Latest news with #MaryMcAleese
Irish Times
11-07-2025
- Politics
- Irish Times
Michael D Higgins showed having a vocal president can be risky. Has the public had enough?
Those considering contesting the Irish presidential election this year should reflect on the response of President Michael D Higgins when asked in 2012 about the potential for expanding the reach of his office beyond the efforts of his predecessors: 'I can go a little bit further'. He certainly did that, to the delight of some and the dismay of others. His interventions on domestic and foreign policies went much further than 'a little bit'. Concerning housing, he even accused the Government in 2022 of being a 'star performer for the speculative sector internationally'. His approach has ensured that during the coming election, questions will be raised as to whether the next president can or should continue with this style and tone. I mention style and tone because the constitutional provisions relating to the presidency have not been altered and few suggest they should be. The standard historical narrative is that sleepy, honorary doctorate-style presidencies were only interrupted briefly by the furore in 1976 when Cearbhall Ó Dálaigh resigned after being egregiously insulted by the minister for defence, and that from 1990 Mary Robinson spearheaded a new dynamic. Having advocated a more active presidency, Robinson, after her victory, insisted: 'I have a mandate for a changed approach within our Constitution.' She delivered on that and her successor, Mary McAleese, found a distinct path too, both of them occasionally ruffling feathers. READ MORE But aspects of the presidency have always been contentious. Civil servant Michael McDunphy, secretary to the first president, Douglas Hyde, from 1938-45, firmly protected the interests of Hyde and rowed with Michael Moynihan, secretary to the government, who sought to cut off McDunphy's direct access to the taoiseach. Erskine Childers, elected in 1973, was systematically censored by the coalition government of that era for perceived straying into supposedly prohibited areas of social and economic policy and was prevented from convening the 'think tanks' he desired. Patrick Hillery's two terms from 1976-1990 were not lethargic, despite the traditional narrative. True, his stated aim was to fulfil his duties with 'the minimum of self-projection', but he also complained his office was underfunded, which curtailed him, and that his activities were underreported. Not that Hillery wanted controversy. He once observed that the most important use of presidential powers 'was sometimes not to employ them at all.' That was certainly how the originators of the office saw the job, as underlined by Dáil debates in May 1937 about the new Constitution. As leader of the government, Éamon de Valera fended off accusations that the proposed presidency was, in the words of Fine Gael TD James FitzGerald-Kenney, about 'smoothening the road within the Constitution for a dictatorship.' De Valera insisted the role of president would be mostly about putting a 'signature to something ... which has really been done by someone else ... He has to be interested in the broad politics as far as the State as a whole is concerned, but he should not be involved in what you might call party politics or in matters where there are differences of party view ... If he were to interfere unnecessarily he would be a very foolish man indeed.' Contrast that with the priorities of President Higgins, who has spoken loudly and often critically about abortion, defence policy, tax cuts and the European Union, but has also crafted cerebral reflections on history, memory, sociology, arts and identity in a way that established a meaningful connection with many. This was hardly a surprise coming from someone described by a journalist in 2004 as 'the most passionate man in Irish politics'. Should passion be left at the door of the Áras by the person who, according to the Constitution, 'takes precedence over all other persons in the state' and who promises to devote their 'abilities to the service and welfare of the people of Ireland'? In 1990, former taoiseach Garret FitzGerald ruled out being a candidate because, 'I do not want to spend the next 14 years saying only anodyne things'. In 1997, former minister for health Noël Browne described the presidency as 'a glass cage, or even a goldfish bowl'. But Higgins has argued it is for the people to decide if they want 'a silent person, a puppet or whether they want a President'. The cost of a vocal presidency is occasional controversy. What will not change is something also highlighted in 1937 by de Valera: 'the powers in the legislative domain are the chief powers' – not the presidential powers. That does not render the presidency irrelevant; the office and the associated election campaigns generate a focus on who and what we would like to symbolise our republic. The history of the office suggests that can involve creative, if risky, reimagining. It is ultimately for the electorate to decide if it has had enough of that or not.
