Eamon De Valera's response to Winston Churchill, 1945 

Firstly, I'm no fan of DeValera by a long shot, but I couldn't agree more with him here, and what an epic bitch-slap to Churchill too, strong words, softly spoken...

De Valera responding to Churchill aka the oldest diss track ever recorded

Brilliant speech. Best Wishes from India to the great Irish people for a united and prosperous Ireland.

He really packed a punch here. It was a very well thought speech. He even implied he would have told England to f**k off 25 years previously. No matter what people think of De Valera good or bad it was brilliant speech.

Absolutely beautiful speech. De Valera wasn't a perfect person, but everything he said here was fair, balanced, wise and respectful.

Incredible speech. As an Irishman, it's very emotional to listen to such a speech. De Valera more than put the entitled Churchill in his place and once again held our tiny nation in a very respectable and admirable light. It is a pity he was so insistent in his refusal to travel to London in 1921. Evidently he had no fear in going toe-to-toe with a formidable and highly-popular man like Churchill.

Even Churchill admitted this was DeValera's finest speech.

it's a masterpiece of political rhetoric, one of the best ever speeches

“If it wasn’t for the British, Ireland would be speaking German”... “if it wasn’t for the British, Ireland would be speaking Irish”

Tír gan teanga, tír gan anam.... Even though these were Pearse's words, Éamon used them and revived a language on the brink of extinction. I owe my greatest respect to him for his efforts on preserving our culture. Go raibh maith agat Dev.

this is the first time I've actually listened to dev. I admit I expected Alan Rickman.

This is the first time I have heard the full speech. It is an excellent speech. I cannot think of a modern politician who would get across their point of view so eloquently. Churchill, understandably, made his comments in the flush of victory. As an Irishman I have long thought my country's neutrality in WWII was wrong. However, having listened to the speech I can understand Dev's stance just 20 years after partition. What many outsiders also don't realise is that Irish neutrality was very heavily biased toward the allies. We shared a lot of information on German air and shipping movements with GCHQ. Any allies who landed in Ireland were allowed return to the UK while all Germans were interned. Our fire service went to Belfast when it was heavily bombed etc etc. The other reality, of course, is that there were significant numbers of Old IRA still around at that time and they were essentially a fifth column who would have destabilised the Irish state with German assistance had we joined the allies. There were limited attempts to do so but our neutrality probably blunted any sentiment. In fact Dev interned many Old IRA activists for the duration of the war. I believe internal state security was a prime motive behind our neutrality.

As an Englishman this is one of the greatest speeches I have heard.

I was never a fan of Dev, but this was his finest hour.

De Valera on fire ! A cold but intense flame that destroyed Churchill's speech of 13th May. It takes a master to beat a great orator like Churchill.

De Valera was a divisive figure in Ireland due to the civil war but Dev was a patriot through and through of that there is no doubt

God bless Ireland

This is the first that I have heard this broadcast, and the tears are running down my cheeks. God bless that true Irish man.

Churchill hear this speech and later apologized for his outburst. This indeed was a reasoned and eloquent speech that laid out the case for Ireland's neutrality well. Ireland has always been a country when given the chance that wants to be left alone and not to entangle itself in the wars that had engulfed Europe.

What a superbly worded and calmly spoken response. Particularly the reverse and take on 'We Stood Alone'

That's tellin' him, Dev!

A speech of great integrity

God I wish we had leaders of such moral clarity today.

This speech should be taught in every history class in schools when covering Ireland’s role in WWII. Encapsulates our neutrality and the reality of the monster; Churchill’s aggression that was a constant in his life against the Irish people and others. His point on “imagine if Germany won WWI and then decided to occupy England for years, then years later offer a peace Treaty but still maintain occupation of 6 southern Counties by the shores”. I’d like every British imperialist to have a good think about that point. Dev. A true patriot. A bastion of democracy and truth. A Christian. A Gael. ☘️🇮🇪✝️

This is one of the best speeches I've heard. Fantastic 👏🏻

Good man Dev! 🇮🇪

I was visiting a relatives grave in Glasnevin Cemetery. I bought flowers on out them on Devs grave. There wasnt even a dead flower on it. He would be a better leader than any worm in Dáil Éireann today.

What a beautiful orator. I must admit I find myself swayed by Mr. de Valera’s wise words. A stern, yet gentlemanly response to an everything but gentlemanly situation. Impressively worded jabs without being childish, as many spoken slaps tend to be. Simply perfect, then and now.

great speech. very well balanced and fair.

im english but this is one of the greatest speeches ever made

". . . and if it be WW number 3" our ancestors are talking to us always.

