Éamon de Valera Irish independence. He was arrested, sentenced to death but released for a variety of reasons, including the public response to the British execution of Rising leaders. He returned to Ireland after being jailed in England and became one of the leading political figures of the War of Independence. After the signing of the Anglo-Irish Treaty, de Valera served as the political leader of Anti-Treaty Sinn Fein until 1926, when he, along with many supporters, left the party to set up Fianna Fáil, a new political party which abandoned the policy of abstentionism from Dáil Éireann. From there, de Valera would
Tom McEllistrim (1926–2000) His son, Tom McEllistrim, was a TD for Kerry North from 2002 to 2011. Tom McEllistrim (1926–2000) Thomas "Tom" McEllistrim (15 January 1926 – 25 February 2000) was an Irish Fianna Fáil politician. Born in Boherbee, County Kerry in 1926, McEllistrim was the son of the Fianna Fáil politician and War of Independence veteran, Tom McEllistrim. McEllistrim the younger succeeded his father when he was elected to Dáil Éireann as a Fianna Fáil Teachta Dála (TD) for the Kerry North constituency at the 1969 general election. At the 1977 general election McEllistrim was elected along with his running mate Kit