Documentary on 50th anniversary of former Irish PM’s death looks into mystery of his paternity
Éamon de Valera fought in Ireland’s 1916 rebellion and, as taoiseach and president, stamped his identity on the newly independent country. Modern Ireland has since rejected much of his conservative Catholic ethos, but De Valera remains a founding father.
There is enduring mystery, however, over his paternity – gaps in the record fuelled whispers and speculation about the Spanish artist, Vivion de Valera, said to be his father. As taoiseach, Dev, as he was known, instructed Ireland’s ambassador in Madrid to investigate the Spanish side of his family tree, but the ambassador drew a blank.
Now an RTÉ documentary has found fresh evidence that suggests Vivion de Valera never existed – that he was invented and that the real father’s identity was concealed.
The first part of Dev: Rise and Rule, a two-part documentary, on 3 September, will shine a light on discrepancies in De Valera’s birth certificate and undermine the claims about a putative Spanish father.
