Source: www.president.ieIreland’s first female president, former United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, tireless activist, trailblazer, fearless and a badass.
Mary Robinson was born in 1944 in Ballina, County Mayo. She studied law at Trinity College Dublin, King’s Inns and Harvard Law School. A strong supporter of women's rights, she brought huge social change to Ireland over a 20 year period. Here’s four things you should know about her extraordinary life.
1. She became Ireland’s youngest law professor at the age of 25
In 1969 at the age of 25, Mary became Ireland's youngest law professor when she was appointed the Reid Professor of Constitutional Law at Trinity College. That same year she became a Senator, the youngest woman ever elected to the Seanad. As well as teaching law and working as a Senator, Mary also practiced law, gaining a reputation as a prominent human rights barrister.
2. She campaigned fearlessly for women’s rights and LGBT rights
As a Senator, Mary campaigned for the legalisation of contraception and divorce and the decriminalisation of homosexuality. Her views boldly challenged conservative Ireland in the 1970s and 80s and she was denounced from the pulpit of Ballina Cathedral for her campaigning on family planning. As a human rights lawyer, Mary argued the first gay rights case in Ireland. In 1987, she successfully represented fellow Senator David Norris in his case at the European Court of Human Rights, where he proved that Irish homosexuality laws were in breach of his human rights. As President, she signed bills into law to make contraception more available and legalise homosexuality.
3. Her presidency was ground-breaking
In 1990, Mary became the seventh president of Ireland, the first woman to hold the office. She was also the first person elected to the position that wasn’t nominated by the Fianna Fáil party. Mary was well used to being first at this stage! RTÉ famously broadcast her victory speech live rather than the Angelus. During her term of office, she became the first Irish president to meet the Queen and the first to visit Northern Ireland on a regular basis. The world sat up and took notice when she was the first global leader to highlight the horrors of hunger and genocide in Somalia and Rwanda.
4. She resigned from the office of President before the end of her term
Mary resigned from the office of President in September 1997, a few months before her term expired, to take up the appointment of United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights. She described the high-profile job as one of "the most demanding positions ever created by the international community". She continued to fight for tolerance and equality on a global scale.
