Mary McAleese comes from a big family.

She is ̎[b]orn Mary Patricia Lenaghan, the eldest of

nine children.̎ (Acenturyofwomen.com: Mary McAleese) Mary McAleese had to leave the
place she lived in when she was a child. She has an education of good quality. ̎McAleese was
educated at St Dominic’s High School on the Falls Road and Queen’s University.̎
(Acenturyofwomen.com: Mary McAleese)
She has had many jobs. ̎In 1975, she was appointed Reid Professor of Criminal Law at
Trinity College Dublin.̎ (Acenturyofwomen.com: Mary McAleese) In addition to being a
professor, Mary McAleese also worked as a journalist. F ̎ or a time she also worked as a
journalist with RTE.̎ (Acenturyofwomen.com: Mary McAleese) Mary McAleese had some
positions of high rank. ̎In 1987, she returned to Queen’s, to take up the post of Director of the
Institute of Professional Legal Studies and in 1994, she became the first female Pro-Vice-
Chancellor of Queen’s University.̎ (Acenturyofwomen.com: Mary McAleese)
One of the most significant positions she has held is being the president of Ireland. ̎In 1997
she was elected as the 8th President of Ireland, succeeding Mary Robinson.̎
(Acenturyofwomen.com: Mary McAleese) It was a unique event because only one woman
had held this position before her. ̎She was the second woman and the first person from the
north to hold the post.̎ (Acenturyofwomen.com: Mary McAleese) Mary McAleese was so
successful that she got re-elected. ̎She served two terms as President, concentrating much of
the presidency around the theme of ‘building bridges’.̎ Unity is significant, whether it is
between Northern and Southern Ireland or Ireland and Great Britain.This theme and her
actions contributed to her sucess. For example, ̎[s]he welcomed Queen Elizabeth II to Ireland,
the first British monarch to visit Ireland since independence, and she and her husband Martin
devoted much time to engage with the unionist community in the north.̎
(Acenturyofwomen.com: Mary McAleese)
One of the significant aptitudes she has is the ability to think critically. She stays true to her
views, even if they contradict the religion she follows. She also is not afraid to criticize her
religion. A
̎ lthough a practising Catholic, McAleese took communion in a Church of Ireland
cathedral in Dublin and she has been highly critical of the church’s views on a number of
issues, including women priests, the ban on contraception, lack of action on child sexual
abuse and homosexuality, although she supports the church on its opposition to divorce and
abortion.̎ (Acenturyofwomen.com: Mary McAleese) Not every Catholic dares to criticize the
shortcomings of the religion. A̎ fter her presidency ended in 2011, she went to Rome to study
Canon Law and has remained outspoken in her criticism of the hierarchical nature of the
Roman Catholic Church.̎ (Acenturyofwomen.com: Mary McAleese)
Mary McAleese is one of the women who have held the position of president of Ireland. She
has also contributed a great deal to achieving unity between the two parts of Ireland as well
as between Ireland and Great Britain. Her success is shown by the fact that she was re-
elected.

Acenturyofwomen.com. Mary McAleese. Available at

https://www.acenturyofwomen.com/mary-mcaleese, accessed 16 January 2021.