UCD Ulysses Medal for former President of Ireland, Mary McAleese
UCD Professor of History and President of the Royal Irish Academy, Mary Daly who read the citation for Mary McAleese said: "Education, especially her training as a lawyer, plus the debating skills that she acquired as a student in St. Dominic's secondary school, have given her the knowledge, the intellectual capacity and the confidence to speak, write and act upon many of the key issues in Irish society over the past forty years . She has never been afraid to adopt an unpopular, unfashionable position, and she has continued to confound those who have sought to categorise her."
She added: "She has a long record of involvement in penal reform; prisoners' rights, campaigns for Irish prisoners overseas, including the Birmingham Six and the Guildford Four and she is a strong advocate for the rights of the disabled. Her Ph.D. thesis which is near completion addresses the treatment of children in canon law. Children featured prominently during her Presidency; visits to every national school close to Aras an Uachtarain, which brought her into contact with many children from deprived communities and new immigrant families. And many of her speeches refer to the opportunities that education can convey, and the need to open up opportunities for marginalised groups, so that they can be released from 'the prison of under-achievement'."
And she said: "Mary McAleese's term as President included the 1998 Good Friday Agreement and the successful establishment of the Northern Ireland Assembly with a power-sharing executive. She shared a platform with First Minister Ian Paisley. But her most significant and historic public engagements were with Queen Elizabeth II. On 11 November 1998 -- the first anniversary of her inauguration as President, they jointly opened the Irish peace tower as Messines, which commemorates all the Irish troops who died in the Great War, and In 2011 she memorably welcomed Queen Elizabeth to Aras an Uachtarain and accompanied her to the Garden of Remembrance and the Memorial Garden at Islandbridge."
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Bloomsday honours for champions of justice and UCD Ulysses Medal for former President of Ireland, Mary McAleese
Bloomsday (16 June), synonymous with James Joyce and his novel Ulysses, is the most important honours day at University College Dublin (UCD), the alma mater of this great 20th century author. This year, UCD honours five outstanding people whose work in the area of justice has made an extraordinary contribution to society not just in Ireland but in the global arena.
Former President of Ireland, Ms Mary McAleese was awarded the UCD Ulysses Medal; and Chief Justice, The Hon Ms Justice Susan Denham; Director General of FLAC, Justice, Ms Noeline Blackwell; European Ombudsman, Ms Emily O'Reilly; and Professor of Human Rights at LSE, Professor Conor Gearty were awarded UCD Honorary Degrees of Doctors of Laws.
The UCD Ulysses Medal is the highest honour the university can bestow. It was inaugurated in 2005, as part of the university's sesquicentennial celebrations, to highlight the 'creative brilliance' of UCD alumnus James Joyce. It is awarded to individuals whose work has made an outstanding global contribution.
Previous recipients of the UCD Ulysses Medal include: Nobel-prizewinner, Seamus Heaney; Irish playwright, Brian Friel; former US President, Bill Clinton, and Irish playwright and theatre director, Tom Murphy.
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More: ucd.ie/news/2014/06JUN14/170614-bloomsday.html
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- Former President of Ireland, Mary McAleese honoured by UCD | Bloomsday 2014 ( Download)
- UCD Honorary Degree of Doctor of Laws for Susan Denham | Bloomsday 2014 ( Download)
- UCD Honorary Degree of Doctor of Laws for Emily O'Reilly | Bloomsday 2014 ( Download)
- UCD Honorary Degree of Doctor of Laws for Conor Gearty | Bloomsday 2014 ( Download)
- UCD Honorary Degree of Doctor of Laws for Noeline Blackwell | Bloomsday 2014 ( Download)
- First RCSI Honorary Degree is awarded to Mary McAleese - May 2011 ( Download)
- Iveagh House Commemorative Lecture ‘The Christmas Truce of 1914’ ( Download)
- Dr Mary McAleese in Conversation with Professor Rónán McDonald ( Download)
- Dr Mary McAleese in Conversation with Professor Rónán McDonald Short Intro ( Download)
- Mary McAleese speaking about John Hume ( Download)
- Why Mary McAleese in 100 Most Powerful Women ( Download)
- Eighth President of Ireland Mary McAleese Speaks at Catholic Theological Union ( Download)
- Mary McAleese: Inaugural D'Arcy McGee Beacon Lecture (Ireland-Canada) ( Download)
- Dr. Mary McAleese at The Australian Ireland Fund Dinner 2014 ( Download)
- Part One - President Mary McAleese presenting the Industry Contribution Award to George Morrison ( Download)
