Éamon de Valera - Ireland's Hated Hero

A 1999 BBC programme as part of Reputations series, narrated by Peter Capaldi.

Ireland's leader for 21 years, Eamon de Valera was loved and hated in equal measure. A revolutionary, he became president of Sinn Fein in 1918, but his fight for independence led to civil war and he was seen as the scourge of the IRA. This film probes the contradictory, complex character of the prime minister who styled himself as the embodiment of the Irish nation.