Bernadette Devlin

“My function in life is not to be a politician in Parliament: it is to get something done.”

“Among the best traitors Ireland has ever had, Mother Church ranks at the very top, a massive obstacle in the path to equality and freedom. She has been a force for conservatism... to ward off threats to her own security and influence.”

“I got quite bored, serving in the bar. Since I was there, the customers wouldn't talk about women, and with half their subject matter denied them, it was: horses, silence; horses, silence.”

“To gain what is worth having, it may be necessary to lose everything else.”

“Basically, I have no place in organized politics. By coming to the British Parliament, I've allowed the people to sacrifice me at the top and let go the more effective job I should be doing at the bottom.”

“It wasn't long before people discovered the final horrors of letting an urchin into Parliament.”

“One American said that the most interesting thing about Holy Ireland was that its people hate each other in the name of Jesus Christ. And they do!”

“Yesterday I dared to struggle. Today I dare to win.”