Summary How did Éamon de Valera emerge from obscurity to become the undisputed leader of Irish nationalism during the War of Independence? How did his background shape him and forge the character that would bring him to the top of Irish politics, and help him recover that position after the disaster of the Civil War? We look at the birth, childhood and youth of the man who became perhaps the most significant, and certainly the most controversial, figures of 20th Century Irish history.

De Valera throwing in the ball at Croke Park, 1919 (GAA Archives)

Speaker David McCullagh is an RTÉ broadcaster and author. After 12 years as Political Correspondent with the station, he became a presenter of Prime Time in 2013. He is the author of A Makeshift Majority: A history of the first Inter-Party Government, The Reluctant Taoiseach: A biography of John A. Costello, and, most recently, De Valera, Volume 1: Rise, 1882-1932. The second part of his de Valera biography is due to be published later this year.