"I Have Been Elected To Serve The People of Mid Ulster. This I Will Do. All Of Them." 1969

Bernadette Devlin answers questions about her appeal to Protestant voters and fields accusations of being a communist or just an ambitious young girl.

In an interview for '7 Days', Bernadette Devlin answers questions about her appeal to Protestant voters and fields accusations of being a communist or just an ambitious young girl.

Devlin says she will work for Catholic and Protestant unity. "My duty is to represent the people whom I've been elected to serve."  Devlin also notes that she must also represent people who did not vote for her. She goes on to talk about her views on partition and quotes James Connolly by saying "For Ireland, I care little. For the Irish people, I would give my life".

Devlin argues that it was the people that put her in the position to represent them because the political parties had failed them.

Reporter, Rodney Rice asks Devlin if she thinks Westminster MPs will show any respect for a 21-year-old street agitator. Devlin states that she is more concerned about their actions than gaining their respect.

Rice questions Devlin about accusations that she is a communist to which she responds "I am not a communist" and later states "I am a socialist and for that I make no apology".

Media Meta Data

Title:	Appeal to Protestant Voters
Clip Duration:	00:05:37
Material Type:	Video
Clip Title:	"I Have Been Elected To Serve The People of Mid Ulster. This I Will Do. All Of Them."
Series Title:	7 Days
Information:	A report for '7 Days' in which Rodney Rice talks to Bernadette Devlin about her election to Westminster broadcast on 18 April 1969. 'Seven Days' began broadcasting on 26 September 1966 and was RTE television's flagship current affairs programme for ten years. The programme's young production team was made up of producer Lelia Doolan, directors Eoghan Harris and Dick Hill, and reporters John O'Donoghue, Brian Cleeve and Brian Farrell. Muiris Mac Conghail became producer of '7 Days' in 1967 when the programme was merged with another current affairs programme, 'Division'.
Local Keywords:	Northern Ireland 1969, Bernadette Devlin, Catholic, Protestant, Election, James Connolly, Rodney Rice
Coverage:	Ireland
Topic:	Wars and Conflict
Contributor(s):	Rodney Rice (Reporter)
Publisher:	RTÉ
First Broadcast Channel:	RTÉ
Broadcast Date:	18/04/1969
Production Year:	1969
Country of Production:	Ireland
Original Identifier:	P291/00069
IPR Restrictions:	Rights Reserved - Free Access
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Item Type:	part/extract
Colour:	Black and White
Sound:	Mono
Aspect Ratio:	4:3
Language:	English (eng)