EAMON DE VALERA AND THE ROAD TO ANGLO-IRISH TREATY ON DECEMBER 6, 1921. RECAPITULATION

For decades, Eamon de Valera was considered the father of the independent Irish state, even if the six northern counties of the historic province of Ulster did not become part of it. De Valera's role is even more visible if we observe the evolution of the history of the Irish as a nation that was unable - until the 20th century - to create a lasting and independent state with a recognized international legal status. The main research goal of the article is to recall the role of de Valera as the leader of the united nationalist movement in Ireland in 1917-1921. De Valera's conceptual and practical contribution to settling the Irish national question at that time did not meet his expectations, even though on December 6, 1921, the Treaty known as the Anglo-Irish Treaty was signed in London. From that moment on, de Valera became the leader of the anti-Treaty republican opposition, which meant the end of the unity of Sinn Fein, the largest party in the Irish nationalist movement. This work analyzes the stages of operation of this policy in the above-mentioned period, as well as the concepts he put forward regarding the status of the Irish state as a political and legal entity in its formative phase.