Michael Davitt: From the "Gaelic American"

by John Devoy

"Michael Davitt: From the Gaelic American" tells the story of a collaboration between two giants of late nineteenth-century Irish nationalism: John Devoy and Michael Davitt, in the formulation of the New Departure and the early emergence of the land agitation. Devoy (1842-1928), a Fenian who assisted James Stephens in his escape from Richmond prison, only later to be imprisoned himself for administering the Fenian oath, was to spend most of his adult life in exile in the United States. He was a leading figure in Clan na Gael and a journalist for the "New York Herald" and later edited the "Gaelic American", in which this account of Davitt was serialised. Michael Davitt (1846-1906), once a major figure in the Irish Republican Brotherhood went on to found the Irish National Land League. Although both men shared similar hopes for the Irish nation their methods and approaches were to diverge, and they fell out in 1882. This memoir is particularly informative for the period between 1878 and 1880, when the New Departure was initiated. However, Devoy asserts that Davitt remained more loyal to the Fenian ideals than most of his contemporaries recognised.

174 pages, Paperback

First published May 22, 2008

Reviews

[Denerick · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is not a book as such, but a compilation of newspaper articles John Devoy wrote in the American newspaper, 'the Gaelic American'. It discusses the 'New Departure' mentioned in the other post, in light of Davitt's death and the various chattering of what happened in those months. Its rather dull and Devoy comes across as insufferably self important. I'll not rate it, because its a memoir and not a book as such, and it does help illuminate the sequence of events rather clearly. I'd only reccomend this if you are researching Davitt or Devoy for some academic purpose, otherwise you are completely wasting your time on something almost mind nummingly dull.