Síle de Valera in 2007. De Valera resigned briefly from Fianna Fáil in 1993, due to the removal of the 'stopover' at Shannon Airport. She was persuaded to rejoin the party in 1994 by its new leader, Bertie Ahern; he then appointed her to the opposition front bench. In 1997, she became Minister for Arts, Heritage, Gaeltacht and the Islands. She lost her place in the cabinet in 2002, but took office as a Minister of State. Her government office was Minister of State at the Department of Education and Science, with special responsibility for Adult Education, Youth Affairs and Educational Disadvantage. On
Rúaidhrí de Valera Rúaidhrí de Valera Rúaidhrí de Valera (3 November 1916 – 28 October 1978) was an Irish archaeologist most known for his work on the megalithic tombs of his country. He was the son of Éamon de Valera and Sinéad de Valera. De Valera took a Bachelor of Arts degree in Celtic studies from University College Dublin in 1939, before serving briefly in the Irish Army and then lecturing at the National University of Ireland at Maynooth for one year until 1943. He then studied for an MA in archaeology, writing his thesis on the prehistoric tombs of County Clare. In