Éamon de Valera was a leader in Ireland’s struggle for independence from Britain in the War of Independence and of the anti-Treaty opposition in the Irish Civil War. He spent over 50 years in politics, from 1917 to 1973.
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No matter what the future may hold for the Irish nation, the seven years — 1916 to 1923 — must ever remain a period of absorbing interest. Not for over two hundred years has there been such a period of intense and sustained effort to regain the national sovereignty and independence.
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Over the greater part of the period it was the effort of, one might say, the entire nation. An overwhelming majority of the people of this island combined voluntarily during those years in pursuit of a common purpose.
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I am against this Treaty not because I am a man of war but because I am a man of peace. I am against this Treaty because it will not end the centuries of conflict between the two nations of Great Britain and Ireland.
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If there is to be any hope of prosperity for this country it is by reversing that policy which made us simply the kitchen garden for supplying the British with cheap food.
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We, of our time, have played our part in the perseverance, and we have pledged ourselves to the dead generations who have preserved intact for us this glorious heritage, that we, too, will strive to be faithful to the end, and pass on this tradition unblemished.
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Great Irish quotes – a flair for the memorable quote
Irish History – quick, easy-to-read summaries
Easter Rising 1916 – six days that changed course of history
