Éamon de Valera among the electorate, 75-year-old de Valera had begun to be seen by the electorate as too old and out of touch to remain as head of government. At the urging of party officials, de Valera decided to retire from government and the Dáil and instead seek the presidency of Ireland. He won the 1959 presidential election on 17 June 1959 and resigned as Taoiseach, Leader of Fianna Fáil and a TD for Clare, six days later, handing over power to Seán Lemass. De Valera was inaugurated President of Ireland on 25 June 1959. He was re-elected President in 1966, aged
Ulrike and Eamon Compliant Ulrike and Eamon Compliant Ulrike and Eamon Compliant is a work by Blast Theory that premiered at the 53rd Venice Biennale in June 2009, commissioned by the De La Warr Pavilion and supported by Arts Council England. The work is based on the lives of Ulrike Meinhof (Red Army Faction) and Eamon Collins (Irish Republican Army). Having chosen to be Eamon or Ulrike, participants walk through the city receiving mobile phone calls. Exploring subjectivities and political obligations, the work culminates in an interview with the artists in a hidden room. Mixing locative media, live performance, and interactivity, the work counterpoints