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A mural by the Bogside Artists in Derry's Bogside, depicting Devlin

Josephine Bernadette Devlin McAliskey (born 23 April 1947, in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland), also known as Bernadette Devlin and Bernadette McAliskey, is a Socialist republican political activist. She served as a Member of Parliament at Westminster from 1969 to 1974 for the Mid Ulster constituency. Image File history File links Broom_icon. ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1200x1600, 322 KB) Description: mural in Derry Author: Jérôme Sautret © 2003 File links The following pages link to this file: Mural Bernadette Devlin McAliskey Bogside Artists ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1200x1600, 322 KB) Description: mural in Derry Author: Jérôme Sautret © 2003 File links The following pages link to this file: Mural Bernadette Devlin McAliskey Bogside Artists ... The Bogside Artists are a trio of mural painters, living and working in Northern Ireland. ... For other places with similar names, see Derry (disambiguation) and Londonderry (disambiguation). ... The Bogside is a nationalist neighbourhood outside the city walls of Derry, Northern Ireland. ... is the 113th day of the year (114th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1947 (MCMXLVII) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will display full 1947 calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Statistics Province: Ulster County Town: Omagh Area: 3,155 km² Population (est. ... Northern Ireland (Irish: , Ulster Scots: Norlin Airlann) is a constituent country of the United Kingdom lying in the northeast of the island of Ireland, covering 5,459 square miles (14,139 km², about a sixth of the islands total area). ... Irish republicanism is an ideology based on the Irish nationalist belief that all of Ireland should be a single independent republic, whether as a unitary state, a federal state or as a confederal arrangement. ... A Member of Parliament, or MP, is a representative elected by the voters to a parliament. ... Also: 1969 (number) 1969 (movie) 1969 (Stargate SG-1) episode. ... Year 1974 (MCMLXXIV) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display full calendar) of the 1974 Gregorian calendar. ... Mid Ulster is a Parliamentary Constituency in the House of Commons and also an Assembly constituency in the Northern Ireland Assembly. ...

Devlin was studying Psychology at Queen's University Belfast in 1968 when she took a prominent role in a student-led civil rights political party called People's Democracy. She opposed James Chichester-Clark in the Northern Ireland general election of 1969. When George Forrest, the MP for Mid Ulster, died, she fought the subsequent by-election on the "Unity" ticket, defeating a female Unionist candidate, Forrest's widow Anna, and was elected to the Westminster Parliament. At the age of 21, she was the youngest MP at the time. She stood on the slogan "I will take my seat and fight for your rights" – signalling her rejection of the traditional Irish republican tactic of abstentionism (being absent from Westminster). She made her maiden speech on her 22nd birthday, rather unconventionally within an hour of taking her seat. Psychological science redirects here. ... Queens University Belfast is a university in Belfast, Northern Ireland and a member of the Russell Group (a lobby group of major research universities in the United Kingdom). ... Year 1968 (MCMLXVIII) was a leap year starting on Monday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Civil rights or positive rights are those legal rights retained by citizens and protected by the government. ... Peoples Democracy was a political organisation that, while supporting the campaign for civil rights for Northern Irelands Catholic minority stated that such rights could only be achieved through the establishment of a socialist republic in all of Ireland. ... The Right Honourable James Dawson Chichester-Clark, Baron Moyola, PC, DL (February 12, 1923–May 17, 2002) was the fifth Prime Minister of Northern Ireland. ... George Forrest (26 October 1921-10 December 1968) was a Unionist politician in Northern Ireland who served as MP for Mid Ulster from 1956 until his death. ... The Mid Ulster by-election was held on 17 April 1969, following the death of Ulster Unionist Party Member of Parliament for Mid Ulster, George Forrest. ... Unity was the political label for a series of electoral pacts by Irish nationalst candidates in Northern Ireland elections in the 1960s and 1970s. ... A ticket refers to a single election choice which fills more than one political office or seat. ... Type Bicameral Houses House of Commons House of Lords Speaker of the House of Commons Michael Martin MP Speaker of the House of Lords Hélène Hayman, PC Members 1377 (646 Commons, 731 Peers) Political groups Labour Party Conservative Party Liberal Democrats Scottish National Party Plaid Cymru Democratic Unionist... Baby of the House is the unofficial title given to the youngest member of the House of Commons in the Parliament of the United Kingdom. ... Abstentionism is the policy of seeking election to a body while refusing to take up the seats or even sitting in an alternative assembly. ... A maiden speech is the first speech given by a newly elected representative in such bodies as the House of Commons or the United States House of Representatives. ...

