Blackrock College Annual 1935 [signed by alumnus Éamon de Valera, then the Irish President]

Dublin: Blackrock College, 1935. Paperback. 156, xxiv p. paperback yearbook for the Catholic secondary school, card covers edgeworn where they project past the textblock, minor foxing; signed by de Valera on the title page. A note in pen dated Oct. 1, 1935, by a Bro. Declan to a "Dear Miss D... (unclear, please see photo), on Blackrock College stationery, is laid in inside the front cover; it was formerly affixed to the first page with a small piece of paper tape but has come loose. It reads, "As promised during our tour of Ireland I am forwarding herewith the College Annual. The President autographed it on his return from Geneva this evening. He was fairly sick after the crossing but otherwise in good spirits & looking well. I am expecting a letter from you for some time." De Valera is discussed in the alumni affairs portion of the yearbook, where on pages 49-50 there is a description of his address to the League of Nations (in his capacity as Minister for External Affairs), in which he cited Catholic doctrine in a debate over the admission of the Soviet Union into the League. The piece states that the world was startled at de Valera's citation of the Gospel, but his fellow Blackrock alumni were not.