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".
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 |
Rights, Terms and Conditions: |
Copyright RTÉ. This material may not be replicated in any form or manner without the prior express permission of RTÉ. Any form of reproduction in print, television, video, multimedia, web site or other electronic media or any form of dissemination for commercial or non-commercial use must be licensed by the RTÉ Archives. If you wish to licence video or audio clips, still images or text, or would like further guidance please contact us. RTÉ Archives are committed to respecting the copyright of others and have attempted to source and credit the copyright owners of all material used here. RTÉ would like to hear from any copyright owners who are not properly identified here so that the necessary corrections can be made. If you feel your copyright has not been respected please contact us. |
Item Type: |
part/extract |
Colour: |
Black and White |
Sound: |
Mono |
Aspect Ratio: |
4:3 |
Language: |
English (eng) |
