The first volume of a new biography of Éamon de Valera delves into such areas as his childhood and also his difficult relationship with Michael Collins, writes Ryle Dwyer.

WHEN The Irish Press was first published in 1931 — Pádraig Pearse’s mother pressed the button to start the printing press — the paper’s founder Éamon de Valera said the paper’s purpose was: “To give the truth in the news ...” 

Éamon de Valera vomiting, and a joke about Thomas Clarke’s genitalia were the cause of two of the latest complaints considered by the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland (BAI). Its latest Broadcasting Complaint Decisions report details the findings of 11 submissions to the authority, only one of which was upheld.

It seems to me that the 1937 Constitution had two main objectives; one to make Republican ideology the State ideology and two to suck up to the Catholic Church for political power for Éamon de Valera and Fianna Fáil.