Bernard Devlin
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Bernard Devlin QC, MP |
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| Member of the Canadian Parliament for Montreal Centre (electoral district) |
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In office 1875–1878 |
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| Preceded by | Michael Patrick Ryan |
| Succeeded by | Michael Patrick Ryan |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
15 December 1824 Meera, County Roscommon, Ireland, UK |
| Died | 8 February 1880 (aged 55) Denver, Colorado, US |
| Nationality | Irish and Canadian |
| Political party | Liberal Party |
| Spouse(s) | Ann Eliza Hickey |
| Relations | The Hon. Charles Ramsay Devlin, MP, Nephew, Emmanuel Berchmans Devlin, MP, Nephew |
| Children | 8 |
| Residence | Tara Hall, 52 Upper St. Urbain Street, Montreal, Quebec |
| Profession | Lawyer, journalist |
| Signature |  |
Bernard Devlin, QC, MP (December 15, 1824 – February 7, 1880) was an Irish-born lawyer, counsel to the Abraham Lincoln administration of the United States Government during the most northerly engagement of the United States Civil War, Quebec-based political figure and Canadian parliamentarian, and peer and political competitor of Thomas D'Arcy McGee. A champion of many causes, generally of a liberal persuasion, his abilities as a criminal advocate and oratorical skill established for him a wide reputation throughout the then-Dominion of Canada, and his motto: "justice and equality to all classes and creeds, undue favor to none" was far in advance of the tenor of the times.
Born at Meera, outside present day Carrick-on-Shannon, County Roscommon, the eldest of seven siblings, son of extensive landed proprietor and merchant Owen Devlin and his wife Catherine Mullany. In his teens Devlin commenced the study of the medical profession under his uncle, well known practitioner Dr. Charles Devlin of Ballina, County Mayo, later moving to Dublin to complete his studies. The medical tradition ran strongly in the family, with two uncles (the aforementioned Dr. Charles Devlin, MD and his brother Mark Henry Devlin, MD) and two brothers (John Joseph Devlin, MD and Mark Devlin, MD) all qualifying and later serving as doctors either with the Royal College of Surgeons of Ireland, or its counterpart in England. Dr. Charles Devlin gave his life in 1847 at the age of 44 during the worst year of the Irish famine, serving the sick poor of a workhouse in Ballina, County Mayo. He had contracted "fever" (likely typhus) from his patients.
Leaving Ireland for Canada along with his father in 1844, the latter having suffered financial misfortunes, Devlin settled initially at Quebec City. Devlin's brother Charles, the future pioneer Mayor of Aylmer, Quebec, had arrived two years earlier, and his younger brother by 12 years, Owen Joseph Devlin, a notary, arrived some years afterwards. At Quebec, unable to practice medicine because he was less than 21 years of age, Devlin established a weekly newspaper with a liberal bias called the Freeman's Journal and Commercial Advertiser. He directed this newspaper from 1844 to 1847, after which he left for Montreal, where he continued his activity as a journalist and began the study of law under Edward Carter, QC, Member of Parliament in the House of Commons for Brome, Quebec.
Called to the Lower Canada Bar in 1847 (and later, in 1868, to the Bar of Upper Canada), Devlin set up practice in Montreal, operating initially on his own but later in association at different times and for varying periods with several others including Augustus Power, son of Quebec supreme court justice William Power, and Devlin's younger brother, notary Owen Joseph Devlin. His offices were variously located along St. James Street (present day rue St. Jacques). Devlin's preferred location for business socializing was the St. Lawrence Hall Hotel at 13 Great St. James Street, then considered the finest hotel establishment in the city. The St. Lawrence Hall had many prominent guests at the time, including the Prince of Wales (in 1861), Charles Dickens, John A. Macdonald and George Brown.
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