Éamon de Valera: A Will to Power

by Ronan Fanning

Overview

This “astute, nuanced and highly readable” biography of the legendary Irish president offers an enlightening reappraisal of his divisive legacy (Wall Street Journal).

Ronan Fanning, one of Ireland’s foremost historians, presents a nuanced portrait of the man who embodies Irish independence as much as Charles de Gaulle personifies French resistance and Winston Churchill exemplifies British resolve. Fanning reconciles de Valera’s shortcomings with his towering achievement as the statesman who single-handedly severed Ireland’s last ties to England.

Born in New York in 1882, de Valera was raised by his mother’s family in Ireland, where a solitary upbringing forged the extraordinary self-sufficiency that became his hallmark. Conservative in his youth, he changed his name from Edward to Éamon when he joined the Irish language revival movement. He later joined the Irish Volunteers, a nationalist military organization, and participated in the 1916 Easter Rising.

De Valera used his prestige as the senior surviving rebel officer to become the leader of Ireland’s revolutionary nationalists. But his famous iron will became a fateful weakness when he stubbornly rejected the Anglo-Irish Treaty, sparking the Irish Civil War of 1922–1923. This “well-written and balanced biography” presents a man who’s dedication to independence was unwavering, yet whose vision for Ireland was blinkered (Irish Examiner).

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780674970557
Publisher:	Harvard University Press
Publication date:	01/18/2023
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	307
Sales rank:	627,733
File size:	9 MB

About the Author

Ronan Fanning is Professor Emeritus of Modern History at University College Dublin.

Table of Contents

List of Illustrations ix

Map: Éarn on de Valeras Homes in Blackrock xi

Introduction 1

1 From Bruree to Blackrock 3

2 The Greening of Edward de Valera 20

3 Eamon de Valera and the 1916 Rising 34

4 The Assumption of Power, 1916-19 47

5 Mission to America, 1919-20 70

6 1921: War and Peace 89

7 Catastrophe 108

8 A Glass Wall 130

9 The Path Back to Power 143

10 The Attainment of Independence, 1932-8 159

11 Independence Affirmed: Neutrality in World War II 182

12 De Valeras Ireland 199

13 Marking Time, 1948-59 225

14 Last Laps, 1959-75 246

Conclusion 260

References 271

Select Bibliography 288

Acknowledgements 293

Index 295

Editorial Reviews

The best biography yet of the Irish statesman, is a succinct, judicious treatment of the basic facts of his life, his ideas, the controversies he generated, and his place not just in Irish but also world history.

Choice - D. M. Cregier

[A] compact but searching biography…Fanning is no simplistic apologist for his subject, but nor is he hostile toward him. This approach is more than usually valuable, for de Valera was a polarizing and controversial figure, and so a balanced assessment is especially welcome in assessing his decades-long political dominance…There are many surprises along the way, even for those readers well-informed on Irish history and politics…This biography makes a strong and ultimately convincing case for de Valera as the indispensable founding father of the sovereign Irish Republic we know today.

Washington Times - Martin Rubin

[A] measured and balanced biography.

PopMatters - John L. Murphy

De Valera (1882–1975) is the subject of many biographies, including several authorized productions that he carefully supervised. But Eamon de Valera: A Will to Power, by Ronan Fanning, stands out…An astute, nuanced and highly readable life that manages to be both sharply critical and expansive in its judgments. In this era of doorstop biographies, Fanning deserves extra praise for accomplishing all this in a trim 300 pages.

Wall Street Journal - Michael O’Donnell

[A] sharp new biography of de Valera.

New York Review of Books - Fintan O’Toole

Reading these pages, it is hard to imagine any other Irish figure of the time having the subtlety and stature to face down Winston Churchill during the Second World War… Fanning’s marvelous book is more a political portrait than a conventional biography. It is sympathetic but not hagiographic.

Financial Times - Vincent Boland

Unlike some of the earlier biographies of Éamon de Valera, Ronan Fanning seeks neither to deify nor demonise his subject. Instead he provides a lively account recognising his subject’s accomplishments and failures… This well-written and balanced biography is a lively and judicious account of the Long Fellow’s career.

Irish Examiner - Ryle Dwyer

The extraordinary story of de Valera’s emergence from a laborer’s cottage in Co. Limerick and ultimate arrival at the forefront of Irish political life is well told in [this] sterling new biography by Ronan Fanning… You can’t argue with…the authority and conciseness of Ronan Fanning’s account.

Times Literary Supplement - Patricia Craig

Dev, as befits one of our greatest statesmen, has been the subject of many books—some good, some less good, some bordering on hagiography, some seething with enmity. Fanning is not one for hasty judgments. His literary skills and his unerring grasp of the realities of politics make this one a convincing narrative and a joy to read.

Irish Independent - James Downey

The beauty of this admirable, succinct biography of Dev by one of Ireland’s foremost historians is that he acknowledges all [the] charges [against De Valera], accepts the validity of some of them, and still presents us with a sympathetic account of the man… A rounded and brave take on this lanky, divisive, extraordinary figure: this biography is a feat.

Independent [UK] - Melanie McDonagh