De Valera.apologies for spelling his name incorrectly, how does it then follow that I know little of Irish History.
we have an intersting theory, which may or may not be true, what relevance does my nationality or where I live have.

is there is an assumption that I might be anti irish?
because I am critical of De Valera?
even if Ithink he is a Wanker, which I do, I said that I had an open mind on the possibilty of him being a spy.
I think the present situation in Ireland,owes more to the efforts of Collins and those who signed the treaty,than De Valera,the man who[imo] set Collins up,and then afterwards led the opposition,the man who formerly offerd his condolences to the German Ambassador in Dublin at the time of Hitlers death ,and the man who got himself involved in a trade war that he couldnt possibly win.
De Valera the great man who replaced the first constitution with a constitution that among other things included elements of Catholic social teaching incorporated into the text, such as the articles on the role of women, the family and divorce, which were inconsistent both with the practice of the Protestant minority and with contemporary liberal opinion
De Valera who got Ireland involved in an Anglo-Irish Trade War (also called the "Economic War") was a retaliatory trade war between the Irish Free State and the United Kingdom (UK) lasting from 1932 until 1938. It involved the refusal of the Irish Government to continue to reimburse Britain with the "land annuities" derived from financial loans granted by Britain to Irish tenant farmers to enable them purchase lands under the Irish Land Acts during the previous half century, a provision which was part of the 1921 Anglo-Irish Treaty. This resulted in the imposition of unilateral trade restrictions by both countries, which caused severe damage to the Irish economy.
De Valera,may well have had right on his side,but therewas no way he was going to win that,the result was ordinary Irish people suffered,
De Valera and MichaelCollins;
After his return from America in December 1920, de Valera's relationship with Michael Collins, who had effectively masterminded the IRA campaign in his absence, came under strain as differences emerged over the conduct of the Anglo-Irish War. These were accentuated when de Valera decided not to lead the Irish delegation that negotiated the Anglo-Irish treaty. There have been two opposing interpretations of this decision. The more hostile view is that he allowed Collins to take the responsibility for what he knew would be a partial surrender. His own explanation was that by staying in Dublin he could better preserve national unity and ensure general acceptance of any agreement reached.[this is utter bollocks,why send Collins who was a military man rather than a clever politician, Collins could have kept order at home,and would have been more suited to the job]
if he was an English spy,it might explain why he syaed at home
I do not believe his explanation,
for the above reasons I echo Amergins sentiments about Wanker.
but perhaps cunning little weasel is more apt.