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BRUREE |
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Four miles west of Kilmallock, BRUREE was the childhood home of
Eamon De Valera , founder of the Fianna Fáil (Soldiers of Destiny) party
in 1926 and familiarly known as the "big man" or "Dev" to a population
for whom he's been the most influential political instigator since the
birth of the Free State in 1922. After founding Fianna Fáil, he acted as
premier of Ireland from 1932 to 1948, 1951 to 1954 and 1957 to 1959, and
assumed the honorary role of president from 1959 to 1973. This makes up
a sizeable chunk of the Republic's history, and his grip on the nation
has left an ambivalent attitude to his worth and integrity.
De Valera was the only leader of the 1916 Easter Rising to survive. His
initial death sentence was commuted to imprisonment because of his
American dual nationality - he was born in New York, and at this time
the British were sensitive to American neutrality in World War I. He
escaped from prison in England and was unconstitutionally elected the
first president of the Irish Republic in 1919; his almost miraculous
survival had marked him out as the man to lead Ireland out of seven
hundred years of British domination. The Republic immediately declared
war on Britain, and when two years of struggle forced the British to
negotiate, De Valera's was the leading rebel voice against the signing
of the Anglo-Irish Treaty in 1921. He wanted to hold out for an all-Ireland
Free State, rather than accept only 26 counties out of 32, as was laid
down in the Treaty. This stance divided the Irish and provoked the Civil
War of 1921 to 1923. The one war he succeeded in keeping the Irish out
of was World War II, at the end of which he had the gall to send
official commiserations to the Reichstag on Hitler's death, so profound
was the bitterness of his battle with the British.
De Valera was brought up just outside Bruree in a small cottage, which
has now been turned into a modest memorial of the family's household
possessions, including a bulky trunk that was used for their return from
exile in New York. The cottage is signposted nearly a mile down the road
to the right at the eastern end of Bruree village - get the key from the
house on the right, a hundred and fifty yards further down the road. At
the western end of Bruree village itself is the old schoolhouse, which
has been turned into a museum and heritage centre (Tues-Fri 10am-5pm,
Sat & Sun 2-5pm; £3/¬3.80), stocked with memorabilia of the ex-premier
and president, plus a few rural items of general interest.
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