Mayo's Historical Figures
History of Michael Davitt: 1906 - 2006
Michael Davitt was born in Straide on March 25th, 1846, the second of five children. When Michael was six years old, his parents, Martin and Sabina Davitt (nee Kielty), were evicted and emigrated to Haslingden in Lancashire.
In 1856, at the age of 10, he began work in a cotton mill but two years later had his right arm amputated in an accident. He subsequently attended a Wesleyan school for two years, after which he worked for a printing firm.
Early in 1879 Davitt returned home to a country which was once again experiencing near Famine conditions. It was one of the wettest years on record, the potato crop had failed for the third successive year.
On August 16th, 1879, the Land League of Mayo was formally founded in Castlebar, with the active support of Charles Stewart Parnell. On October 21st, 1879, the National Land League was formed in Dublin with Parnell as President, and Davitt as one of the secretaries. From that time right on to 1882 the Land War was fought in earnest.- British Prime Minister Gladstone at first replied with coercion, but was finally forced into making important concessions.
Davitt died in Dublin in 1906. By the time of his death at the age of 60, the land for the people had largely become a reality, prison reform had begun, and he himself had become and international champion of liberty.
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