North Atlantic Skyline - - Photographs from the west of Ireland (Galway, Mayo, Clare, Limerick, Roscommon and even Leitrim)

Waiting for Dev

I got a letter from Eamonn De Valera during the week. Well, it was from his namesake and it was to my namesake, or to be more specific, it was from his grandson to my grandfather. Let me explain.

Back in 1919, when the War of Independence was hotting up, Eamonn De Valera went to America to raise money for the republican cause. He raised five million dollars, mainly from Irish immigrants, as a War Loan that would be repaid when Ireland became a republic and British forces had vacated the country. Of course, the war of Independence ended in messy compromise, with continued British rule in six Ulster counties and a vicious Civil War that pitted former comrades against each other. By 1922, the Anti-treaty forces had been defeated and, with De Valera as their de-facto leader, exiled from power. By 1927, De Valera had formed Fianna Fáil and, having swallowed his pride over the Oath of Allegiance, led his party into the Dáil as the principle Opposition party after the September election of that year. In the following election of 1931, the former exile became Taoiseach as Fianna Fáil became the largest political party in the State.

But what about the money? In the years immediately after the Civil War, the first Irish government was formed by the Pro-Treaty forces, consisting mainly of Cumann na nGaedhael, the Farmers’ Party and Labour (the anti-treaty forces campaigned mainly as Sinn Fein). Acts of violence were still being carried out by ‘dissident’ republicans and the government’s response was equally forceful. Ireland’s economy was just as shaky as its democratic process; apart from the loss of the Northern counties (which accounted for a good deal of Ireland’s economic output), the War of Independence had resulted in the destruction of economic output – the habit of the Black and Tans of destroying creameries had a particular impact on Ireland’s largest industry, agriculture. So the Provisional government (as it was called) took a legal action in New York to recover the money that had been raised by De Valera and others (this followed successful actions in the Irish courts to recognize the government as the rightful owner of such funds). De Valera and his supporters naturally opposed this claim.

In New York, the banks had their own view. Since the money was raised as a loan, in the event of a dispute, why not just return the money to the original owners. De Valera spotted an opportunity. He was hugely popular in the United States, so the appeal that he made to the contributors to the Loan [about to get their money back] received a sympathetic hearing.

The money which you gave in the years 1919 to 1921 to help the cause of Ireland is about to be given back to you. You are probably one of those who gave your money at that time as a free gift expecting no other return for it than the satisfaction of participating in a just cause and aiding the people of Ireland in a time of need. I feel accordingly that when you read this leaflet you will be disposed to make this money available a second time – again in a good cause and for the benefit of Ireland.

And what was the good cause? The creation of the Irish Press newspaper, that De Valera saw as essential for ensuring the success of his new political party Fianna Fail. At the time, the two other newspapers (the Irish Times and the Irish Independent) were firm supporters of the establishment, and had a fairly jaundiced view of De Valera and his supporters. And whatever about the benefit to Ireland, it certainly benefited De Valera and his family. Along with the appeal to the donors’ patriotism was a form letter that enabled them to assign power of attorney to De Valera of their shares in the Loan. As Tim Pat Coogan described it,

The form probably merits consideration for entry into the Guinness Book of Records as ‘the Blankest Blank Cheque of All Time’.

De Valera also appointed himself Controlling Director, an apt title since it gave him complete control over every aspect of the running of the newspaper. He also set up a Trust that owned 47% of the Irish Press. The Trust had two types of shares; the non-voting A shares, bought by the people who had responded to his appeal, and B shares, owned by himself that had all the voting rights.

In 1931, the paper rolled off the printing presses in Dublin for the first time. The button to start the presses was pushed by Margaret Pearse, mother of the two executed brothers in the 1916 Rising (Padraig and Willy). Around the country, local Fianna Fáil supporters were encouraged to buy shares, and they did with enthusiasm. My paternal grandfather, and my namesake, was one of them.

De Valera became Taoiseach in 1931. One of more emotive campaign issues had been the question of Land Annuities. In the decades before Independence, successive British governments had organised low-interest loan schemes to Irish tenant farmers to buy out their holdings, and to buy out the absentee landlords (Gladstone’s idea was to ‘kill Home Rule with kindness’) The continued payment of the Annuities had been agreed as a condition of Independence – but many Irish farmers had stopped paying them during the war and were therefore in arrears. De Valera had campaigned against them, a hugely popular stance. However, before he had time to act on his campaign pledge, events presented another opportunity. A number of European countries had defaulted on their war debts owed to the US. The British government announced that it would meet its obligations despite the projected loss of the Annuities income from Ireland. The hostile US media coverage put pressure on De Valera so he announced that Ireland would pay off it’s War Loan ahead of schedule. Of course, the Loan in question was the contested Loan, whose owners had largely been persuaded to contribute to the Irish Press. So ultimately, the Irish taxpayer would pay off the debt in a way that clearly benefited De Valera himself.

Talking to my father during the week about the letter, he doesn’t remember any dividends from the shares over the years (most FF supporters only bought £1 shares in any case, and for most of them, the purchase was an act of faith rather than a commercial decision). De Valera had always claimed that he received no real income from the Irish Press, which conveniently ignored the fact that he was the de facto owner of a very substantial asset – in fact, when forming his government in 1931, he insisted that none of his Ministers should hold directorships of commercial companies. He promptly resigned as Chairman of the Irish Press, a largely symbolic act since he was still Controlling Director. In 1958, more details of his ownership became public (as a result of investigative work by unlikely shareholder TD Noel Browne – he had been given a single share as a present) and Dev was forced to resign as Taoiseach (He was elected as President the same year).

By then, his son Vivion was running the newspaper group, which consisted of a daily, an evening and a Sunday paper. However, in the decades that followed, it began to decline. Even it’s unwavering support for Fianna Fail began to falter as Charles Haughey took power. Haughey was a divisive figure even within the party – his opponents within the party would eventually leave to form the Progressive Democrats (PD) and the Sunday Press journalist Geraldine Kennedy would later become a leading PD TD (she’s currently the editor of the Irish Times). The newspaper group collapsed in 1995 followed by a protracted legal battle between shareholders.

Despite the litigation, the Irish Press lives on, if only as a legal entity, managed by another Eamonn De Valera, grandson of the Long Fellow. There is also a little money left in the bank, and last year, that money made a little money. So along with a letter, there was a cheque. Alas, four shares in a defunct newspaper company doesn’t buy too much these days. After deductions of 25%, the cheque came to 80 cent. You can hardly buy a newspaper for that.

Details of the Irish
Press story is taken from Tim Pat Coogan's authoritative biography of Dev,
"De Valera, Long fellow, Long shadow". Coogan is a former Editor of
the Irish Press.

Posted by Monasette at August 23, 2004 12:31 AM