RTÉ News
10-07-2025
- Business
- RTÉ News
Electronic Signatures 2000
Using a digital signature President Mary McAleese brings into law new legislation designed to enable online business. President Mary McAleese signed in new legislation to allow companies and citizens to do business over the internet. This was a signing ceremony with a difference at Áras an Uachtaráin, the president used an electronic signature on the new e-commerce bill. She became the first person to use an electronic signature which have full equivalent recognition to handwritten ones. The E-Commerce Act enables people to carry out business over the internet. John Gaffney, William Fry Solicitors, says that the bill provides legal certainty around conducting business online. Electronic signatures are not like traditional signatures but rather are an encoded sequence of characters associated with a person at a given time. Despite there being thirty amendments to the bill, politicians on all sides of the house have made sure that the bill went through the Dáil before the summer recess. The act is designed to allow Ireland to become a hub for e-commerce business. Frances Buggy, chair of the Irish Internet Association, says the act allows companies to offer new services that previously were not available online. Customers will now benefit from a broad range of online services. The E-Commerce Act will become operable in August. An RTÉ News report broadcast on 10 July 2000. The reporter is Anthony Murnane. MORE ARCHIVES DAILY
Extra.ie
29-06-2025
- Politics
- Extra.ie
Ryan Tubridy: 'My chat with Mary was compelling but at times disturbing'
What a pleasure it was to sit down and talk to former president Mary McAleese for the final episode of Season 3 of The Bookshelf podcast. We recorded the conversation last weekend in Dublin, and from the moment she walked into the room, I knew it would be a special encounter. She began by asking if I remembered what she wrote to me when I was in the doldrums two years ago, which was: 'There's life after RTÉ and I should know.' She went on to explain how difficult her time there as a journalist at the height of the Troubles was and why she felt she had to leave, and indeed, the opportunities that opened up as a direct result of her departure, which ultimately led to the Áras. Ryan Tubridy and Mary McAleese. Pic:for Ballymore The conversation was often deeply disturbing as Mary recalled how her profoundly deaf brother was attacked by thugs outside the family home and left for dead. Thankfully, he survived, but the scars run deep. On another occasion, gunmen arrived at their house and sprayed bullets from top to bottom and left to right in a bid to ethnically cleanse the McAleese family from their home, the street and the area. Luckily, as Mary suggests, they weren't the brightest terrorists as they chose to attack on December 8, a day when most Catholic families took the day off to go to town for early Christmas shopping. The interview was so compelling that I hardly touched on her time as a two-term President of Ireland. She remembers the campaign as being particularly vicious (at one point she feared for her family's safety) and suggested that candidates should not go after each other but rather focus on what she described as the interview board – the Irish people themselves. Ryan Tubridy and Mary McAleese. Pic: Supplied As our time drew to a close, I asked Mary for a high point and a low point of her 14 years in the Park. For the low point, she didn't miss a beat and quickly said 'Omagh'. If you listen back (or watch) the podcast, you'll hear a pause as Mary gathers her thoughts and immediately brings us on a dark and desperate walk through the awful events that became known as the Omagh Bombing. Her vivid and visceral recollections are spine-tingling, and her description of hugging community leaders and unlikely allies, such as David Trimble, stopped me in my tracks. Pic: Greg Wood/AFP via Getty Images On the other question of a high point, the former president said that while she was tempted to say the visit to Ireland by Queen Elizabeth II, she decided to opt for the opening of the Special Olympics when Ireland played host. Her face came alive with joy as Mary spoke of the undiluted pride she was filled with as she watched the Olympians mix with the likes of Nelson Mandela and Arnold Schwarzenegger but above all, how communities pulled together with countless volunteers to make the event a roaring success built on kindness, decency and the best of Irish. I'm only scratching the surface with the above description of this interview, and I'm glad to say the response has been extraordinary, with most people saying that