Michael Davitt Poem by Francis Duggan

For ever lasting glory hardship price he paid
The founder of the Land League the patriot from Straide
He stood against the Landlords for Ireland's rural poor
And spent long years behind bars in the prison of Dartmoor.

For Ireland's tenant farmers he struck a vital blow
The bearded Michael Davitt that great man from Mayo
The champion of the Land Act his victories we hail
He won fair rent for tenant farmers, fixity of tenure and free sale.

I wonder do Irish farmers nowadays even appreciate
What Michael Davitt did for them and for the Irish State
He backed up their ancestors and took up the tenant cause
And stood against the Landlords and their dishonest laws.

Michael Davitt proved himself in a hard and a troubled time
When to speak against the British Landlord was looked on as a crime
But like a true man he spoke his mind he was not one to cower
And with the backing of his Land League he weakened Landlord power.

From Straide In County Mayo a true man and a great
The founder of the Land League with Ireland's best must rate
He won for tenant farmers in troubled by gone day
A better deal from Landlords easier terms and fair play.