Michael Davitt and the USA

Michael Davitt (1846-1906) is one of the most revered patriots in Irish history. He was the founder and chief organiser of the Land League, one of the most successful movements in Irish history, which started a process that transformed a multiplicity of tenant farmers into owner-occupiers within a generation by constitutional means, and brought about one of the greatest social changes ever witnessed in the country. The abolition of the landlord ascendancy in Ireland weakened the union with the United Kingdom, advanced the interests of Irish nationalism, and in the process sowed the seeds of a modern democracy.

What is not that well known is his huge connection with the United States of America (USA). He visited the USA on several occasions and had numerous friends there

His father and mother, Martin and Catherine, emigrated to Scranton, Pennsylvania, in April 1870. However, Martin died the following year and was buried in the Padden family grave in the Cathedral Cemetery there. Shortly afterwards, his mother moved to Manayunk, a suburb of Philadelphia, in search of better employment opportunities. She died there in July 1880 and was buried in the grounds of the Church of St John the Baptist.

In September 1880 as part of a lecture tour, Michael Davitt visited Oakland, California, where he met a young Irish-American woman, Mary Yore (1861-1934), who became his wife six years later. She was brought up in St Joseph, Michigan, but following the death of her mother in a road accident and her father’s re- marriage, she was reared in Oakland, CA, by an aunt. Michael Davitt and Mary Yore were married in Oakland on December 30, 1886. After their honeymoon in the USA, they came to Ireland. For the rest of his life, Michael Davitt commanded huge respect and affection among Irish people at home and abroad until his unexpected death in 1906 from septicaemia following the extraction of two teeth

For a concise biography of this extraordinary Irish-man, see Davitt: Irish Patriot and Father of the Land League by Bernard O’Hara, which was published in the USA by Tudor Gate Press (www.tudorgatepress.com) and is available from amazon.com and amazon.co.uk.

It can be obtained as an eBook from the Apple iBookstore (for reading on iPad and iPhone), from Amazon.com and Amazon.co.uk (Kindle & Kindle Fire) and from Barnesandnoble.com (Nook tablet and eReader).