Bernadette Devlin
Bernadette Devlin is a notable figure from Northern Ireland, recognized for her activism and political career during a tumultuous period in the region's history. Born into a poor Roman Catholic family, she became involved in civil rights activism while studying at Queen's University in Belfast, where she co-founded People's Democracy. This student movement aimed to advocate for Catholic civil rights under British rule and faced significant opposition, particularly from law enforcement. In 1969, she ran for a parliamentary seat as part of her efforts to promote their socialist ideology and ultimately won a special by-election the following year, becoming the youngest woman ever to serve in the British Parliament at age twenty-one.
Devlin's tenure in politics was marked by her involvement in protests and significant events, including the Battle of Bogstad, which led to her imprisonment shortly after her re-election. Despite her loss of public office in 1974, she has remained an influential voice in advocating for Irish Catholic civil rights. Her activism also extended internationally, as she sought support from the United States during her efforts. In 1981, she survived an assassination attempt, underscoring the risks faced by those involved in the complex political landscape of Northern Ireland.
Subject Terms
Bernadette Devlin
Identification: Northern Ireland political and radical leader
Significance: As an outspoken advocate of Roman Catholic civil rights in Northern Ireland, Devlin devised innovative stratagems to make her voice heard
Devlin was born into a poor Roman Catholic family in a small town in Northern Ireland. While attending Queen’s University in Belfast, she helped found People’s Democracy, a student movement dedicated to promoting Catholic civil rights under British rule. The student group tried protests and marches to spread their mostly socialist ideology, but encountered opposition from the police. In March of 1969 the group entered candidates for Britain’s general parliamentary elections as a means of spreading their doctrines. Since the police were required by law to protect parliamentary candidates, the student candidates used their protection to pass out literature and conduct public meetings. Devlin stood for a parliamentary seat, but lost. A year later, however, she entered a special by-election and won. At age twenty-one she became the youngest woman ever to sit in Great Britain’s Parliament.
In August of 1969 Devlin was present at the barricade construction in Bogstad, North Ireland, which led to the Battle of Bogstad. Because of her role in this skirmish she was sentenced to a six-month prison term shortly after she was reelected to Parliament. That same year, while touring the United States to raise support for Northern Irish relief, she received a key to New York City from the mayor and handed it over to members of the Black Panther Party.
Due in part to her contempt for regular politics, Devlin lost her parliamentary seat in 1974. Although she has not held another political office, she has remained an outspoken supporter of Irish Catholic civil rights. In 1981 she and her husband were seriously wounded in an assassination attempt by members of an extremist group from Ulster.