The centenary of Michael Davitt's death is the theme of this year's six-day Parnell Summer School which got under way in County Wicklow today.
Minister for Education Mary Hanafin, who officially opened the event, said Davitt's goal was to create an Ireland which would conquer its problems through self-determination and by empowering its people economically, socially and culturally.
"The greatest tribute that we can pay Davitt is to ensure that every single person on this island - irrespective of class, colour or creed - is given the opportunity to live the dream of freedom and prosperity which the generations before us sacrificed so much to make possible," Ms Hanafin said at the event in Avondale House, Parnell's ancestral home.
Speakers in coming days at the event on the theme 'Forgotten Hero: Michael Davitt and Irish Democracy' include Labour leader Pat Rabbitte, Greens leader Trevor Sargent, Fine Gael's Olwyn Enright, Minister of State Conor Lenihan and Aengus O Snodaigh of Sinn Fein.
Davitt's grandson, Vincentian priest Fr Tom Davitt will also deliver a personal tribute to the Land League founder, entitled Getting to Know Grandad.
Ms Hanafin said that as the centenary commemorations get under way the country should use the time to renew a greater sense of ownership in the life of the country.
"At the core of Davitt's political being was the belief that a native government was necessary to build our economy and to strengthen its capacity to provide decent livelihoods for all of Ireland's people," she said.
"Davitt was also one of the first examples of an Irish politician who made the journey from violence to the path of peace. Today the central tenet of Irish republicanism is that the people are sovereign. The overwhelming majority of the Irish people have consistently rejected violence and sectarianism. Any individual who seeks to use these methods is not in my view a republican."
Ms Hanafin also said Davitt was the first modern Irish leader to encourage women to participate in political affairs.
"He refused to be swayed from his conviction that women could and should make a decisive contribution in the political arena. Davitt pushed out the parameters and founded the Ladies' Land League, which contained people like the courageous Ann Parnell and Jenny Wyse-Power," she said.
"Davitt believed that the purpose of politics was to work for all the people and not privileged elite. As Davitt did in his time, we must espouse politics that looks after all sections and interests of our people. Communities and neighbourhoods must be to the forefront."
Event spokesperson Deirdre Larkin said: "Davitt's name is etched in popular consciousness as the father of the Land League and that is as it should be."