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
History of Fianna Fáil resisted by Fianna Fáil TDs with Michael McGrath claiming there was no "genuine" reason to move. The party also faced a challenge to it holding the chair of the Public Accounts Committee. By tradition the chair of the PAC was held by a member of the largest opposition party. However both Sinn Féin and the Technical group supported the nomination of the Independent Shane Ross. Catherine Murphy, the chief whip of the Technical Group, stated that "there's a certain immorality in holding that position given the history of the party". On 29 February 2012, Ó Cuív resigned as Fianna Fáil's