Bernadette Devlin
| Bernadette Devlin McAliskey | |
|---|---|
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Devlin in Amsterdam, September 1986
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| Member of Parliament for Mid Ulster |
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In office 1969–1974 |
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| Preceded by | George Forrest |
| Succeeded by | John Dunlop |
| Majority | 18,213 |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
Josephine Bernadette Devlin 23 April 1947 Cookstown, County Tyrone, Northern Ireland |
| Nationality | Irish |
| Political party |
Independent (1970–1974), (1976–1977), (1978–present) |
| Other political affiliations |
Unity (1969–1970), Irish Republican Socialist Party (1974–1976), Independent Socialist Party (1977–1978) |
| Spouse(s) | Michael McAliskey |
| Children |
Róisín McAliskey Deirdre McAliskey |
| Alma mater | Queens University of Belfast |
| Religion | Atheist |
Josephine Bernadette McAliskey (née Devlin; born 23 April 1947), usually known as Bernadette Devlin or Bernadette McAliskey, is an Irish socialist and republican political activist. She served as a Member of the UK Parliament from 1969 to 1974 for the Mid Ulster constituency. She lost her seat to John Dunlop of the Vanguard Progressive Unionist Party, after coming third in a four-sided contest in the general election of February 1974.
Devlin was born in Cookstown, County Tyrone to a Roman Catholic family. She attended St Patrick's Girls Academy in Dungannon. She was studying Psychology at Queen's University Belfast in 1968 when she took a prominent role in a student-led civil rights organisation, People's Democracy. Devlin was subsequently excluded from the university.
She stood unsuccessfully against James Chichester-Clark in the 1969 Northern Ireland general election. When George Forrest, the MP for Mid Ulster, died, she fought the subsequent by-election on the "Unity" ticket, defeating the Ulster Unionist Party candidate, Forrest's widow Anna, and was elected to the Westminster Parliament. Aged 21, she was the youngest MP at the time, and remained the youngest woman ever elected to Westminster until the May 2015 general election when 20-year-old Mhairi Black broke Devlin's record.
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