972 File on the Church of St. Agnes, 141 East 43rd

Street, New York, where de Valera was baptised, 3 December 1882. Includes:

− souvenir postcards depicting the interior of the Parish Shrine and Mission Church of St. Agnes, East 43rd Street, New York. Views show the altar, the Grotto of Our Lady of Lourdes and the Pieta Shrine in the church (n.d., 3 items, 14cm x 8cm each);

− newspaper cutting and notes to de Valera from Monsignor John Brew, Pastor of St. Agnes’ relating to the renovation of the church in [1967] (n.d., 3 items). Also black and white press photograph of Cardinal Francis Spellman, along with Monsignor Brew and Monsignor [Ahern], at the baptismal font, at which de Valera was baptised (©The New York Times, 25cm x 20cm);

− copies of de Valera’s Baptismal Certificate (baptised on 3 December 1882 by Fr. H.C. MacDowall; Sponsors: John Hennessy and Mary Shine) (7 March 1897, 24 April 1927, 8 April 1931; 5 November 1956 & 16 January 1961, 6 items, 1p each). See also P150/3194 for a photograph of the baptismal fount in St. Agnes’ Church.

14 items

P150/ Eamon de Valera Papers

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4 [c. 1882-84] Studio photographs of de Valera as a baby (in

the U.S.A.): − hand coloured [albumen] portrait, labelled on reverse ‘E de Valera as infant

in America’ [in Kathleen O'Connell’s hand]. Photographer: J.F. Kraft, 216 3rd Avenue, New York (original image extremely faded). Carte de Visite (n.d., c.1882-83, 6cm x 10 cm);

− tintype portrait (n.d., c.1882-83, 6cm x 8cm); − tintype portrait (n.d., c.1882-83, 6cm x 8cm); − tintype portrait, sitting up in a chair (n.d., c.1883-84, 6cm x 8cm) and

enlarged copy of same (printed on paper) and labelled ‘Eamon de Valera before he left America for Ireland’ (8cm x 13cm).

5 items 5 [c.1884−94] Studio portraits of de Valera as a small boy

between the ages of two and a half and twelve. − at two and a half years old. Mackey’s Photo Gallery, 418 Grand Street, New

York City. Cabinet card (n.d., c.1884, 10cm x 16cm), also negative and two modern reproductions of same (8cm x 12cm) and (19cm x 24cm);

− at four and a half years old. Photographer: Henry O’Shea, 127 George Street, Limerick. Albumen print. Carte de visite (n.d., c.1887, 2 copies, 6cm x 10cm each) and modern enlarged reproduction of same (9 cm x 15cm). Image used in Eamon de Valera Longford and O’Neill biography (1970) under the caption ‘Aged 4 , wearing, he says, his aunt’s boots’;

− at twelve years of age. Photographer: Henry O’Shea, 127 George Street, Limerick. Albumen print. Carte de visite (n.d., c.1894, 6cm x 10cm). Image used in Eamon de Valera Longford and O’Neill biography (1970) under the caption ‘At about the age of 12’. Also negative of same.

7 items 6 n.d. Lock of fair hair labelled ‘President de Valera’s

hair as a young boy’. 1 item

P150/ Eamon de Valera Papers

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II. Schooldays

a. Bruree and Charleville C.B.S., 1888 – 98

7 21 October 1965 – Letter to President de Valera’s Personal

24 February 1966; Secretary Marie O'Kelly from Mary C. 17 March 1966 Bromage, Assistant Professor of Written

Communication, The University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan, enclosing copies of replies from various libraries regretting they cannot help in tracing the source of an acrostic [an alphabet rhyme learned by de Valera in his childhood] sent to Professor Bromage by Marie O'Kelly. Also typescript copy of ‘Part of the Alphabet used in a Child’s Illustrated book and published in Some seventy or eight years ago’ (sic) [probably the acrostic in question].

