Background
Davitt was born and raised in the city of Cork, attending the North Monestery school, where he mastered Munster Irish.
Davitt was born and raised in the city of Cork, attending the North Monestery school, where he mastered Munster Irish.
He has been characterised as "..one of modern Ireland"s finest poets in either of the nation"s languages and key figure in the 1970s Irish Language poetry movement. He pursued Celtic Studies there at the University College. Although he wrote in Irish, it was not his first language.
A successor to Seán Ó Ríordáin, whose first language was also English, his work was considered avant garde with urban and rural tones in combination, and an expression of "..a belief in language as the locus of personal and. national and international self-definition." The importance of location in which the real and imaginary worlds are part of one another is another major theme of his work.
As he put it, "What is important is to continue believing in the Irish language as a vibrant creative power while it continues to be marginalised in the process of cultural McDonaldisation.."
Described as an "impresario" for Irish language poerty, in 1970 Davitt founded the journal Innti. Davitt worked for Raidió Teilifís Éireann (RTÉ) as a presenter from 1985–1988, and subsequently as a producer and director through the 1990s.
His production credits include the television documentaries Joe Heaney: Sing the Dark Away (1996) and John Montague: Rough Fields.
Aosdána.