Éamon de Valera was the single most consequential Irish figure of the twentieth century. He was a leader in the Easter Rising, the figurehead of the anti-Treaty rebels during the dark days of the Civil War and, later, as the founder of Fianna Fáil and president of Ireland, the pivotal figure in the birth of the Republic. In this, the first volume of a magisterial new biography, acclaimed historian and broadcaster David McCullagh charts De Valera's vertiginous rise from humble beginnings to electoral victory with Fianna Fáil in 1932. Riveting, nuanced, provocative and humorous, it draws on a wealth of new and neglected sources to present a truly ground-breaking portrait of de Valera the man, his times and his complex, ever-shifting legacy. 'David McCullagh combines the investigative skills of an experienced journalist with the detachment of an accomplished historian. In this vividly readable and at times gripping biography he tackles head-on all of the perennial de Valera controversies, including his parentage, his role in the 1916 Rising, his relationship with Michael Collins, his responsibility for the Civil War and his subsequent rise to power, and does so with acuity and objectivity. McCullagh's range and command of the source material is masterly ... a comprehensive, mature biography, both enlightening and entertaining.' MAURICE MANNING

From the host of RTÉ's Primetime and author of The Reluctant Taoiseach, the widely acclaimed biography of John A. Costello, Rise 1882-1932 is the first volume of a major two-part reassessment of the man who shaped modern Ireland. Eamon de Valera is the most single most consequential Irish figure of the twentieth century. He was a leader of the Easter Rising, the figurehead of the anti-treaty rebels during the dark days of the Civil War and later, as the founder of Fianna Fáil and President of Ireland, the pivotal figure in the birth of the Republic. While de Valera the statesman, the rebel, the visionary, has passed over into a sort of myth, de Valera the man remains an elusive, almost opaque presence. Precious little is known of his background, his motivations - the roots, in short, of his ferocious devotion to a very particular brand of Irish nationalism. Here, in the first part of a major two-volume reassessment, historian and broadcaster David McCullagh considers the man behind the colossal achievements. McCullagh sketches a ground-breaking portrait of de Valera, his times and his complex, ever-shifting legacy. The concluding volume of this work, Rule 1932-1975, will be published in autumn 2018. 'De Valera can elicit hostility or, worse, gullibility in historians. McCullagh avoids these faults: dispassionate, comprehensive and the best exploitation yet of the voluminous de Valera archive.' John Bowman, historian and broadcaster. 'Combines the investigative skills of an experienced journalist with the detachment of an accomplished historian. This vividly readable and at times gripping biography tackles head-on all of the perennial de Valera controversies, including his parentage, his role in the 1916 Rising, his relationship with Michael Collins, his responsibility for the Civil War and his subsequent rise to power, and does so with acuity and objectivity. A comprehensive, mature biography, both enlightening and entertaining.' Maurice Manning

In this, the concluding volume of David McCullagh's monumental new life of the revolutionary and statesman, we join De Valera in 1932 as he takes the reins of power in the first Fianna Fáil government, and follow him as he confronts one challenge after another – the Economic War, the drafting of Bunreacht na hÉireann, the Emergency, the North, the declaration of the Republic, economic stagnation in the 1950s – and sets about gradually remaking a sovereign Ireland in his own image.Beautifully written and deeply researched, McCullagh's De Valera is a provocative and nuanced portrait of Ireland's most enigmatic leader, as well as a balanced assessment of his role in shaping our national self-image.

Éamon de Valera is the most remarkable man in the history of modern Ireland. Much as Churchill personified British resistance to Hitler and de Gaulle personified the freedom of France, de Valera personified Irish independence. From his emergence in the aftermath of the 1916 rebellion as the republican leader, he bestrode Irish politics like a colossus for over fifty years. On the eve of the centenary of the Irish revolution, one of Ireland's most eminent historians explains why Eamon de Valera was such a divisive figure that he has never until now received the recognition he deserves. This biography reconciles an acknowledgement of de Valera's catastrophic failure in 1921-22, when his petulant rejection of the Anglo-Irish Treaty shaped the dimensions of a bloody civil war, with an appreciation of his subsequent greatness as the statesman who single-handedly severed the ties with Britain and defined nationalist Ireland's sense of itself.

