Davitt, Michael
Davitt, Michael ( 1846 – 1906 )Irish nationalist and land reformer. The son of an Irish farmer who had been evicted from his holding, he opposed the British-imposed land-holding system in Ireland. In 1865 he joined the Irish Republican Brotherhood , a movement committed to the establishment of an independent republic of Ireland. He was sentenced to 15 years' penal servitude in 1870 for smuggling weapons for the Fenians . Released in 1877 he helped found the Irish Land League in 1879 , an organization formed to achieve land reform. With Charles Sewart Parnell , he sought to protect Irish peasants against...
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