De Valera: Rise (1882-1932)

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. 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, McCullagh considers the man behind the colossal achievements, and sketches a ground-breaking portrait of de Valera, his times and his complex, ever-shifting legacy.