She remains the youngest woman ever to have been elected to British parliament. Her 1969 book, The Price of My Soul, did much to publicise widespread discrimination against Roman Catholics in Northern Ireland.

Her radical left-wing politics resulted in conviction of incitement to riot in December 1969. She had actively engaged, on the side of the residents, in the 'Battle of the Bogside', which is widely marked as the beginning of Northern Ireland's 30 year "Troubles". She served a short jail term.^[1] After being re-elected in the 1970 general election, Devlin declared that she would sit in Parliament as an Independent Socialist. A mural by the Bogside Artists in Derry of a young boy in a gas mask holding a petrol bomb during the Battle of the Bogside, August 1969. ... The Troubles is a term used to describe two periods of violence in Ireland during the twentieth century. ... The United Kingdom general election of 1970 was held on June 18, 1970, and resulted in a surprise loss of power for Labour under Harold Wilson, who was replaced as Prime Minister by the Conservative leader, Edward Heath. ... The Independent Socialist Party (ISP) was a former political party in the UK. It was formed in 1934 as a breakway from the Independent Labour Party (ILP) in protest at the increasing power of the Revolutionary Policy Committee within the ILP. The ISP was led by Elijah Sandham, a former...

Devlin witnessed the events of Bloody Sunday. She was later infuriated that she was consistently denied the chance to speak in Parliament, although parliamentary convention decreed that any MP witnessing an incident under discussion would be granted an opportunity to speak about it in Parliament.^[2] Devlin punched Reginald Maudling, the Secretary of State for the Home Department in the Conservative government, when he made a statement to Parliament on Bloody Sunday stating that the British Army had fired only in self-defence.^[3] She was temporarily suspended from Parliament as a result of the incident.^[4] For other incidents referred to by this name, see Bloody Sunday. ... Rt. ... The Secretary of State for the Home Department (the Home Secretary) is the chief United Kingdom government minister responsible for law and order in England and Wales; his or her remit includes policing, the criminal justice system, the prison service, internal security, and matters of citizenship and immigration. ... The Conservative and Unionist Party, more commonly known as the Conservative Party, is currently the largest majortiy opposition party in the United Knigdom. ... For other incidents referred to by this name, see Bloody Sunday. ... The British Army is the land armed forces branch of the British Armed Forces. ...

In 1971, while still unmarried, she gave birth to a daughter Róisin. This cost her some support in conservative Roman Catholic areas.^[3] She married Michael McAliskey on April 23, 1973, which was her 26th birthday. In the February 1974 general election she was opposed by other Nationalist candidates and lost her seat.^[5] is the 113th day of the year (114th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... For the song by James Blunt, see 1973 (song). ... The UK general election of February 1974 was held on February 28, 1974. ...

McAliskey helped to form the Irish Republican Socialist Party in 1974, this was a revolutionary socialist breakaway from Official Sinn Féin and paralleled the Irish National Liberation Army's split from the Official Irish Republican Army.^[6] She served on the party's national executive in 1975, but she left the party after a short time when it became clear that it regarded political activity as subordinate to the INLA.^{[citation needed]} She attacked the Peace People (see articles on Betty Williams and Mairead Corrigan) as dishonest in 1976.^{[citation needed]} In 1977, she joined the Independent Socialist Party, but it disbanded the following year. Irish Republican Socialist Party (IRSP) describes itself as a republican socialist party and claims to be both Marxist-Leninist and republican. ... Year 1974 (MCMLXXIV) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display full calendar) of the 1974 Gregorian calendar. ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged into Workers Party of Ireland. ... The Irish National Liberation Army (INLA) is an Irish republican paramilitary organization which was formed on December 8, 1974. ... The term Official IRA relates to one of the two elements of the Irish Republican Army - the other being the Provisional IRA - that emerged from the ideological split in the Irish Republican movement in 1969-70. ... Year 1975 (MCMLXXV) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Betty Williams Betty Williams (born 22 May 1943) was a co-recipient with Mairead Corrigan of the Nobel Peace Prize in 1977 (the prize for 1976) for as a cofounder of Community of Peace People, an organisation dedicated to promoting a peaceful resolution to The Troubles in Northern Ireland. ... Mairead Corrigan (born 27 January 1944) was the co-founder, with Betty Williams, of the Community of Peace People, an organization which attempts to encourage a peaceful resolution of the Troubles in Northern Ireland. ... Year 1976 Pick up sticks(MCMLXXVI) was a leap year starting on Thursday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Also: 1977 (album) by Ash. ... The Independent Socialist Party was a far left political party in Ireland. ...