so much of what Mary McAleese had to say passed them by when she was holding the highest office in the State. Imelda Staunton as Mrs. Kitty Warren Pic: Johan Persson Lots more suggested they'd love to see her return for a third term, but I think we'll leave that kind of chatter to our friends in the USA. If you're planning a trip to London soon, there are some wonderful theatre productions available to see. I've mentioned Giant, the Roald Dahl play starring John Lithgoe, which is still going and is truly the best thing I've seen on stage in many years. This week, I also got to see the George Bernard Shaw play Mrs Warren's Profession, which stars Imelda Staunton and her real-life daughter, Bessie Carter. It's a wonderful play and beautiful production that also proves how some ideas, topics and themes never grow old and remain majestic in the hands of GBS. Ryan Tubridy and Colm Toibin. Pic: Supplied The last time I met Colm Tóibín was at the White House 10 years ago on St. Patrick's Day, when Barack Obama was president. When we met again last week, we were in London and he was a guest on my radio show, ostensibly to discuss the paperback release of his Brooklyn sequel, Long Island. I asked Colm how he remembered his trip to the most famous residence in the world and he recalled how cold our departure was courtesy of the White House staff who clearly didn't know that a gathering of Irish people (abroad!) on St Patrick's Day would descend into a never-ending conversation and storytelling session that would and should end with some music. However, Colm reminded me that the staff formed a line across the room and slowly closed in on the assembled guests who had to shuffle backwards, inch by inch, until we were eventually in the portico, through the main door and out through the gate. It was one of many tales told by Colm, who was in such good form that I wished we could have taken the conversation on to another venue! We spoke about the enduring power of Ailish, the chief protagonist in both Brooklyn and Long Island. She was portrayed brilliantly by Saoirse Ronan who received an Oscar nomination for the part. Colm told the funniest story of how he was invited to the Oscars, but because he was 'only' the book's author, he had to walk the grey carpet (or lino as he called it) which was situated directly behind the red carpet where all the action was happening. The only saving grace of the evening was that one of the barmen at the venue was from Ireland and recognised Colm (who no longer drinks), which meant a steady flow of vino for the night. Small mercies!
Irish Times
28-06-2025
- Politics
- Irish Times
Fianna Fáil is in desperate need of a candidate for the presidential election. Applications are invited
No matter how much it protests that no decisions have been made, it's hard to see how Fianna Fáil can really just sit out October's presidential election . True, the party hasn't contested an election since 2007, when Mary McAleese snatched the nomination from Albert Reynolds and went on to win a bitterly contested race, subsequently serving two successful terms. But the reasons the party didn't contest in 2011 and 2018 – the first because it was in total meltdown after the financial crisis and then because there was a popular incumbent whom it quite liked seeking a second term – don't apply in 2025. Micheál Martin, having restored Fianna Fáil from a state of near-death to the largest party in the State and returned to the Taoiseach's office after last year's elections, has a credible claim to being the party's most successful leader since its founder. Running for elections is what successful parties do. Sitting on the sidelines, especially with Fine Gael running in what could turn out to be a restorative election for its leader, would be a peculiar choice and reflect both an insecurity about the future and a paucity of imagination and resources for the present. If Sinn Féin runs its own candidate – undecided, say party sources, but likely I think – it would be even harder for Fianna Fáil to enter a nolle prosequi. READ MORE Not that Martin and his allies care all that much for the presidency. They are interested in power and there is little if any power in the Áras. But symbols matter in politics. The election of Michael D Higgins in 2011 didn't save Labour , some Fianna Fáilers point out. True. But the election of Mary Robinson opened the door to thousands of voters who would give Labour unprecedented political opportunities. More than that, Robinson's election signalled and was part of opening up what would lead to a different society. It was one of the most consequential elections ever. The problem, as Martin's lieutenants have pondered for many months now, is a candidate: they don't have one. 