During the '50s the father of a girl I was dating claimed to have been a member of the IRA during the "time of the Troubles". His deeds of valor grew with every Guiness, but he was entertaining. He also had a fine tenor voice, and sang rebel songs on demand (or even if there was no demand.)One of the songs he sang was "Legion of the Rearguard". In his version there was no mention of DeValera, however. Instead of the line going "DeValera lead you", as quoted above, it went "Death alone relieve you." This seems to be a truer rendition, since DeValera was not universally honored by the IRA at the time.

It might be of interest to note that Eamon DeValera was born, not in Ireland, but in New York City. His parents, reportedly, were Catherine Coll, who was Irish, and Juan Vivion de Valera, who was Cuban. No record of their marriage exists.