De Valera\'s Ireland Before De

De Valera's Ireland

Before de Valera's birth, Ireland was in a state of despair and poverty. The country was still recovering from the Great Potato Famine and struggling under the oppressive rule of Mother England. Ireland lacked identity and fruits of labor at the international level. The core issue of the why behind Ireland's poverty was lack of opportunity for its people. The landlord-tenant relationship as feudal as it seems, made the common Irish man's ability to make a living futile. Only the upper class was benefiting from the laissez-faire system focused on agrarian lifestyle. Eamon de Valera grew up in such an Ireland where its people were evicted; starving and the land did not belong to them. The Irish party had failed to achieve Irish freedom through parliamentary methods. Ireland took advantage of Britain's preoccupation with the Boer War and its military inefficiencies to gain strength on the road to rebellion. It was in this bitter environment of struggle that de Valera's ideologies and foundation of leadership was formed. Being a crucial player in the Easter Rising, he would slowly gravitate up the ladder of power to become Ireland's most prominent leader. It was his actions and decisions during the Second World War that drew the blue print for the modern Ireland we know today. Still what was de Valera's political position on the Second World War? How did this position impact his policy on the Irish Free State during the war and ten years after? This paper will explore de Valera's decisions, their impact and repercussions.

Leadership

In reading about de Valera, one thing remains clear, the man made Ireland what it is today. He has been compared to other historical leaders like Queen Elizabeth and Louis XIV. The result of his leadership made him the architect of Ireland's economy and social reform. He created the church-state monolith that still overshadows the country today. It was his focus on social needs of the people that not only made him incredibly popular at the time, but also created the foundation of reform for a modern Ireland. He wanted to solve Ireland's problems. He used his personality as being soft-spoken but carrying a huge presence because of his height to his advantage when dealing with formable allies and enemies. He was relentless when pursuing a negotiation and would not back down like a pit bull. In many ways, it was his staunch position of neutrality during the Second World War that made Ireland's dream of independence a reality. Was this the correct decision for Ireland? What is the opportunity cost of such a decision?

In a time of world crisis and threat of war, de Valera chose to take a stand against Britain by declaring Ireland as a neutral state during the Second World War. The country would not take either side in the war. Of course, this decision came under heavy fire from Britain's Churchill. As with any declaration, there were a number of factors that contributed to the final decision. De Valera needed to keep all of his priorities in mind but as a result focused on Irish's issues more than the world's. He took on a protectionist policy by keeping Ireland's resources out of the war would diminish loss for its people. The key issue for Ireland's security was its seaports. Evidently due to Ireland's past mother-daughter relationship with Britain, these seaports were seen as advantageous for the Allies. Britain wanted Ireland's blessing to use these ports during battle. It was a strong strategic move for the Allies to gain strength. Also Britain feared that if Ireland did not permit the Allies to use the ports that it might very well go to Germany.

De Valera made it clear during negotiations that no country would be given an automatic right to the ports. Opening the ports to international use during war would threaten Irish progress in growing industry. It would disrupt commerce and trade. It would put Ireland's people in the face of war. De Valera wanted Britain to agree in a formal arrangement by which Ireland would not be involved in hostilities whenever and wherever Britain was at war (Coogan 512). In further meetings between Churchill and Chamberlain did not dissolve his commitment to his stand. Always a liberal thinker, de Valera kept the Irish delegation's priorities and responsibilities at the surface making him a dominant force of reckoning.

Also at the center of the decision was de Valera's dealings with Britain regarding partition and a struggle to further party representation in six county seats. He remained strong on his view of how this should play out strategically with Churchill. It is interesting that the Irish delegation's fight with Britain over county seat and tariffs should coincide with Britain's needs for the seaports. He did not back down and continued to use partition as leverage when it came to Ireland's needs. He believed that the ports belonged rightfully to Ireland and her people. No one else should gain from her assets. In his mind, Ireland's people did not have anything tangible to lose. The other bargaining items of decreased tariffs and increases annuities were not significant to his plan of protecting Ireland from the outside world. The concept of partition was most important to the conception of an Irish Free State. As a result of neutrality, Ireland took the financial responsibility of maintaining the seaports at a time its economy was suffering due to threat of world war. Britain threatened that the Irish Nation would be greatly imperiled if the ports were not available to their military (Coogan 518). Both Chamberlain and Churchill were unnerved by de Valera's victory and lack of concessions. Both men verbally slandered the Irish leader to the press. Chamberlain even went as far as to remark that de Valera resembled Hitler (Coogan 518). Still his action protected his people from the devastation of war and demonstrated the state's sovereignty. This act of neutrality allowed de Valera to focus on Irish issues like the increased violent activity of the IRA.

De Valera's Impact

Even the best decisions have ramifications. At the time maybe de Valera did not see the big picture of Ireland's future at an international level. At the time not many Irish understood de Valera's policy of protection. The negative would not appear for years. Little did he know that neutrality would cost Ireland self-suffiency and a diminished share in the benefits of post-war European reconstruction that would leave Ireland behind Western Europe in both cultural and economic seclusion (Coogan 522). Ireland's economic growth also suffered as a result. At the end of the war, Ireland's open economy remained small and weak to outside influences. Ireland had very little commerce. Ireland lacked industrial progress during this time still focusing on few traditional industries like agriculture, textiles and brewing of spirits. Due to the country's geographical position and transportation costs, Ireland's trade became restricted and dependent on Britain's market. This made opportunities for its people few and far between. Ireland became isolated from outside forces of change.