'Is there a shortlist?' I asked one party panjandrum. 'There isn't even a long list,' he chortled. 'Have you any ideas?' Bertie Ahern spent months publicly offering himself – though less ubiquitously of late, suggesting some private messages of discouragement have been sent. This is probably wise for the party, and for the Bert. If he ran, the campaign would be a nightmare for him, he would have no chance of winning, and he would ultimately regret it. Offering herself too has been Mary Hanafin, but she has been received with coolness rather than enthusiasm. The truth is that there is an entire generation of Fianna Fáilers whose participation in the economic car-crash of 2008-11 more or less disqualifies them from the prospect of success in an election like this – with the remarkable exception of the leader himself, though he likes being leader and Taoiseach and is not ready for retirement yet. Barry Andrews has no interest in either running for president or doing the job. Photograph: Nick Bradshaw Barry Andrews , having a keener political eye than he sometimes lets on, has no interest in either running for the job or doing it and while his MEP colleague Cynthia Ní Mhurchú is being what passes in politics for coy on the question, even a barrister's self-confidence will only get you so far. 'Fianna Fáil will spend the summer going around to the summer schools looking at the various speakers,' laughs one Leinster House insider, a prospect calculated to strike terror into the hearts of those who might be tasked with the job. There remains at all levels of the party, including the leadership, the idea that a McAleese-type candidate will walk through the door some day soon. And maybe that will happen, but for now it remains wishful thinking, and as time ticks on, the chances are diminishing. The former SDLP leader Colum Eastwood is offering himself for this role, but Martin appeared to dismiss that prospect when asked about it recently, insisting that there had been no approach from Fianna Fáil to Eastwood and expressing his surprise at the suggestions that there had. 'It's open to everyone to put themselves forward,' he said. Experts on instant attraction will have noted this is not exactly, 'You had me at hello'. And so the question facing Fianna Fáil, according to several party sources who discussed the issue privately in recent days, may be this: if the party can't find a candidate that it is enthusiastic about, is it better to run a bad candidate or no candidate at all? Opinions vary within the party. One TD fears the political impact of coming third or even fourth behind Fine Gael, Sinn Féin and maybe an Independent. But would it be worse than sitting out the contest entirely? I don't think so. Another party source looks at it this way: when Fine Gael's Gay Mitchell crashed and burned in the 2011 contest – at a time when the party was by far the dominant player in government and politics – and came fourth behind Higgins, Seán Gallagher and Martin McGuinness, winning only 6 per cent of the vote, did that really have any lasting political impact on Fine Gael? Not really. 'If there isn't a political penalty for doing badly, then that makes it more likely we run someone,' the source says. But who? Applications are invited. Knowledge of the political system required; but preferably someone who can be above politics. Who people will admire at home and believe represents them well abroad. A very thorough background check will be required. Deadline for applications: August 31st. Apply: Micheál Martin, Government Buildings, Dublin 2. Canvassing will most certainly not disqualify. Is Conor McGregor really the only person who wants to be President of Ireland? Listen | 19:19
Irish Times
25-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Irish Times
Joe Duffy's Liveline highlights: From scammers to Normal People and banks to menopause, this was appointment radio
