, circa. 1878 The school, which opened in 1984 would previously be known as 'the tech', would later be named Davitt College by then-principal Joe Langan because "he [Langan] did not like the term ‘tech’ with its derogatory connotations". He had also introduced the school uniform, the first in any vocational school in
Ireland as he stated 'was an indication of things to come.' Joe Langan died in July 2006 and in 2011 Davitt College named their new sports hall after him. The school is named after
Michael Davitt, an
Irish republican and
agrarian campaigner who founded the
Irish National Land League. He was also a
labour leader,
Home Rule politician and Member of Parliament (MP). He campaigned for
Home Rule and was a close ally of
Charles Stuart Parnell, the leader of the
Irish Parliamentary Party, until the party split over Parnell's divorce and Davitt joined the anti-Parnellite
Irish National Federation. The school was run under authority by the
VEC until July 2013 when it was replaced by the
ETB. A student who attended Davitt College named Shane Gavin never missed a single day of school in a space of 13 years since he started primary school. Davitt College was one of the first schools in the Republic of Ireland to introduce
Politics and Society as a
Leaving Certificate subject in September 2016, with the
inaugural examination taking place in June 2018. The school is a member of
Mayo, Sligo and Leitrim ETB since 2013. == Notable alumni ==