(1951-06-27) 27 June 1951 (age 72) Belfast, Northern Ireland
Nationality
Irish
Political party
Independent (since 1997)
Other political affiliations
Fianna Fáil (before 1997)
Spouse
Martin McAleese
(m. 1976)
Children
3
Alma mater
Queen's University Belfast
Pontifical Gregorian University
Profession
Lawyer
civil law
canon law
journalist
politician
Signature
Website
marymcaleese.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]
^"Máire Mhic Ghiolla Íosa" (in Irish). president.ie. Archived from the original on 11 June 2021. Retrieved 11 June 2021.
^Mary McAleese at the Encyclopædia Britannica
^"Biography – Mary McAleese". Aarhus University. 3 October 2011. Archived from the original on 3 April 2012. Retrieved 11 November 2011.
^"Mary McAleese". Council of Women World Leaders. Archived from the original on 23 July 2012. Retrieved 11 November 2011.
^"Irish president's journey from Belfast's Ardoyne to the Aras". Belfast Telegraph. 20 May 2011. Archived from the original on 20 July 2012.
^"Mary McAleese an amazon in Ireland's political scene". Saturday Tribune. 9 April 2011. Archived from the original on 12 April 2011.
^"Our Parton – Mary McAleese". The Cambridge University Ireland Society. Archived from the original on 8 October 2011. Retrieved 11 November 2011.
^"St Edmund's College – University of Cambridge". st-edmunds.cam.ac.uk. Archived from the original on 10 September 2018. Retrieved 10 September 2018.
^"One Heart at a Time". Harvard Kennedy School. Winter–Spring 1999. Archived from the original on 19 December 2011.
^"Catholics Not to Receive Anglican Eucharist". Christianity Today. 2 January 2001. Archived from the original on 10 October 2011. Retrieved 24 October 2011.
^"Homosexualist Catholic Irish President speaks at Jesuit University". Christian Telegraph. 16 December 2008. Archived from the original on 2 January 2009.
^"Mary McAleese". Forbes. October 2010. Archived from the original on 26 September 2017. Retrieved 4 September 2017.
^"McAleese 'sorry' over Nazi remark". BBC News. 29 January 2005. Archived from the original on 14 April 2011. Retrieved 24 October 2011.
^"Mary McAleese: A hard act to follow". Irish Independent. 21 October 2011. Archived from the original on 12 November 2011. Retrieved 24 October 2011.
^"How President McAleese became the queen of hearts". Belfast Telegraph. 21 October 2011. Archived from the original on 3 August 2012.
^"There's something about Mary". Evening Herald. 19 October 2011. Archived from the original on 2 August 2012.
Mary Patricia McAleese (/ˌmækəˈliːs/ MAK-ə-LEESS; Irish: Máire Pádraigín Mhic Ghiolla Íosa; née Leneghan; born 27 June 1951) is an Irish activist lawyer...
of the 8th President of Ireland, MaryMcAleese. McAleese was born in Belfast in 1951. He was educated at St Mary's Christian Brothers' Grammar School...
MaryMcAleese began her first term as President of Ireland on 11 November 1997, following her inauguration at Saint Patrick's Hall in the State Apartments...
The MaryMcAleese Boyne Valley Bridge is a cable-stayed bridge in County Meath, and County Louth, Ireland. It spans the Boyne River 3 kilometres (1.9 mi)...
contesting to that point, and more remarkably, four of the five were women. MaryMcAleese was selected by Fianna Fáil as their candidate for the presidency. Born...
nominations closed at noon on 1 October and the incumbent president, MaryMcAleese, who had nominated herself in accordance with the provisions of the...
the siege Martin McAleese, member of Seanad Éireann and the husband of the former President of Ireland, MaryMcAleeseMaryMcAleese (born 1951), eighth...
them for vetting, Mary Robinson and MaryMcAleese made much more use of their right to speak without government approval, with McAleese doing many live...
Éireann) from 12 September to 11 November 1997, when the new president MaryMcAleese was sworn in. Robinson became the United Nations High Commissioner for...
arising from trauma, bereavement or separation from their children." MaryMcAleese, a former President of ireland, in an interview on the topic of the...
Students in Ireland advocated Yes votes in both referendums, as did MaryMcAleese, a former president of Ireland. Groups including the Iona Institute...
on advice from an influential Belfast priest. President of Ireland MaryMcAleese conferred honorary Irish citizenship on Smith in 1998, in recognition...
Workers' Party 612,265 38.9% 1997 Mary Banotti 58 Oireachtas: Fine Gael 372,002 29.3% MaryMcAleeseMaryMcAleese 46 Oireachtas: Fianna Fáil and Progressive...
members including Senator Norris and future Presidents of Ireland MaryMcAleese and Mary Robinson. Prior to 1993, certain laws dating from the nineteenth...
Taoiseach, by 88 votes to 76, and was appointed by President of Ireland MaryMcAleese. On 22 January 2011, despite winning a secret confidence motion the...
a second term in a contested election (Patrick Hillery in 1983 and MaryMcAleese in 2004 had been re-elected unopposed). He was inaugurated for his second...
Mary Hanafin (born 1 June 1959) is an Irish former Fianna Fáil politician who served as Minister for Tourism, Culture and Sport from 2010 to 2011, Deputy...
influential to the field of politics in Ireland: Former President of Ireland MaryMcAleese was a frequent contributor to the programme and, according to Noel Whelan...
the dissolution of the 28th Dáil on Thursday, 25 April by President MaryMcAleese, at the request of the Taoiseach, Bertie Ahern. The general election...
contest the 2011 Irish presidential election to elect the successor to MaryMcAleese as President of Ireland. Michael D. Higgins eventually won that nomination...
Mayo Advertiser. 12 August 2011. Retrieved 25 May 2024. Flynn, Anna Marie; McNulty, Anton (8 February 2011). "Chambers 'proud and honoured' to join FF ticket"...
and a trophy of Waterford Crystal was presented to him by President MaryMcAleese. His younger brother Tommy participated with his project on blogging...