Mary McAleese

Background

McAleese was born Mary Patricia Leneghan (Irish: Máire Páidrigín Ní Lionnacháin) on 27th June, 1951 in the Ardoyne, Belfast where she grew up. Her family were forced to leave the area by loyalists when the Troubles broke out. She was educated at St. Dominic's High School, Queen's University, Belfast (from which she graduated in 1973), and Trinity College in Dublin. She was called to the Northern Ireland Bar in 1974 and is today also a member of the Bar in the Republic of Ireland. In 1975 she was appointed Reid Professor of Criminal Law, Criminology and Penology in Trinity College, succeeding Mary Robinson (a succession that would repeat itself twenty years later, when McAleese assumed the presidency).

Related Topics:
Irish - Ardoyne - Belfast - Loyalist - Troubles - St. Dominic - High School - Queen's University, Belfast - 1973 - Trinity College - Dublin - Northern Ireland - Bar - 1974 - Republic of Ireland - 1975 - Criminal Law - Criminology - Penology - Mary Robinson

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During the same decade she acted as legal advisor to, and a founding member of, the Campaign for Homosexual Law Reform, but she left this position in 1979 to join RTÉ (the national television service) as a journalist and presenter, during one period as a reporter and presenter for the Today Tonight programme. In 1976 she married her husband Martin McAleese. In 1981 she returned to the Reid Professorship, but continued to work part-time for RTÉ for a further four years. In 1987 she returned to Queen's University to become Director of the Institute of Professional Legal Studies. In the same year she stood, unsuccessfully, as a Fianna Fáil candidate in the general election.

Related Topics:
Campaign for Homosexual Law Reform - 1979 - RTÉ - Today Tonight - Martin McAleese - 1981 - 1987 - Fianna Fáil - General election

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McAleese was a member of the Catholic Church Episcopal Delegation to the New Ireland Forum in 1984 and a member of the Catholic Church delegation to the North Commission on Contentious Parades in 1996. She was also a delegate to the 1995 White House Conference on Trade and Investment in Ireland and to the subsequent Pittsburgh Conference in 1996. In 1994, she became the Pro-Vice Chancellor of the Queen's University, Belfast, the first woman to hold the position. Prior to becoming president in 1997 McAleese had also held the following positions:

Related Topics:
Catholic Church Episcopal Delegation to the New Ireland Forum - 1984 - Catholic Church - North Commission on Contentious Parades - 1996 - 1995 - White House - 1994

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• Director of Channel 4 Television.
• Director, Northern Ireland Electricity.
• Director, Royal Group of Hospitals Trust.
• Founder member of the Irish Commission for Prisoners Overseas.