Product DescriptionDe Valera has been made to shoulder personal responsibility for many of the defects of post-independence Irish society. The essays in this book seek to re-examine and re-evaluate that charge. It features contributions from some of IrelandÆs leading academics, politicians, authors and other experts, e.g. Owen Dudley Edwards, John McGahern, Garret FitzGerald. The years of influence of de Valera are central to this interpretation of post-independence Ireland. The aim of the collection is to encapsulate existing knowledge and lay down challenges for future investigation.