Joe Duffy will host his final edition of Liveline on Friday , bringing the curtain down on one of the most popular and influential tenures in Irish radio history. Since taking over from the late Marian Finucane as presenter in 1999, Duffy has turned RTÉ Radio 1's afternoon phone-in show into a phenomenon. Under Duffy's stewardship, Liveline – with its famous tagline, 'Talk to Joe' – could be a safe space for deeply personal stories, a chaotic small claims court and a crusading platform for social justice. As he hangs up his mic on the show, these 10 memorable moments highlight Duffy's inimitable style, as well as his knack for capturing the public mood. Joe builds a house An early indication of Duffy's ability to stir listeners to action came in January 2001. Helen, a mother of autistic twins, phoned the show 'in pure desperation' to describe her dire living conditions: her Wicklow house had been left unfinished by a builder who had scarpered, despite having been paid £25,000. 'It's just a nightmare,' she said, recounting how she had to cook Christmas dinner in her garage. Duffy appealed for help, the show was duly inundated with offers from tradesmen, and 101 days later, Helen – real name Catherine Doyle – was hosting both Duffy and President Mary McAleese in her newly rebuilt home. The legend of the Liveline effect was born. READ MORE Joe talks to a prisoner In hindsight, Duffy's first decade at Liveline was wilder and more sensationalist than in later years, never more so than during the 2007 on-air barney between crime journalist Paul Williams and criminal Alan Bradley. The temperature really spiked when Duffy took a call from John Daly, an inmate at Portlaoise Prison, who accused Williams of stirring up a feud between himself and fellow Finglas native Bradley. 'I can't stay long, I'm in a cell,' said an agitated Daly. 'Get off the phone you f***ing liar.' The episode prompted a clampdown on mobile phones in Irish jails. But it had a grim coda: Daly was murdered a few months after being released from prison. Joe stops a scammer One of Liveline's enduring strengths has been as a consumer watchdog, calling out shoddy customer service or – in the case of Mark Townley – serial conmen. In June 2008, Duffy heard several complaints about a Dublin-based model agency approaching teenage girls with bogus promises of a spot on an Irish version of reality show America's Next Top Model – for a fee, naturally. Bangor native Townley, the agency's boss, phoned in and brazenly defended his scam, while Duffy picked apart his guest's murky past, before delivering a dramatic coup de grace: 'I'm putting it to you straight now, and you can take me to the High Court on this – you are the Mark Townley that has been banned from entering England and Wales for two years.' Townley never sued: in a tragicomic twist, he was later imprisoned in England for threatening to kill Prince Harry. Joe Duffy out on the streets of Dublin in 1999 Joe spooks the banks In September 2008, with the Celtic Tiger faltering, Liveline was flooded with calls from people anxiously withdrawing their money from banks and placing it in supposedly safer post office accounts: a postmaster spoke of queues out the door. Duffy knew reassurances from banks were falling on deaf ears: 'Look at Lehman Brothers, look at Enron, Rusnak and AIB – the issue is trust,' he said, modestly adding, 'I know I sound like Jimmy Stewart in It's a Wonderful Life.' Then finance minister Brian Lenihan was so worried about Duffy's potential to cause a run on the banks that he phoned RTÉ's director-general Cathal Goan to complain. Days later, however, Lenihan issued the fateful bank guarantee, thus heralding Ireland's great economic crash – something Duffy cannot be blamed for. But the host displayed his occasionally preternatural facility for taking the public pulse; as he later remarked, 'The punters knew the banks were dodgy before the politicians did.' Then minister for finance Brian Lenihan leaves RTÉ following a radio interview. Photograph: Eric Luke Joe saves lives Down the years, Duffy has had many heartbreaking conversations with people suffering from grave medical conditions, from cancer patient Susie Long in the months before her passing in 2007, to the late Charlie Bird 's revelation of his motor neuron disease diagnosis in 2021. But few interviews had the immense empirical impact of Duffy's 2009 interview with screenwriter Frank Deasy. A friend of the host, Deasy candidly spoke of his agonising wait for a liver transplant, likening it to 'being on death row'. It was a sadly prophetic description: Deasy died only days later , during an operation to transplant his liver. But the effect of his brave account was spectacular. Within days, 15,000 people had applied for organ donor cards, with surely life-saving results. Joe halts the head shops Once Duffy has a target in his sights, he can be relentless. This was certainly the case in 2010, when the host spearheaded a campaign against head shops selling so-called 'legal highs'. For days on end, Duffy heard from people whose family members had suffered terrible effects after consuming psychoactive substances from the 100 stores across the country. One caller, Paul Hodkinson, recounted how his brother Colm died after taking magic mushrooms in 2005. Duffy's unremitting campaign whipped up emotions, though not always to