A PEOPLE'S PORTRAIT OF A PERIOD OF MOMENTOUS CHANGE IN IRISH HISTORY. Independence Memories is a fascinating social history, from living and inherited memory, of the period surrounding Irish Independence and the Civil War. It was a time of violence, of death, of emigration, of families divided into pro- and anti-Treaty, Michael Collins and Eamon de Valera. Against a tapestry of safe houses and mountain hide outs, people fell in love, raised families and laid the foundations of the country we live in now. We read the story of Galwayman Michael Feerick, who rode his white horse through the streets of Dunmore, shouting 'blackguards' at the Black and Tans. We meet the two Mollys, Dublin street traders and runners for Michael Collins, who sewed bullets into the hems of their long skirts. We relive the attack by the Black and Tans on the home of gamekeeper John Vahey and we hear from the Kavanagh family who were offered £1 for every year of the life of their 19-year-old daughter, Mary Ellen, shot dead in Buncrana. And, memorably, 107-year-old Máirín Hughes shares fascinating recollections of being kept in school in Killarney when there was an attack on the RIC barracks down the road. A wonderful compendium of stories and memories by Ireland's oldest citizens, from the much-loved author of Growing Up With Ireland.

The concluding volume of David McCullagh's new life of Eamon De Valera. In this, the concluding volume of David McCullagh's monumental new biography of the revolutionary and statesman, we join de Valera in 1932 as he takes the reins of power in the first Fianna Fáil government and follow him as he confronts one challenge after another - the Economic War, the drafting of Bunreacht na hÉireann, the Emergency, the North, the declaration of the Republic, economic stagnation in the 1950s - and sets about gradually remaking a sovereign Ireland in his own image. Beautifully written and deeply researched, McCullagh's De Valera is a provocative and nuanced portrait of Ireland's most enigmatic leader, as well as a balanced assessment of his role in shaping our national self-image.

The latest book in the Gill Books series of important topics tackled by experts, this engaging guide demystifies political systems, elections, voting, and government, and explores issues including human rights, freedom of speech, and fake news.

'It was the most providential escape yet. It will probably have the effect of making them think that I am even more mysterious than they believe me to be, and that is saying a good deal.' Michael Collins knew the power of his persona, and capitalised on what people wanted to believe. The image we have of him comes filtered through a sensational lens, exaggerated out of all proportion. We see what we have come to expect: 'the man who won the war', the centre of a web of intelligence that 'brought the British Empire to its knees'. He comes to us as a mixture of truth and lies, propaganda and misunderstanding. The willingness to see him as the sum of the Irish revolution, and in turn reduce him to a caricature of his many parts, clouds our view of both the man and the revolution. Drawing on archives in Ireland, Britain and the United States, the authors question our traditional assumptions about Collins. Was he the man of his age, or was he just luckier, more brazen, more written about and more photographed than the rest? Despite the pictures of him in uniform during the last weeks of his life, Collins saw very little of the actual fight. He was chiefly an organiser and a strategist. Should we remember him as a master of the mundane rather than the romantic figure of the blockbuster film? The eight thematic, highly illustrated chapters scrutinise different aspects of Collins' life: origins, work, war, politics, celebrity, beliefs, death and afterlives. Approaching him through the eyes of contemporaries and historians, friends and enemies, this provocative book reveals new insights, challenging what we think we know about him and, in turn, what we think we know about the Irish revolution.

The full story of Winston Churchill's lifelong engagement with Ireland and the Irish. A long overdue book which at last addresses the most neglected part of Churchill's legacy, on both sides of the Irish Sea.

Eamon de Valera has often been characterised as a stern, un-bending, devious and divisive Irish politician. Diarmuid Ferriter challenges this caricature using letters, documents and photographs. This book chronicles the extraordinary career of the most significant politician of modern Irish history.