7 items 8 13 September 1956 Recollections dictated by de Valera in

September 1956 of his schooldays, listing the names of his teachers in Bruree National School, the Christian Brothers’ school in Charleville, Co. Cork, Blackrock College, Dublin and University College Blackrock. Also lists the various mathematics and physics courses he attended between 1905 and [1908] and refers to various athletic pursuits at Blackrock and Rockwell College. 2pp

9 6 August 1891;. Handwritten notes and extracts from records of

1952 & n.d Bruree National School on teachers; de Valera’s attendance (n.d. & 1952, 4 items); and the

‘Examination Roll (and Promotion Sheet) of all Pupils whose Names were on the Rolls on the last day of Month preceding examination, and who made 100 or more Attendances within the previous year’. ‘Bruree Male National School, District No. 52. Roll No. 8572, P[oor] L[aw] Union, Kilmallock, County Limerick’, Revd. E. Sheehy P.P. Manager.

Eight year old ‘Eddie Devalera’ is registered in Second Class as No. 441, with 171 ‘Attendances made in the year’. Signed by Teacher John Kelly (6 August 1891, 4pp). 5 items

10 1 December 1957 Holograph note by Rev. Dr. Patrick O’Neill,

Bishop of Limerick, certifying that Eamon de Valera was confirmed by Rev. Dr. E.T. O’Dwyer in Rockhill Church on 23 May 1894. See also P150/2723 for the menu accompanying the dinner following the consecration of the Most. Rev. Patrick O’Neill as Bishop of Limerick on 24 February 1946 1p

P150/ Eamon de Valera Papers

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11 1897−99 Junior Grade and Middle Grade Examination Certificates awarded to Edward de Valera, by

the Intermediate Education Board for Ireland between 1897 and 1899, while de Valera was a pupil at the Christian Brothers School in Charleville [between November 1896 and summer 1898] and in Blackrock College [between September 1898 and 1900]:

-Junior Grade Certificate certifying that de Valera was awarded a Pass in Latin, English and Algebra and a Pass with Honors in Greek, Arithmetic and Euclid (1897);

-Junior Grade Certificate certifying that de Valera was awarded an Exhibition, with a Pass with Honors in Greek, Latin, English, French, Arithmetic, Euclid and Algebra (1898);

-Middle Grade Certificate certifying that de Valera was awarded an Exhibition, with a Pass with Honors in Greek, Latin, English, French, Arithmetic, Euclid and Algebra (1899).

3 items, 25cm x 36cm 12 [1890s] Documents relating to de Valera’s attendance at

Charleville Christian Brothers School between 1896 and 1898. Includes:

- copybook used by ‘Edward de Valera’ during his time at Charleville C.B.S.. Contains French, Latin, Greek, Mathematics and English exercises (1890s, 52pp);

- presentation folder labelled ‘Christian Schools (English, Classical and Mathematical) Charleville. Intermediate Examinations 1898’ containing black and white photograph of a fragment of the printed sheet listing the results of the 1898 Charleville C.B.S. Intermediate Examinations − Edward de Valera is a Junior Grade Exhibitioner − ‘£20 a year, tenable for three years’ (n.d., 16cm x 21cm);

- photograph of a copy of the same printed sheet of Intermediate Exam results (n.d., 11cm x 15cm); - photograph of Charleville Christian Brother’s School 1898 Exhibitioners and Prize Winners including de Valera (back row, 2nd from left) (1898, 15cm x 11cm). Also mounted reproduction of same with individuals named (22cm x 27cm) [used in the Irish Press ‘Dev Series’]; - close-up of de Valera taken from the above (12cm x 16 cm); - cutting from unidentified newspaper reproducing the photograph under the caption ‘De Valera And Classmates’ (post 1957, 1 item); - and list of short biographical notes on the individuals in the photograph − M. Daly, de Valera, J. Kelly, Frank Carroll, David O’Riordan, James Samuel Scott, William Noonan, Br. Prenderville, J. O’Callaghan and Ed. Daly (n.d., 1p).

8 items