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Mary McAleese was president during the historic 2011 visit of Queen Elizabeth II and the Duke of Edinburgh

Philip came to Ireland on 'mission to heal' - McAleese

Former president Mary McAleese has said Prince Philip and Queen Elizabeth felt a "duty" to bring about reconciliation between Britain and Ireland.

Ireland • 11 Apr 21

Mary McAleese also said women are not full members of the Catholic Church

McAleese says comment on St John Paul II misrepresented

Former president Mary McAleese has told the country's most senior Catholic bishops that she is being wrongly accused of misrepresenting Saint John Paul II's views on sexual relationships.

Ireland • 08 Nov 19

Mary McAleese said she welcomed the decision by the Pope to reopen the question of admitting women to the permanent diaconate

McAleese urges church to allow women become deacons

Former president Mary McAleese has called on the Catholic Church to allow woman to become deacons.

Ireland • 02 Nov 19

Mary McAleese was speaking in Dublin tonight at the launch of the book "Children of the Troubles"

GFA should be central in inter-govt talks - McAleese

The former President Mary McAleese has stressed the need for the Good Friday Agreement to remain central in discussions between the Irish Government, the European Union and political parties in Northern Ireland.

Ireland • 16 Oct 19

Leo Varadkar will travel to Paris on Tuesday and meet Angela Merkel in Dublin on Thursday

Taoiseach says Europe must be open to long extension

The Taoiseach has said the European Council must be open to a long extension if the UK decides to "fundamentally reconsider its approach to Brexit and put back on the table options previously ruled out".

Brexit • 29 Mar 19

Former president Mary McAleese completed a doctorate in Canon Law

McAleese appointed professor in University of Glasgow

Former President Mary McAleese is to become a Professor of Children, Law and Religion at the University of Glasgow.

Mary McAleese • 01 Oct 18

Mary McAleese said the pope's mode of thinking in putting the defence of the institution first was due to his formation as a priest and as a bishop

McAleese: Pope putting church defence ahead of victims

Former president Mary McAleese has accused Pope Francis of being in a mode of thinking that puts the defence of the Catholic Church as an institution ahead of the interests of victims of clerical child sexual abuse.

Ireland • 18 Aug 18

Mary McAleese received the inaugural Vanguard award at the Gaze LGBT Film Festival in Dublin

Church's teachings on homosexuality 'evil' - McAleese

Former president Mary McAleese has said that she is hopeful that the Pope will change the Catholic Church's teachings on homosexuality, which she described as "evil".

Mary McAleese • 07 Aug 18

Malachy Finegan was president of St Colman's Grammar School in Newry

Bishops will 'fully co-operate' with any abuse inquiry

The Catholic bishops have said they will fully cooperate with any statutory inquiry into clerical child sexual abuse, following former President Mary McAleese's call for a public inquiry into the Church's response to child abuse allegations against Father Malachy Finegan.

Ireland • 14 Mar 18

Mary McAleese was speaking on RTÉ's Sean O'Rourke

McAleese says Pope has not acknowledged her letter

Former president Mary McAleese has said she has not received an acknowledgement or a reply to a letter she wrote to Pope Francis after the Vatican declined to approve her taking part in a conference in Rome.

Ireland • 12 Mar 18

Prime Time - Unaccompanied Drivers, Mary McAleese, Russian Spy At

New legislation could see the owners of cars fined or even jailed if an unaccompanied learner driver is caught driving their vehicle. Road Safety have accepted the claim but will critics make life impossible in parts of rural Ireland? Former president Ma

Prime Time • 16 Mar 18

Mary McAleese was speaking at the 'Voices of Faith' conference in Rome

McAleese calls for church to end 'virus of misogyny'

Former president Mary McAleese has told a conference in Rome that it is time to bring down the walls of misogyny in the Catholic Church.

religion • 09 Mar 18

Mary McAleese said Catholic church representatives had misled a UN committee

McAleese criticises Vatican over children's rights

Former president Mary McAleese has criticised the Vatican for replacing its commitment to implement the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child in the universal church with an undertaking to enforce it exclusively in Vatican City State.

World • 13 Sep 17

Mary McAleese said she is worried about the future of power-sharing

McAleese fears border identity checks are inevitable

Former president Mary McAleese has described Brexit as like pulling a tooth with 10,000 roots.

Brexit • 25 Aug 17

Mary McAleese is supporting an initiative where Church bells will ring to show solidarity with the world's refugees and immigrants

McAleese calls for drowning out of racial intolerance

Former president Mary McAleese has urged communities to drown out what she called "the siren voices of racial and religious intolerance which are playing havoc with the lives" of refugees and immigrants around the world.

Ireland • 20 Mar 17

Marie Collins says she disagrees with the Pope's remarks made at a public audience on Wednesday

Further criticism of Pope's remarks on smacking

Marie Collins, the Irish survivor of sexual abuse who advises Pope Francis on child protection, has joined a chorus of dissent following the pontiff's endorsement of what he called "dignified" corporal punishment in the home.

News • 07 Feb 15

Mary McAleese was speaking as she gave an address in Dublin marking 100 years since the Christmas Truce of 1914

McAleese: People of Ireland want permanent peace

Former President Mary McAleese has said people on the island of Ireland do not want a truce but a permanent peace.

News • 16 Dec 14

Mary McAleese told a Scottish newspaper that a large number of Catholic priests were gay

McAleese comments on homosexuality welcomed

A member of the Association of Catholic Priests has said he is glad former president Mary McAleese made public comments concerning the Catholic Church's attitude towards homosexuality, while a gay rights group has also welcomed the remarks.

News • 08 Jan 14

The decision to rename the cable bridge was taken by Louth and Meath Councils

Drogheda bridge named after Mary McAleese

An iconic bridge on the M1 motorway near Drogheda has officially been renamed the Mary McAleese Boyne Valley Bridge.

News • 09 Jun 13

Mary McAleese said many gay people have endured interminable loneliness

Mary McAleese 'not troubled' by gay marriage

Former president Mary McAleese has said she is not troubled by the idea of gay marriage.

News • 09 Oct 12

McAleese critical of Catholic view on homosexuals

Former President of Ireland Mary McAleese has said she believes that the Catholic Church is becoming increasingly isolated in its view on homosexuality.

News • 28 Sep 12

The group will look at ways to modernise third level education in Europe

Mary McAleese to chair EU education group

Former president Mary McAleese is in Brussels today to launch a high-level European group on improving third level education in Europe.

News • 18 Sep 12

Mary and Martin McAleese have been presented with an award in Tipperary

Mary McAleese presented with peace award

Former President Mary McAleese and her husband Senator Martin McAleese have been presented with the Tipperary International Peace award at a ceremony in Co Tipperary.

News • 05 Jul 12

Warning that staffing levels in public service could fall to critical levels

Govt plan for performance management 'unworkable'

The union representing senior civil servants has described Government proposals to address performance management as "totally unworkable."

News • 11 May 12

Mary McAleese