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Episode 18: The Long Fellow

Hero or villain, it’s impossible to overestimate the influence of Eamon de Valera

To some people, de Valera was responsible for causing a civil war in Ireland. To others he was instrumental in freeing the country from British rule. A man with a passion for maths and opera, he was known to many as ‘The Long Fellow’ because of his great height. By 1921 he’d become leader of Sinn Fein, taken part in an audacious jail break, and would now oppose the Treaty negotiated between Ireland and Britain. He became Taoiseach (prime minister) three times, and later President of Ireland.

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31 minutes

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  • Year ‘21

    The story of the creation of Northern Ireland in 1921, told week by week.