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
Éamon de Valera Forest because of the treatment of Jews elsewhere in Europe at the time. In 1948 De Valera overruled the Department of Justice when it barred one hundred and fifty refugee Jewish children from travelling to Ireland as refugees. Éamon de Valera Forest Éamon de Valera Forest (Hebrew: יער איימון דה ואלירה) is a forest in Israel, near Nazareth. It was planted in 1966 and named after Irish politician and statesman Éamon de Valera. The planting and dedication of the forest was arranged by the Dublin Jewish community, in recognition of De Valera's consistent support for Ireland's Jews. The Irish Constitution of