An precise and eloquent stab through the heart of British hypocrisy. Brilliant.

Whereas Churchill went over the top with his criticism of de Valera, which brought about this response, de Valera gave a response that said words to the effect of, "what if the ball was on the other foot,"

A truly rare combination of politics and respect. Superb on all counts.

England did not stand alone. Millions of Australians, Canadians, Indians, Ghurkas, New Zealanders, South African and Africans and Islanders etc. fought and saved England.

A great speech (and im english) plus england/britain had no right in ireland full stop so im sorry for what happend to your great country

probably, dev`s greatest moment. he had many faults, but he was well able to stand up to churchill.

Mr De Valera's speech was so eloquent and Eire was morally correct in maintaining her neutrality.

Great speech. Dev was there through thick and thin, he is a wise man RIP

“Dear Mr. Churchill - Ask me bollix”

The Sun never set upon the British Empire, for God trusted no Englishman in the dark!

I am certainly no admirer of Eamon De Valera, but this rebuttal of Churchill’s speech , was the most Statesman like speech he ever made. He was, ( in my opinion) a very miss directed man who split the country, through not accepting the will of the Irish People, causing even more loss of life. But a Patriot, never the less.

So glad we remained completely neutral throughout the war.

Best political address ever.

3:44 Decent of him to pay tribute to Neville Chamberlain. The re-evaluation of Chamberlain that he's calling for never happened though, and not looking likely

No politician of today could ever make such an intelligent and beautiful speech.

First rate speech in every respect.

Times we're hard he tried for his country. Hopefully one day Eire will be free and we have the whole of our country back. R.i.p 🇮🇪🇮🇪

Ireland was committed by the King's declaration of war on 3 September 1939. The 1937 constitution had not made clear whether or not Ireland was a republic.

Irishmen weren't neutral in both world wars. Hundreds of thousands fought for the freedom of Europe and the world .I have got Irish ancestors who fought and, three brothers from UK ( my great great Uncles), who's parents were Irish who fought as Americans n one died and they are celebrated in stained glass in my towns Library with their names there. Why I'm proud of UK aswell as US n Ireland. Of course my family always have wanted Ireland independence n unity, but not by killing anyone. My great great grandparents saw enough killing BY OTHER Irish in them days , so no more and Thank God ,it's peace in that beautiful island.

Devalera was loved like a god .my mother still remembers him coming around cork cities northside

I am british (London born) , my father is spanish & my mother english of irish decent , well said that , I believe that the true strength of whatever "empire" since the greeks or even more so the romans are , for reasons of control is to divide in divisions all people (Divedent, et vincet) , ie: women - men / poor - rich / patriots - non patriots / sports - one team or another / trends (fashion) religion / etc................and by doing such a thing created a battle , or should i say a breaking off unity within the population , which enables to create confusion & caos , thereby giving them power to decide on our parte , what they think is important for them & and not us , in other words political manipulation to gain whatever they may have.

Dev put a lot into this. It's riddled with references only Irish would understand.

Hard to argue with that argument.

If only we could get a ERB video with DeValera vs Churchill.

My mother used to say that the wrong man got the bullet. Collins would have been better for Ireland economically. Better for jobs. By 1950, Ireland was going nowhere.

That speech put the cigar chewing sow in his place. The sow had some neck,expecting help from a country he invaded!

As an American of patriotic Irish and Patriotic American families, I must say.. I grew up with no admiration nor respect for Churchill. But...let us put old feelings aside...It is interesting to hear the voice of De Valera. Both men are questionable. But this is a unique thing to find here. GOD BLESS IRELAND . 🇮🇪

Joining the Allies would have caused a second civil war.

like him or not,,i think that dev outfoxed him,,one of the best political speechs ever

Brilliant response

The United States and the British Empire were on the wrong side in both world wars.

WELL SAID SO ARTICULATE PRESENTED TO A WARMONGER CHURCHILL

I never realized how great a speech this was ...great intellect !

That's why i like RU-vid, one can find such things :D

Churchill was both the reason he needed to say this, and the reason he had the liberty to say it.

Extraordinary.

DeVelera was absolutely right! Churchill exposed his own contempt for other nations sovereignty just as Hitler did in that both had no regard for another peoples democratic sovereignty if it meant to further their own goals. Had Churchill acted against Ireland in WW2, then Churchill would and should have joined the defendants in the Nuremberg trials 1945.