She stood as an independent candidate in support of the prisoners on the blanket protest and dirty protest at Long Kesh prison in the 1979 elections to the European Parliament in Northern Ireland, and won 5.9% of the vote.^[7] She was a leading spokesperson for the Smash H-Block Campaign, which supported the 1981 Irish Hunger Strike in 1980 and 1981, though she remained publicly critical of Gerry Adams and other Sinn Féin leaders.^{[citation needed]} Not to be confused with Independent Party or Independence Party. ... The blanket protest was part of a dispute involving Provisional IRA and Irish National Liberation Army prisoners held in the Maze prison (Long Kesh) in Northern Ireland. ... The dirty protest (also called the no wash protest[1]) was part of a five year protest during the Troubles by Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA) and Irish National Liberation Army (INLA) prisoners held in the Maze prison (also known as Long Kesh) and Armagh Womens Prison in Northern... Her Majestys Prison (HMP) Maze (known colloqually as The Maze) is a disused prison sited at the former RAF station at Long Kesh (it is still called Long Kesh by many Irish Republicans) near Lisburn, nine miles outside Belfast, in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. ... Member-states in 1979. ... Established 1952, as the Common Assembly President Hans-Gert Pöttering (EPP) Since 16 January 2007 Vice-Presidents 14 Rodi Kratsa-Tsagaropoulou (EPP) Alejo Vidal-Quadras (EPP) Gérard Onesta (Greens – EFA) Edward McMillan-Scott (ED) Mario Mauro (EPP) Miguel Angel Martínez Martínez (PES) Luigi Cocilovo (ALDE) Mechtild... Northern Ireland (Irish: , Ulster Scots: Norlin Airlann) is a constituent country of the United Kingdom lying in the northeast of the island of Ireland, covering 5,459 square miles (14,139 km², about a sixth of the islands total area). ... A mural in Derrys Bogside, commemorating Irish hunger strikers. ... Gerard Adams MP (Irish: [1]; born 6 October 1948) is an Irish Republican politician and abstentionist Westminster Member of Parliament for Belfast West. ... For pre-Arthur Griffith use of the political name, see Sinn Féin (19th century). ...

On January 16, 1981, she and her husband were shot by Ulster Defence Association paramilitaries who broke into their remote County Tyrone home. British soldiers were watching the McAliskey home at the time, but neglected to prevent the assassination attempt.^[8]. A British Army patrol of the third battalion of the Parachute Regiment heard the shots and rushed to McAliskey's house. The paramilitaries had torn out the telephone and while the wounded couple were being given first aid by the troops, a soldier ran to a neighbour's house, commandeered a car, and drove to the home of a councillor to telephone for help. The couple were taken by helicopter to hospital in nearby Dungannon for emergency treatment and then to the Musgrave Park Hospital in Belfast under intensive care. Three attackers including Ray Smallwoods captured by the British Army patrol were subsequently jailed.^[5] Her daughter Róisin has been arrested twice in high profile cases. Her younger daughter, Deirdre McAliskey, is also politically active, most recently as a student leader at QUB. is the 16th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... AUGUST 25 1981 US Marine Sean Vance is Born on the 25th of August {ear nav|1981}} Year 1981 (MCMLXXXI) was a common year starting on Thursday (link displays the 1981 Gregorian calendar). ... UFF redirects here; they are also the initials of the United Freedom Front, a radical left-wing organisation in the US. The Ulster Defence Association (UDA) is a loyalist paramilitary organization in Northern Ireland, outlawed as a terrorist group in the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland, and which aim... Statistics Province: Ulster County Town: Omagh Area: 3,155 km² Population (est. ... The Parachute Regiments display team, the Red Devils at an American airshow The Parachute Regiment is the main body of elite airborne troops of the British Army. ... WGS-84 (GPS) Coordinates: 54. ... Musgrave Park Hospital is a regional specialist hospital, managed by Green Park Healthcare Trust in Belfast, Northern Ireland. ... This article is about the city in Northern Ireland. ... Intensive care medicine or critical care medicine is concerned with providing greater than ordinary medical care and observation to people in a critical or unstable condition. ... Ray Smallwoods was a Northern Ireland politician and sometime leader of the Ulster Democratic Party. ...

