Cosgrave outlined the three principles of his foreign policy to the Dáil in June 1956: adherence to the principles of the UN Charter, independence and non-alignment, and "to do whatever we can as a member of the UN to preserve the Christian civilisation of which we are a part and with that end in view to support whenever possible those powers principally responsible for the defence of the free world in their resistance to the spread of communist power and influence".

In 1965, when James Dillon resigned as leader of Fine Gael after the 1965 general election loss, Liam Cosgrave easily won the leadership.

Cosgrave's determination to support government anti-terrorist legislation in votes in the Dáil, in the face of opposition from his party, almost cost him his leadership.

In a speech littered with references to Fine Gael's founding fathers, he contrasted the difficulties posed by the IRA in Northern Ireland with those faced by the first Free State government in dealing with the anti-treatyites.

Asking delegates if they did any hunting Cosgrave declared that "… some of these commentators and critics are now like mongrel foxes; they are gone to ground but I'll dig them out, and the pack will chop them when they get them".

Among the government ministers were future Taoiseach and writer Garret FitzGerald, former United Nations diplomat Conor Cruise O'Brien, television presenter and veterinary professor Justin Keating.

Cosgrave balanced these with hardline Christian Democrats such as Richard Burke, former teacher Peter Barry and west Dublin farmer Mark Clinton.

He appointed Richie Ryan rather than Garret FitzGerald as his Minister for Finance when the Labour Party leader, Brendan Corish, declined the position in 1973.

Fianna Fáil strongly opposed these new capital taxes and garnered considerable support from the wealthy and propertied classes as a result that would stand them in good stead in future elections.

The world energy crisis triggered by the Yom Kippur War in October 1973, which caused inflationary problems, and constrained the coalition fiscally.

Childers had sought the presidency with promises of making the office more open and hands-on, in particular with plans to create a think tank within Áras an Uachtaráin to develop an outline for Ireland's future.

[14][15] In addition, Cosgrave frequently interfered in Ó Dálaigh's constitutional role as the state's representative to foreign governments; he was not permitted to receive the Legion of Honour from France, although former president Seán T. O'Kelly had previously received it, and Cosgrave attended the United States' bicentennial celebrations in 1976 in Ó Dálaigh's place.

[16] The government had introduced the Emergency Powers Bill following the assassination in July of the British Ambassador to Ireland, Christopher Ewart-Biggs, by the IRA; it had passed the Dáil on 21 September.

After consultation with the Council of State, Ó Dálaigh exercised his power to refer the Bill to the Supreme Court two days later to test its constitutionality, bringing him into more direct conflict with the government.

[16] On 18 October Minister for Defence Paddy Donegan attacked the President for sending the bill to the Supreme Court, calling him a "thundering disgrace".

In addition, many Republican voters were angered by what they saw as Cosgrave's harsh line on the Provisional IRA and the handling of the Dublin and Monaghan Bombings.

It was also alleged that the Fine Gael/Labour government caused or allowed the Garda investigation to end prematurely, for fear that the findings would play into the hands of republicans.

Coogan declared what he dubbed "editorial war" on the government after a, now notorious, interview between Bernard Nossiter of The Washington Post and O'Brien in August 1976 regarding the passage of the Emergency Powers Bill.

During the course of the interview, O'Brien stated that he would've liked the bill to be used against teachers who glorified Irish revolutionaries and against newspaper editors who published letters in support of Republicans.

[21] The coalition attempted to prosecute The Irish Press for its coverage of the maltreatment of republican prisoners by the Garda "Heavy Gang", with the paper winning the case.

Dublin, apart from Dún Laoghaire, was divided into some 13 three-seat constituencies where Fine Gael and Labour were to take one seat each reducing Fianna Fáil to a minority rump in the capital.

The election campaign started without Cosgrave taking any opinion polls in advance and was therefore unaware of the extent of Fianna Fáil's support.

During the campaign, the National Coalition made up some ground but the Fianna Fáil manifesto of promises (including the abolition of rates, and the car tax) was proved very popular in the electorate and the National Coalition was heavily defeated, with Fianna Fáil winning an unprecedentedly large parliamentary majority, including unexpected second seats in many Dublin constituencies.

On 8 May 2016, in a joint appearance with the grandsons of Éamonn Ceannt and Cathal Brugha, he unveiled a plaque commemorating the 1916 Rising at St. James's Hospital, the former site of the South Dublin Union.

[1][2][34] Taoiseach Leo Varadkar said "Liam Cosgrave was someone who devoted his life to public service; a grateful country thanks and honours him for that and for always putting the nation first.

He always believed in peaceful cooperation as the only way of achieving a genuine union between the people on this island, and in the 1970s he celebrated that this country had embarked, in his own words, 'on a new career of progress and development in the context of Europe'.

[36][37] He was the longest-lived Taoiseach, dying at the age of 97 years, 174 days, on 4 October 2017, having surpassed Éamon de Valera's record in early March 2013.