Eamon de Valera Quotes
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.
De Valera, Éamon. "Election Address, Feb. 1932." Speeches and Statements by Eamon de Valera 1917-1973, edited by Maurice Moynihan, Gill and Macmillan, 1980, p. 185.
This same argument was used before and since to justify protecting domestic manufacturing from foreign competition until it can mature sufficiently to compete in a global economy. One difficulty occurs if protective tariffs are imposed for this reason. The manufacturers protected never seem to reach the point where they can compete without the subsidy.
Canada and the United States were the only allies who could handle WWII economically. In all fairness, there were no battles fought on North American soil and no loss of industrial or agricultural capacity.
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.