Michael Davitt
Michael Davitt (25 March 1846 – 30 May 1906) was an
Irish republican activist for a variety of causes, especially
Home Rule and
land reform. Following an eviction when he was four years old, Davitt's family migrated to England. He began his career as an organiser of the
Irish Republican Brotherhood, which resisted
British rule in Ireland with violence. Convicted of
treason felony for arms trafficking in 1870, he served seven years in prison. Upon his release, Davitt pioneered the
New Departure strategy of cooperation between the physical-force and constitutional wings of Irish nationalism on the issue of land reform. With
Charles Stewart Parnell, he co-founded the
Irish National Land League in 1879, in which capacity he enjoyed the peak of his influence before being jailed again in 1881.
Davitt travelled widely, giving lectures around the world, supported himself through journalism, and served as Member of Parliament (MP) for the
Irish Parliamentary Party (IPP) during the 1890s. When the party split over Parnell's divorce, Davitt joined the anti-Parnellite
Irish National Federation. His
Georgist views on the land question put him on the left wing of Irish nationalism, and he was a vociferous advocate of alliance between the
Radical faction of the
Liberal Party and the IPP.
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