Mary McAleese

Mary McAleese
McAleese in 2007
8th President of Ireland
In office
11 November 1997 – 10 November 2011
Taoiseach
Preceded byMary Robinson
Succeeded byMichael D. Higgins
Personal details
Born
Mary Patricia Leneghan

(1951-06-27) 27 June 1951 (age 73)
Belfast, Northern Ireland
NationalityIrish
Political partyIndependent (since 1997)
Other political
affiliations		Fianna Fáil (before 1997)
Spouse
​
(m. 1976)​
Children3
Alma mater
Profession
Signature
Websitemarymcaleese.com

Mary Patricia McAleese (/ˌmækəˈliːs/ MAK-ə-LEESS; Irish: Máire Pádraigín Mhic Ghiolla Íosa;[1] née Leneghan; born 27 June 1951[2]) is an Irish activist lawyer, academic, author, and former politician who served as the eighth president of Ireland from November 1997 to November 2011. McAleese was first elected as president in 1997, having received the nomination of Fianna Fáil. She succeeded Mary Robinson, making her the second female president of Ireland, and the first woman in the world to succeed another woman as president.[3] She nominated herself for re-election in 2004 and was returned unopposed for a second term.[4] Born in Ardoyne, north Belfast, McAleese is the first president of Ireland to have come from either Northern Ireland or Ulster.[5]

McAleese graduated in law from Queen's University Belfast. In 1975, she was appointed Professor of Criminal Law, Criminology and Penology at Trinity College Dublin, and in 1987 she returned to her alma mater, Queen's, to become director of the Institute of Professional Legal Studies. In 1994, she became the first female pro-vice-chancellor of Queen's University.[6] She worked as a barrister and as a journalist with RTÉ.[7] She is an Honorary Fellow of St Edmund's College, Cambridge.[8] She has also earned a doctorate in Catholic canon law.

McAleese used her time in office to address issues concerning justice, social equality, social inclusion, anti-sectarianism and reconciliation. She described her presidency's theme as "Building Bridges".[9] This bridge-building materialised in her attempts to reach out to the unionist community in Northern Ireland. These steps included celebrating the Twelfth of July at Áras an Uachtaráin and taking Communion in a Church of Ireland cathedral in Dublin, for which she incurred some criticism from some of the Irish Catholic hierarchy.[10] Though a Catholic, McAleese holds liberal views on homosexuality and women priests.[11] She is a member of the Council of Women World Leaders and was ranked the 64th most powerful woman in the world by Forbes.[12] In spite of some minor controversies,[13] McAleese remained popular, and her presidency is regarded as successful.[14][15][16]

  1. ^ "Máire Mhic Ghiolla Íosa" (in Irish). president.ie. Archived from the original on 11 June 2021. Retrieved 11 June 2021.
  2. ^ Mary McAleese at the Encyclopædia Britannica
  3. ^ "Biography – Mary McAleese". Aarhus University. 3 October 2011. Archived from the original on 3 April 2012. Retrieved 11 November 2011.
  4. ^ "Mary McAleese". Council of Women World Leaders. Archived from the original on 23 July 2012. Retrieved 11 November 2011.
  5. ^ "Irish president's journey from Belfast's Ardoyne to the Aras". Belfast Telegraph. 20 May 2011. Archived from the original on 20 July 2012.
  6. ^ "Mary McAleese an amazon in Ireland's political scene". Saturday Tribune. 9 April 2011. Archived from the original on 12 April 2011.
  7. ^ "Our Parton – Mary McAleese". The Cambridge University Ireland Society. Archived from the original on 8 October 2011. Retrieved 11 November 2011.
  8. ^ "St Edmund's College – University of Cambridge". st-edmunds.cam.ac.uk. Archived from the original on 10 September 2018. Retrieved 10 September 2018.
  9. ^ "One Heart at a Time". Harvard Kennedy School. Winter–Spring 1999. Archived from the original on 19 December 2011.
  10. ^ "Catholics Not to Receive Anglican Eucharist". Christianity Today. 2 January 2001. Archived from the original on 10 October 2011. Retrieved 24 October 2011.
  11. ^ "Homosexualist Catholic Irish President speaks at Jesuit University". Christian Telegraph. 16 December 2008. Archived from the original on 2 January 2009.
  12. ^ "Mary McAleese". Forbes. October 2010. Archived from the original on 26 September 2017. Retrieved 4 September 2017.
  13. ^ "McAleese 'sorry' over Nazi remark". BBC News. 29 January 2005. Archived from the original on 14 April 2011. Retrieved 24 October 2011.
  14. ^ "Mary McAleese: A hard act to follow". Irish Independent. 21 October 2011. Archived from the original on 12 November 2011. Retrieved 24 October 2011.
  15. ^ "How President McAleese became the queen of hearts". Belfast Telegraph. 21 October 2011. Archived from the original on 3 August 2012.
  16. ^ "There's something about Mary". Evening Herald. 19 October 2011. Archived from the original on 2 August 2012.