He was born in Rathmines, Dublin on 15 August 1894, as the second son of an American citizen Mary Yore and the Fenian and Land Leaguer Michael Davitt.

[1] During the Irish War of Independence (1919–1921), Davitt was appointed as a Dáil Courts judge in 1920 and sat on cases throughout the country while evading British Forces.

[3] This became contentious on the outbreak of the Irish Civil War (1922–1923) and Davitt was critical of what he referred to as 'drumhead' courts-martial: on one occasion he prevented the execution of a civilian spy convicted by a military court in Cathal Brugha barracks by pointing out that shooting him would be murder in law, and might be prosecuted as such if the other side won.

Kerry Command Paddy Daly and two other officers in the Kenmare incident and made it clear that a court-martial was necessary.

He was a judge on the Great Southern Railways Stocks Transactions Tribunal from 1943 to 1944, which was chaired by Justice Andrew Kingsbury Overend of the High Court.