Síle de Valera Dublin, where she qualified as a career guidance teacher. De Valera comes from a famous political family; she is the granddaughter of Éamon de Valera, the founder of Fianna Fáil, former Taoiseach and third President of Ireland. She is a niece of the former TD Vivion de Valera and is a first cousin of Teachta Dála Éamon Ó Cuív. De Valera was first returned to Dáil Éireann in the Fianna Fáil landslide victory at the 1977 general election. She was elected for the Dublin County Mid constituency, which included the Tallaght area of County Dublin, being the youngest TD elected
Éamon de Valera is buried in Dublin's Glasnevin Cemetery with his wife and children. In January 2017, his grave was vandalised, with the man responsible pleading guilty to criminal damage and receiving a suspended prison sentence De Valera's political creed evolved from militant republicanism to social and cultural conservatism. Ireland's dominant political personality for many decades, de Valera received numerous honours. He was elected Chancellor of the National University of Ireland in 1921, holding the post until his death. Pope John XXIII bestowed on him the Order of Christ. He received honorary degrees from universities in Ireland and abroad. In 1968, he was