Say what you want about Eamon De Valera, but he rejected the democratic will of the people when it came to the Anglo Irish Treaty. He oversaw a Civil War that killed more Irish people than the war of Independence, and led to the assassination of Michael Collins, the man the Irish had elected to be their leader. For that reason I am not surprised that he has been given the appropriate title of Ireland’s hated hero. He was truly as disgrace

Way to go Dev.Greatest Irishman of the 20th century

Eloquent with powerful words.

Ireland should have liberated Northern Ireland in 1940.

His finest hour.

"It is indeed hard for the strong to be just to the weak; but acting justly always has its rewards"

We owe him a great debt. For all the criticism de Valera receives today, some very fair and some very uninformed, the truth is he was a fine leader. He left us with more sovereignty than we had had in centuries, spared a generation of young Irishmen from death in the horror show of WWII, represented us with dignity, and refused to be morally blackmailed by hypocritical warmongers. RIP ❤

Heartfelt speech 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻

Churchill has Irish blood on his hands

... I'm not by any stretch a Dev fan but Collins could never be as cunning.

Inspirational 🇮🇪🇮🇪🇮🇪🇮🇪🇮🇪🇮🇪🇮🇪

Imagine eamonn seen ireland now so sad 😞

Remember when we were Catholic, when he said thank God and our Christian faith, I was so proud, would he turn in his grave to see God written out off our constition, and the killing of the unborn..

Churchill said it was Dé Valeras finest hour

Impressive speech. More impressive than signing a condolence book in the German embassy

Churchill should have thanked Ireland for remaining neutral. There were many people who wanted Ireland to declare war on the UK in 1939 and especially in 1940.

Churchill got rekt

i dont have a problem with dev keeping ireland out of the war...with no airforce or navy to protect itself it would have been suicide for any nation in that position to enter a world war.. however his treatment of thousands former irish soldiers who went awol to fight for the allies was shameful and vindictive

Churchill's criticism of Eamon de Valera and Irish neutrality, 1945

It’s no Alan Rickmansworth, but what sort of comment did you think you were making 7 years ago, a beautiful and thoughtful reply is what you should have said, what’s Alan rickman got to do with Irish history?

Churchill didn't pay respects at the Germany embassy when Hitler committed suicide. Thousands of Irishmen served in the fight against fascism and were treated shamefully - like traitors - when they returned home

A brilliant speech for sure. As for us Ukranians there are many compelling parallels with the Irish history, I cannot help though but draw another parallel, that of Irland's neutrality in the face of Nazi Germany and the false neutrality of today's " Putinversteher" campaigning in Ruzzia's favour. Mixed feelings on that behalf and the remaining questions of weather neutrality is moral in the face of absolute evil after all.

Ireland should have joined the Axis in 1939.

Great speech from this Spanish origin president.

Didn't this man allow his neutral country harbour German U Boats during the war and don't he send his condolences to the German high commission on hearing the news of Hitlers death ??

Dev’s finest hour. Ar dheis lámh Dé go raibh a anam.

A true statesman

De Valera would hate modern Ireland given he was a racist.

Poland and Polish soldiers and common people never stopped during 2 WW fight against German Nazi bandits .Poland with Polish Government in London was fighting in the same time also against Soviet barbarian Red Army - against Gestapo and their ally NKWD. The UK, Churchill sold Poland to Soviets in thanks for Polish soldiers blood in battle for London and other places of the Western and Eastern front.

What a great call.. Hard judgement to make, shows his great leadership... LOL trust Churchill after that bollox sent the black and tans over here No way

Every word is swollen with deep meaning known only to those that have a grasp of the context and backstory. A very profound speech. There is an elegance in how he transposed the reality of the partition of Ireland to what it would be in England. Holding up a mirror up to the iniquities of partition in a way that British people can themselves ponder on. If not relate to in a similar fashion. Dev remains a divisive person in Irish history. Some would say with convincing facts that he was the architect of Irish partition. Others would say that he was the opposite. That he was so relentless that he saw a civil war as necessary rather than compromise. But in this speech he did set the record straight. 25 years late in my view, but age brings wisdom. Churchill is also a decisive person in British history, He did make the stand against the Nazis government. And for that he craved his legacy in granite and also purged from his past many less alluring facts. Dev did the same with his words. And he did it thinking further ahead than most.