Descendant of Irish political giant leads centenary event in South Kilkenny

South Kilkenny Historical Society marked the 100th anniversary of the founding of Fianna Fáil with a lecture in Mullinavat Parish Hall.

The speaker on the night was Éamon Ó Cuív, the grandson of its founder Éamon de Valera and despite describing himself as an unlikely choice for delivering the lecture, the reaction afterwards suggested otherwise.

Mr Ó Cuív told the large gathering that as early as 1923, when de Valera published the election manifesto, it was clear that he was moving towards peace following the end of the Civil War, and embarking on a new political journey.

He went on to say that the crunch point came following the Boundary Commission Report, which confirmed the border as being the six counties. De Valera felt sidelined, and in 1926 went to the Sinn Féin Ard Fhéis with a motion calling for elected members to be allowed to take their seats in the Dáil if the Oath of Allegiance was removed.

However the motion was defeated by 223 to 218. De Valera left Sinn Féin, bringing along many of the major players, and formed Fianna Fáil.

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Among the big names he brought with him were Countess Markievicz (who chaired the first meeting held in La Scala on May 16), PJ Rutledge, Sean T O’Kelly and Sean Lemass.

There were six women on the original Committee of 15 - Countess Markievicz, Margaret Pearse, Kathleen Clarke, Dorothy McArdle, Hanna Sheehy-Skeffington and Linda Kearns. In the first General Election which Fianna Fáil participated in, it won 44 of the 153 seats and received 26% of the first preference votes.

However, an unfortunate and wrong event took place when Kevin O’Higgins was assassinated on July 10, 1927, on his way to mass. As a result of the assassination, the Government introduced a number of bills including one to abolish the Article 48 of the Constitution.

This put an end to Fianna Fáil’s attempt to remove the Oath of Allegiance. In the second General Election of 1927, the party received 35% support and 57 seats, and embarked on a campaign to set up the party grassroots organisation, with an emphasis on policy dictated by them.

In the 1932 General Election, Fianna Fáil won 72 seats, five short of an overall majority and formed a minority government with the support of the Labour Party and James Dillon, who later became leader of Fine Gael.

Mr Ó Cuív paid tribute to the outgoing Cumann na nGaedheal government led by William Cosgrave, for the peaceful handover of power, saying that this “peaceful transition has served us well.”

During the Q&A which followed, Mr Ó Cuív commented further on the origins and early years of Fianna Fáil and answered questions about events outside the remit of the lecture. He also answered questions and commented on his own time in politics.

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