ON a cold morning in 1850, in the small Mayo village of Straide, a four- year-old boy stood with his family as their home was destroyed before their eyes:

“The remnant of our house furniture flung about the road, the roof of the house falling in and the thatch taking fire. My mother and father looking on with four children, the youngest only two months old, adding their cries to the other pangs which must have agitated their souls at the sight of their burning homestead.”

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These are the words of Michael Davitt, recalling the trauma of eviction that would shape his life and, in many ways, the future of Ireland.

“This scene, which would have been told to a young Michael Davitt by his parents, would have really inspired him in terms of nationalism and his fight for the rights of Irish people,” says Deirdre McGuirk, curator of the Michael Davitt Museum in Straide.

Life in rural Ireland after the Great Famine was incredibly tough. Tenant farmers and labourers with their families were at the mercy of their landlords, describes Mark Spragg, tour guide at the Michael Davitt Museum.

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“The landlords had all the power back then. A lot of these tenants were on very short leases of a year and even if they paid their rent there was no guarantee that the following year the landlord wouldn't just chuck them out. He could turn his land into grazing land and there was a big push to do that. It's far cheaper of course to stick a herd of cows on your land than have pesky tenants who may not be able to pay a rent.”

The living conditions came to a boil in the 1860s amid a rise in evictions. An atmosphere that fostered nationalist thinking as many landlords at the time were perceived as absentee landlords. Michael Davitt would play a large role in fighting for tenants rights.

Education

BUT before Davitt began to make a name for himself, he grew up in England, because his parents didn't have a choice but to leave Ireland. Davitt started working in a factory.

At the age of eleven he lost his right arm in an accident. This tragedy, paradoxically, turned out to be a blessing for him: “He was sent to school by a local mill owner, a Methodist.

Michael went to a Wesleyan school. And the education that he received there fostered in him his lifelong obsession with education for children, especially girls,” explains Spragg.

Davitt grew up in an Irish enclave around Manchester, a hot bed of Fenianism at that time. He became a member of the secret organisation Irish Republican Broterhood there and ended up in prison for his activities, which involved arms smuggling.

On his return to Ireland, Davitt joined forces with James Daly and Charles Stewart Parnell to form the National Land League in 1879. The League’s mission was clear: to end landlord tyranny and secure 'the three F’s' for Irish tenants: Fair rent, Fixity of tenure, and Free sale.

Davitt was instrumental in organising mass gatherings, famously the Irishtown meeting to protest for tenants' rights. The efforts led to the transfer of land ownership from landlords to tenants.

During this struggle, Davitt steadfastly positioned himself as an advocate for women's rights, as Spragg describes: “When Anna and Fanney Parnell established the Ladies Land League, Michael Davitt completely backed that. A lot of men in politics then did not and did not feel that women or ladies should be involved in such work, but Davitt did.”

Learnings

WE still see issues in our society today, that would sound familiar to Michael Davitt's ears.

“The social issues that he campaigned for, are still alive today,” concludes curator McGuirk: “For example we have a huge homelessness crisis in Ireland today and the Land League was about campaigning for people who were being displaced and being evicted from their homes and throughout the world there's still a lack of social equity and we can see that when we watch the news every night.”

People are still suffering from these causes, such as displacement, homelessness, educational rights, and there is still a struggle for women's rights.

On May 30 in 1906, 119 years ago, Michael Davitt died, from sepsis following a dental procedure. He was 60 years old. In his will he said:

“To all my friends I leave kind thoughts to my enemies the fullest possible forgiveness and to Ireland the undying prayer for the absolute freedom and independence which it was my life's ambition to try and obtain for her.”

The Michael Davitt Museum preserves his legacy. Find out more about one of Ireland's greatest personalities: www. michaeldavittmuseum.ie.

There will be a wreath laying ceremony at Michael Davitt's grave in Straide tomorrow, Friday, may 30, commemorating his date of death in 1906. Minister for Rural and Community Development, Dara Calleary (Fianna Fáil) TD will be present. The ceremony will take place at 10am, everyone is welcome.

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