The Larkin & Moran Brothers

August 2016 Irish American News “WE’VE ALWAYS BEEN GREEN!” 15
Getting to
Know the Irish
By Tina Butler
Who is Mary McAleese? (Mary
Patricia Leneghan) She was the
8th president of Ireland, the 2nd
female to be president and first
president to come from N. Ireland.
(elected 1997-2011) She was born in
Belfast co. Antrim in 1951. She was
the eldest of 9 children. She grew
up in a violent time named the
“troubles”. Her family was Catholic
and forced to leave their home
by loyalists when the ‘troubles’
started. Gunman sprayed their
house one night with 30 bullets
thankfully the family was at a
relatives house. Her father Paddy
Leneghan was from co. Roscommon
and her mother Claire McManus
was from co. Derry.
When McAleese was a little girl
the family priest visited the house
and told her she could not be a
lawyer because she was a girl. Her
mother said, “ you get out and you
ignore him.” Well she did end up
becoming a lawyer contrary to the
reverends words.
McAleese graduated with a law
degree from Queens University
Belfast. In 1975, She was appointed
professor of criminal law and
criminology of penology (study
punishments of crime/prison
management). Later she would
become director of the Institute
of professional legal studies. In
1994 she became the first female
vice chancellor of Queens University.
She worked as a barrister
and a journalist for RTE. (radio
telifis Eireann, national public
broadcaster for tv & radio). The
theme for her presidency was
“building bridges”, I really like
her constructive idiom. It showed
the need for reconciliation between
the north and south. The term is
a great visual phrase, For ex. if
you were on your way to your
best friends house and you saw a
wall and barricades it would stop
your journey and possible your
connection to your best friend. A
bridge is a connector and a bridge
increases our possibilities. Some
important issues McAleese believed
in included: social equality,
anti-sectarianism, law (govt. and
cannon law) and homosexual law
reform. She opposed abortion and
divorce. She is a member of the
Council of Women World Leaders
and was ranked the 64th most
powerful woman in the world by
Forbes.
She married Martin McAleese
(from Co. Antrim) former member
of the Seanad, an accountant
and dentist. They had 3 children,
Emma, Justin and Saramai. Her
son Justin spoke out about being
gay and how he grew up feeling
isolated and just wanted to fit in.
McAleese said about the equality
referendum that same sex marriage
was a human rights issue. She has
described her only son Justin as a
devout Catholic who was bullied
and made to feel lonely and she
felt broken for him and what he
endured as a teenager.
My heart aches for young men/
women like Justin because I grew
up with being afraid too, but it was
a fear of crowds. (enochlophobia)
When I was young I didn’t understand
what I was feeling but if I
had to go somewhere with a lot of
people sometimes, I would sit in
the car and wait for family/friends
to come back from the event. It was
a very isolating thing and maybe
only a fraction of what men and
women feel when they are gay and
can’t freely express themselves.
Positions that McAleese has
held include: Director of ch. 4
television, director of N. Ireland
electricity, director at royal group
of hospitals, founding member of
the Irish commission for prisoners
overseas. In 1998 McAleese
met the Archbishop of Boston
Cardinal Bernard Francis law on
an official visit to the USA in an
interview she said Law told her he
was “sorry for Catholic Ireland to
have you as president. McAleese
said, “I am president of Ireland
and not just Catholic Ireland” One
of her last official visits she went
to Derry Presbyterian church. She
was the inaugural speaker at the
first conversations across walls
and borders event. She donated
more than 60 gifts given to her
over the 14 years of her presidency
and worth about 100,000 Euro to
the Irish state. McAleese along
with her husband Martin won the
Tipperary peace prize in 2012. The
Irish times reported that she had
voluntarily returned more than
500,000 in unused presidential
allowance funds. McAleese has received
many awards and honorary
doctorates while president. She
was awarded the American Ireland
humanitarian award. She was
awarded an honorary doctorate of
law from the University of Otago,
New Zealand. She became the
3rd living person to be awarded
the freedom of Kilkenny, succeeded
by Brian Cody and Seamus
Pattison. She was awarded an
honorary doctorate of law from
Mount Holyoke College in Massachusetts.
She delivered the commencement
speech to Fordham
University. In 2013 a ceremony
was held to rename a bridge on
the M1 motorway near Drogheda
as Mary McAleese Boyne bridge
to honor her contribution to the N.
Ireland peace process. McAleese
said, “The immigrant’s heart
marches to the beat of two quite
different drums, one from the old
homeland and the other from the
new. The immigrant has to bridge
these two worlds, living comfortably
in the new and bringing the
best of his or her ancient identity
and heritage to bear on life in an
adopted homeland.” A few other
quotes I found interesting: “When
the problems in Northern Ireland
started, it was not a question of
Protestantism or Catholicism, because
the Catholic church was the
only church at that time-it was a
nationalist conflict.” Harri holkeri
Loyalism or unionism Protestantism,
or whatever you want
to call it, in Northern Ireland - it
operates not as a class system, but
a caste system. Seamus Heaney
I think Mary McAleese was a
trail blazer, hard working, and
compassionate woman and left all
of us a great example.
Gaelic for the month:
Lawyer-dliodor
troubles-triobloidi
female-baineann
Seanfhocail
Nil leigheas ar an gcathu
ach e a mharu le foighne-
There is no cure for regret but to
kill it with patience
If you have any questions or
comments please Email me at:
Molanive@yahoo.com