The Papers of Michael Davitt, MS 9320-9681.  

A project to catalogue, conserve and digitise the papers of Irish nationalist, social reformer, and champion of the Irish diaspora Michael Davitt (1846-1906) is currently underway as part of Virtual Trinity Library. Davitt was a convicted Fenian, Irish nationalist, Irish Parliamentary Party MP, investigative journalist, and agrarian campaigner, who is well known for being one of the founders of the Irish National Land League. This extensive collection was presented to the Library from 1978 to 1980 by Davitt’s son, Cahir Davitt, and includes over 6000 letters, 550 photographs, 60 diaries as well as newspaper cuttings, published pamphlets, and articles. This material details an important period in Irish history when the focus of Irish nationalism shifted from the revolutionary politics of the Fenian Brotherhood to the constitutional politics of the Irish Parliamentary Party in Westminster and the mass-agrarian movement of the Irish National Land League. Within the collection are diaries and notebooks with research for his books on prison life, his time in the USA, Australia and New Zealand and Russia.

The Davitt papers are one of the most heavily used historic collections in the Library of Trinity College Dublin. The Michael Davitt Papers Project aims to update the existing catalogue, to digitise and to publish the images online on Digital Collections, to increase the visibility and accessibility of this significant collection. An archivist, a conservator, and a digital photographer were appointed to the project between August and November 2024 and work has begun to make this collection of national importance more widely available. Keep an eye out for updates from this fascinating project!

Ciara Daly