The "Boys' Brigade" concept seems to have been started in Protestant churches in Great Britain in the 1800's. In the U.S. it was used by churches to keep the older boys interested in coming to church. There were a lot of debates over the years about the "military" teachings of the Boys' Brigade program. It involved drills with dummy and real rifles. Rifles were meant for killing and that is where the rub was. Churches had a problem with teachings involving weapons of killing.
Father Devine must have been a promoter of the Brigade. Not sure where his teachings of it was coming from. Couldn't find anything on the net about him.