View source for Mary Robinson

{{short description|President of Ireland from 1990 to 1997}}
{{other people|Mary Robinson}}
{{Use Hiberno-English|date=October 2021}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2024}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| native_name   = {{nobold|Máire Mhic Róibín}}
| image         = Mary Robinson in 2024 (cropped).jpg
| caption       = Robinson in 2024
| office        = [[President of Ireland]]
| taoiseach     = {{plainlist|
* [[Charles Haughey]]
* [[Albert Reynolds]]
* [[John Bruton]]
* [[Bertie Ahern]]}}
| term_start    = 3 December 1990
| term_end      = 12 September 1997
| predecessor   = [[Patrick Hillery]]
| successor     = [[Mary McAleese]]
| office1       = [[Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights|United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights]]
| 1blankname1   = {{nowrap|Secretary-General}}
| 1namedata1    = [[Kofi Annan]]
| term_start1   = 12 September 1997
| term_end1     = 12 September 2002
| predecessor1  = [[José Ayala Lasso]]
| successor1    = [[Sérgio Vieira de Mello]]
| office2       = [[Seanad Éireann|Senator]]
| term_start2   = 5 November 1969
| term_end2     = 5 July 1989
| constituency2 = [[Dublin University (constituency)|Dublin University]]
| birth_name    = Mary Therese Winifred Bourke
| birth_date    = {{birth date and age|df=y|1944|5|21}}
| birth_place   = [[Ballina, County Mayo|Ballina]], [[County Mayo]], Ireland
| death_date    =
| death_place   =
| resting_place =
| party         = [[Independent politician (Ireland)|Independent]] (before 1977, 1985–present)
| otherparty    = [[Labour Party (Ireland)|Labour Party]] (1977–1985)
| spouse        = {{marriage|[[Nicholas Robinson (historian)|Nicholas Robinson]]|1970}}
| children      = 3
| residence     = {{ubl|[[Zürich]], Switzerland|[[Dublin]], Ireland}}
| alma_mater    = {{ubl|[[Trinity College Dublin]]|[[Harvard University]]|[[King's Inns]]}}
| profession    = {{hlist|[[Barrister]]|politician|diplomat}}
| awards        = {{plainlist|
* [[Otto Hahn Peace Medal]] (2003)
* [[Calderone Prize]] (2005)
* [[Princess of Asturias Awards|Princess of Asturias Award]] (2006)
* [[Presidential Medal of Freedom]] (2009)
* [[Knight of Freedom Award]] (2017)
* [[Kew International Medal]] (2018)
* [[Tang Prize]] (2024)}}
| signature     = Maryrobinsonsignature.jpg
| module        = {{listen|embed=yes|filename=Mary Robinson - