Eamon de Valera Quotes
… anti-nationalist British propaganda
This quotation shows the level of denial that De Valera and other Irish leaders were in over Nazi Germany. See {639721} for other Irish Free State denial. Over 70,000 Irishmen and women rejected the moral stand of their government, and volunteered for the British Army to the great distress of the Free State leaders like De Valera.
Eamon De Valera, 1882-1975, Irish Revolutionary and President of Ireland, Founder, Fianna Fail Party, Description of the articles that were appearing in some of the Irish Press (Sunday Idependent) and much of the Engish and American press on the horrors of the Belson concentration camp, ~1941
Sourced by: Eigen's Political and Historical Quotations
At this point, the horrors of the German concentration death camps were generally known by the world press. This quotation shows the denial that the Irish Free State was in about the German Nazi atrocities. The 6-county Nationalsits were the Irish counties in Northern Ireland that did not join the Irish Free State and so far as the Catholic Irish were concerned, the Catholics of Northern Ireland were a persecuted minority undergoing oppression and that was not they believed morally different from the murders of millions of Jews, Gypsies and handicapped people in Europe. If the Free State Irish publicly admitted the difference, they would morally have had to join the allies and De Valera was totally opposed to that. Over 70,000 Irishmen and women rejected the moral stand of their government, and volunteered for the British Army to the great distress of the Free State leaders like De Valera. See {639722} for his personal denial of reality.
Under the treaty between Ireland and England that created the Irish free state, in case of war or other contingency, the Irish Free State was required to allow Great Britain to use specific seaports. However, De Valera hated the English, originally opposed the treaty, and was adamant that the Irish Free State be neutural in WWII. He therefore refused to fulfill the Irish obligation. For Churchill this was the last chance for De Valera to show that the Irish Free State was a real nation with rights and obligations. Interestingly, although De Valera did not want to assist the British fighting the Germans, over 70,000 Irishmen went to England and Volunteered to fight on the British side. There were Irish batallions fighting on the allied side but the Irish Free State was neutural. De Valera made matters worse when he allowed German agents into the Irish Free State to try and go from there to England as well as set up observation posts to guide German bombers attacking the populated city of Belfast and other parts of Northern Ireland. See {639724} for Chirchill’s later reflective commentary on the situation.
Although a member of the Prime Minister’s party and Cabinet, Cooper was so outraged that he called for Chamberlain’s resignation leading to Winston Churchill becoming Prime Minister.
- Born: October 14, 1882
- Died: August 29, 1975
- Nationality: Irish
- Profession: Statesman
Éamon de Valera was a prominent statesman and political leader in 20th-century Ireland, serving several terms as head of government and head of state, with a prominent role introducing the Constitution of Ireland.
