British Literature Survey
Reference Pages: James Joyce Group

Michael Davitt and the Land League
by Cara Walker

Michael Davitt was the motivating force behind the Land League movement in Ireland in the 1870s-1880s. This Movement was a passive resistance to the exorbitant rents landlords imposed on farmers. Davitt was born in Straide, Ireland. His family was evicted from their land in 1850 at the height of the Great Famine, and emigrated to England in search of refuge. At the age of nine, after receiving a meager education Davitt went to work in a cotton mill. In 1937 his arm was severely maimed in the mill and resulted in an amputation. This amputation and the eviction of his family caused him to develop a social conscious that he used throughout his life to help farmers and working class citizens. After involvement with a revolutionary group that sought to free Ireland from British control and a seven-year imprisonment on the charge of treason, he returned to Ireland to observe the conditions of farmers. Davitt was shocked to see that the conditions had not improved since he left many years prior. Along with Charles Stewart Parnell, a prominent Irish landowner, farmers were mobilized to battle the unfair treatment. Davitt made trips to America in search of monetary and moral support for the League, both of which he received generously. The Land War conducted by the League made evictions the scene for demonstrations and a farm was indefinitely resisted after a family was evicted. Ultimately, these pressures forced landlords to reconsider rents and also Parliament to reconsider land ownership laws.

Works Cited

Bew, Paul. Land and the National Question in Ireland 1858-82. New Jersey: Humanities Press, 1979.

Cashman, D.B. Life of Michael Davitt: Founder of the National Land League. London: R.&T. Washbourne, Ltd., 1880.

“Life of Michael Davitt.” Museums of Mayo. accessed 30 January 2006 http://www.museumsofmayo.com/davitt1.htm

O’Hara, Bernard. Michael Davitt Remembered. Straide, Ireland: Michael Davitt National Memorial Association, 1984.

Sheehy-Skeffington, F. Michael Davitt: Revolutionary, Agitator and Labour Leader. London: Macgibson & Kee Ltd., 1967.

Paul Marchbanks
marchban@email.unc.edu