edifying effect, with pickets placed on some shops. But the public pressure yielded action. The government clamped down on the sale of legal highs, leading in turn to the closure of most head shops. A decade later, Duffy commented: 'Our campaign to close down head shops was our best achievement.' Joe Duffy at a news briefing with the Spiritans in Ireland and former Blackrock College pupils at the RDS, Dublin, November 16th, 2022. Photograph: Brian Lawless/PA Joe covers clerical abuse Arguably Duffy's most significant achievement, however, is his uncompromising and compassionate coverage of clerical abuse in Ireland. Following the 2009 publication of the Ryan and Murphy reports into sexual abuse in Catholic-run institutions , Duffy provided a sympathetic space for survivors to share their stories in raw, unfiltered fashion. In other hands, the deluge of abusive experiences could have been numbing, but Duffy handled the issue sensitively, with callers testifying to the traumas endured by vulnerable people in the Church's care. Taking just one example, a caller named Maureen later recalled the harsh regime she endured in a Magdalene laundry , as well as the harrowing fate of her older brother at Artane Industrial School: 'He was rented out to a bank manager for weekends.' Duffy has revisited the subject regularly ever since, whether allowing survivors to furiously decry the inadequacy of the mother and baby homes report in 2021 , or, the following year, hearing how schoolboys sexually assaulted by priests at Blackrock College in the 1970s were shamed into silence by their clerical abusers: 'They make you feel so ashamed, so guilty, it's actually frightening.' In allowing survivors to find their voice, Duffy helped reveal the truth about one of Ireland's most shameful chapters. Joe deems Dublin dead A proud son of Ballyfermot, Duffy has never hidden his Dublin roots, given to sentimentally reminiscing with older callers about the city in the rare auld times. Equally, however, he has fulminated against the capital's less attractive side, be it antisocial behaviour, street crime or, during an unforgettable 2015 rant, the city itself. Duffy declared Dublin 'dead', with shuttered landmark stores replaced by pound shops and fast food joints. 'Dublin city centre is turning into an unadulterated kip, and nobody is shouting stop.' The possibility of such cranky outbursts ensured Liveline remained appointment radio for many throughout Duffy's tenure. Normal People: Connell (Paul Mescal) and Marianne (Daisy Edgar-Jones). Photograph: Element Pictures/Enda Bowe Joe defends Normal People At the height of the first Covid lockdown in April 2020, between his signature pandemic-era exhortations to 'washyourhands', Duffy brought much-needed gaiety to the nation by hosting a riotous discussion on the TV series Normal People, complete with the classic Liveline elements of sex and religion. The host first heard genteel-sounding caller Mary voice her displeasure at the sexually explicit scenes in the small screen adaptation of the Sally Rooney novel. 'I imagine it was like something you would expect to see in a porno movie,' Mary ventured. 'What would you see in a porno movie, Mary?' replied Duffy, deploying his trademark sigh. (Mary didn't know.) [ Normal People: Putting Sally Rooney's novel on the small screen Opens in new window ] From there on, proceedings grew more entertainingly fractious, as a devout Christian named Tommy started railing against 'fornication', 'the teaching of promiscuity' and, most unfortunately, 'sluts'. The derogatory terminology aside, the captive audience was treated to a vintage episode. Joe discovers the menopause He can be hammy, tetchy and mawkish, as well as empathetic and engaging, but if Duffy has one defining characteristic as a broadcaster, it's his capacity to hit upon and tease out the urgent conversations bubbling under the surface of Irish life. This was evident in May 2021 when the host spoke to Sallyanne Brady, who described the multitude of distressing effects of menopause on her health. Despite the fact that half the population will face menopause, Brady said, there was a silence on the matter: 'I want a voice for these women.' Duffy soon noted that 'the calls are coming in thick and fast', and over the next two weeks women phoned in to share their experiences of menopause. Not for the first time, Duffy put a previously taboo subject firmly on the public agenda. That a male presenter should facilitate such a necessary conversation on women's health probably says something about Irish society; but equally, Duffy was always adept at tapping into his audience's concerns. People talked to Joe, after all.
