Dr Mary McAleese Appointed Professor at St Mary’s University in London
Former Uachtarain na hEireann/President of Ireland, Dr Mary McAleese has been appointed Distinguished Professor in Irish Studies at St Mary’s University, Twickenham, London. The appointment comes as the leading Catholic University prepares to celebrate the 165th anniversary of its foundation, confirming the institution’s historic links with Ireland and the quarter century existence of the Centre for Irish Studies (CIS).
Irish in Britain CEO Jennie McShannon said that the Irish community in Britain will be delighted that the former President – so identified with the wider Diaspora – should agree to share her insight and wisdom in London. Mary McAleese has spoken of the rich diversity of the Irish Diaspora and our continued hunger for “meaningful connectedness to one another and to Ireland”. The President well understands the “subtleties and complexities” in the nature of the Diaspora. But for all the differences in experience between and among communities abroad, she said there is “something palpable in the Irish psyche (that) nudges us to be and keep on being community to one another”.
Dr Mary McAleese said,
“I am delighted to join St Mary’s at an exciting time in its growth and development and look forward to meeting both students and staff. I particularly look forward to working closely with the excellent team at its Centre for Irish Studies as it researches the continuing development of Anglo–Irish relations. St Mary’s, which has been a focus of Irish life in Britain for 165 years, has an important role to play in this work as we look to the next 100 years of close relations between our two countries.”
Dr Mary McAleese, President of Ireland between 1997 and 2011, will take up her position in the School of Arts and Humanities in the 2015/16 academic year. During her presidency, the historic negotiations that led to the Good Friday Agreement in 1998 were reached. Dr McAleese will teach on the MA Irish Studies programme and in particular its ‘New Perspectives on Irish History’ seminar series. She will give a keynote conference lecture and take part in a programme of public conversations during her period of appointment. In addition, she will give two public lectures at the University’s Centre for Law and Culture. She will carry out research and her teaching will draw on her experience and insights from two terms as Ireland’s Head of State and more than thirty years’ experience in Irish public life.
Born in Belfast, Dr McAleese is the first President of Ireland to come from Northern Ireland. The theme of her presidency was ‘Building Bridges’ to address issues concerning justice, social equality, social inclusion, anti–sectarianism and reconciliation. Dr McAleese played a major role in the Northern Irish peace process and she hosted Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth in the highly successful British state visit to the Republic of Ireland in May 2011