In 2003, she was barred from entering the United States and deported on the grounds that the State Department had declared that she "poses a serious threat to the security of the United States", although she protested that she had no terrorist involvement — hinging ostensibly on her conviction for incitement to riot in 1969 — but had been permitted to frequently travel to the United States in the past.^[9] Year 2003 (MMIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The United States Department of State, often referred to as the State Department, is the Cabinet-level foreign affairs agency of the United States government, equivalent to foreign ministries in other countries. ... Also: 1969 (number) 1969 (movie) 1969 (Stargate SG-1) episode. ...

McAliskey remains an active commentator and activist on the margins of Northern Irish politics, where she has expressed strong opposition to the Good Friday Agreement and to Sinn Féin's entry into government in Northern Ireland stating that IRA volunteers had not died to create "a common teaching qualification".^{[citation needed]} She has occasionally spoken at public meetings organised by Fourthwrite, a journal supported by dissident republicans, socialists, and ex-prisoners and on 12 May 2007 she was guest speaker at éirígí's first Annual James Connolly commemoration in Arbour Hill, Dublin.^[10] The Belfast Agreement (also known as the Good Friday Agreement and, more rarely, as the Stormont Agreement) was signed in Belfast on April 10, 1998 by the British and Irish Governments and endorsed by most Northern Ireland political parties. ... For pre-Arthur Griffith use of the political name, see Sinn Féin (19th century). ... Northern Ireland (Irish: , Ulster Scots: Norlin Airlann) is a constituent country of the United Kingdom lying in the northeast of the island of Ireland, covering 5,459 square miles (14,139 km², about a sixth of the islands total area). ... is the 132nd day of the year (133rd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era in the 21st century. ... éirígí [eːɼiːɟiː] (Irish for arise and deliberately using bad grammar é) is a socialist republican political party in Ireland. ... For the Olympic athlete, see James Connolly (athletics). ... For other uses, see Dublin (disambiguation). ...

References

Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era in the 21st century. ... is the 149th day of the year (150th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 68th day of the year (69th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... For the band, see 1997 (band). ... For other uses, see The Independent (disambiguation). ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era in the 21st century. ... is the 153rd day of the year (154th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era in the 21st century. ... is the 153rd day of the year (154th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 26th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... For the band, see 1997 (band). ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era in the 21st century. ... is the 153rd day of the year (154th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 108th day of the year (109th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2004 (MMIV) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era in the 21st century. ... is the 70th day of the year (71st in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Peter Taylor is a British journalist and documentary maker who has covered the Troubles in Northern Ireland for many years. ... Bloomsbury Publishing Plc is an independent, London-based publishing house known for literary novels. ... éirígí [eːɼiːɟiː] (Irish for arise and deliberately using bad grammar é) is a socialist republican political party in Ireland. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era in the 21st century. ... is the 145th day of the year (146th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ...

External links

• The Price of My Soul, 1969 (Foreword and Chapter Twelve)
• THE BLANKET: Knowing Too Much and Saying It Too Well: Bernadette McAliskey Barred from US - 23 Feb 2003, (by Anthony McIntyre)
• Interview by Peter Standford, published in The Independent on Sunday: 29 July 2007.