Background
He was a member of the Dublin Corporation from 1909 to 1922, and had espoused the cause of Sinn Fein when he joined the Irish Volunteers in 1913. He sided with the minority against the leadership of John Redmond in 1914, took part in the Easter Rebellion in 1916, and was imprisoned in Wales until July 1917. The following year, he was elected member for Kilkenny in the DáilDail Eireann that declared for a republic. He was minister for local government in the republican cabinet from 1917 to 1921, and after the treaty with England in 1921, under which the Free State was established within the British Empire, he held the same post in the provisional government. Eamon de Valera and Cosgrave disagreed on the acceptance of the treaty. De Valera continued to fight for an independent republic, while Cosgrave served in the Free State government. He became president of the Executive Council of the Irish Free State, i.e. prime minister, in September 1922, when Michael Collins, who had filled the office after the death of Arthur Griffith, was assassinated in August 1922. His government was not spectacular, but it did much to bring order and some prosperity to the country. When the Irish Free State joined the League of Nations, Cosgrave attended as the first representative. Until 1927 de Valera's party did not send delegates to the DáilDail Eireann, although they ran for office. Thus Cosgrave's government had little opposition. But Cosgrave introduced the Electoral Amendment bill, which forced de Valera's Republicans to accept the responsibilities of office when they were elected. As a result, de Valera and his supporters became the official opposition party, under the name of Fianna Fáil.Fail. An election shortly afterward left Cosgrave without a clear majority, and he was obliged to form a coalition government. In 1932 Cosgrave and his Fine Gael, or United Ireland, Party were defeated as a result of the economic disorganization caused by the depression of the 1930's and also as a result of Cosgrave's strong measures against the Irish Republican Army. He continued, however, to act as his party's leader and also as leader of the opposition until January 1944, when he resigned in favor of Dr. Thomas O'Higgins. Both as president and as leader of the opposition, Cosgrave fostered good relations between Great Britain and the Free State. Cosgrave retired from public life in 1944. He died in Dublin on Nov. 16, 1965.