Sinéad de Valera

Born Sinéad Flanagan in Balbriggan County Dublin, she trained as a teacher and took up her first post in a national school in Dorset Street, Dublin. In her spare time she taught Irish with the Gaelic League in Parnell Square. One of her Irish students was Eamon de Valera, then a teacher of maths. On 8 January 1910 they were married. Together they had five sons and two daughters. During her husband's 50 years in public life she took little or no part. Following the Easter Rising in 1916 she saw little of her husband. In 1932 de Valera became head of the government Sinéad de Valera started writing stories, in both English and Irish, for children. Though she kept to the background politically, Sinéad was highly politicised, though differing rumours suggested that she was either more moderate or more radical than her husband. During her husband's fourteen years as President of Ireland she never appeared in public except on rare occasions.

Sinéad de Valera died on 7 January 1975 on the eve of her sixth-fifth wedding anniversary. Her husband, Eamon de Valera died over seven months later of 29 August 1975. She is buried with him in Glasnevin Cemetery in Dublin.