Backup information on Robert Brennan, copied without permission for archival purposes only, from Emigrant Online
Ireland Standing Firm & Eamon De Valera: A Memoir
By Robert Brennan
These two works are taken from articles published in the late 1950s
in the Irish Press and give a fascinating insight into 20th century
politics in Ireland from a man who was always close to the centre.
“Ireland Standing Firm” deals with Robert Brennan’s years as Irish
Minister in Washington, a period which coincided with the Second
World War. Brennan’s reminiscences focus on the efforts required to
maintain Ireland’s neutrality in the face of enormous pressure from
both Britain and the United States. The second section, the memoir
of Eamon de Valera, is written from the viewpoint of one who had been
close to the leader since 1916 and who obviously held him in high
esteem. He follows de Valera’s career through to 1958 and highlights
his speech to the League of Nations in 1932, going so far as to claim
that, had he been listened to, the world might have been spared the
horror of World War II. In giving a number of examples of Dev’s
integrity and honesty the author lays the basis for his final
summation, that de Valera was “the greatest political genius –
perhaps the greatest statesman – which our country has ever
produced”.
Reviewed by Pauline Ferrie
ISBN: 1-900621-68-1
Price: € 18.00
Pages: 182
Publisher: UCD Press
Date reviewed: 2002/02