Abstract
Éamon de Valera was the dominant Irish political figure of the 20th century. His political longevity was unmatched: he was the leading figure of the revolutionary Irish independence movement in the early 1920s, served as head of government for twenty-two years throughout the 1930s–1950s, and as head of state for another fourteen.
Despite many articles and books written documenting his life, political career, and impact on Irish life, there has been much less work devoted to assessing his political and constitutional thought. This essay contributes to filling this gap by offering a constructive account of de Valera's thought about perennial issues of constitutional law and theory: including the appropriate role of political authority, what limits should be on State power, the source of authority for governmental power, what the best form of government is, and in what circumstances political violence is justified.