Éamon de Valera - President of The Executive Council

President of The Executive Council

In the 1932 general election Fianna Fáil secured 72 seats and became the largest party in the Dáil, although without a majority. De Valera appealed to all the vested interests and was rewarded when Fianna Fail won an extra Dáil seat in Mayo in the 1932 election. Some Fianna Fail members arrived at the first sitting of the new Dáil carrying arms, amid fears that Cumann na nGaedheal would not voluntarily surrender power. However, the transition was peaceful. De Valera was appointed President of the Executive Council (Prime Minister) by Governor-General James McNeill on 7 March.

He at once initiated steps to fulfil his election promises of abolishing the oath and withholding land annuities owed to Britain for loans provided under the Irish Land Acts and agreed as part of the 1921 Treaty. This launched the Anglo-Irish Trade War when Britain in retaliation imposed economic sanctions against Irish exports. De Valera responded in kind with levies on British imports. The ensuing "Economic War" lasted until 1938.

On his advice the appointment of James McNeill as Governor-General was terminated by King George V on 1 November 1932 and a 1916 veteran, Domhnall Ua Buachalla, was appointed Governor-General in his place. To strengthen his position against the opposition in the Dáil and Seanad, de Valera called a snap election in January 1933 and won 77 seats, giving him an overall majority. Under his leadership, Fianna Fáil won further general elections in 1937, 1938, 1943 and 1944.

De Valera took charge of Ireland's foreign policy as well by acting as his own Minister for External Affairs. In that capacity he attended meetings of the League of Nations. He was president of the Council of the League on his first appearance at Geneva in 1932 and, in a speech that made a worldwide impression, appealed for genuine adherence by its members to the principles of the Covenant of the league. In 1934, he supported the admission of the Soviet Union into the League. In September 1938 he was elected nineteenth president of the Assembly of the League, a tribute to the international recognition he had won by his independent stance on world questions.

De Valera's government followed the policy of unilaterally dismantling the Treaty of 1921. In this way he would be pursuing republican policies and lessening the popularity of republican violence and the IRA. De Valera encouraged IRA members to join the Irish Defence Forces and the Gardaí. He also refused to dismiss from office those Cumann na nGaedheal, Cosgrave supporters, who had previously opposed him during the Civil War. He did, however, dismiss Eoin O'Duffy from his position as Garda Commissioner after a year. Eoin O'Duffy was then invited to be head of the Army Comrades Association (ACA) formed to protect and promote the welfare of its members, previously led by J.F O'Higgins, Kevin O'Higgins brother. This organisation was an obstacle to de Valera's power as it supported Cumann na nGaedheal and provided stewards for their meetings. Cumann na nGaedheal meetings were frequently disrupted by Fianna Fáil supporters following the publication of the article: No Free Speech for Traitors by Peadar O'Donnell, an IRA member.

The ACA changed its name to the "National Guard" under O'Duffy. They adopted the uniform of black berets and blue shirts, used the straight armed salute and were nicknamed 'The Blueshirts'. They were outwardly fascist and planned a march in August 1933 through Dublin to commemorate Michael Collins, Kevin O'Higgins and Arthur Griffith. This march struck parallels with Mussolini's March on Rome (1922), in which he had created the image of having toppled the democratic government in Rome by staging a march. De Valera revived a military tribunal, which had been set up by the previous administration, to deal with the matter. O'Duffy backed down when the National Guard was declared an illegal organisation and the march was banned. Within a few weeks O'Duffy's followers merged with Cumann na nGaedhael and the Centre Party to form "United Ireland" or Fine Gael, and O'Duffy became its president. Smaller local marches were scheduled for the following weeks, under different names. However, internal dissension set in when the party's TDs distanced themselves from O'Duffy's extreme views, and his movement fell asunder.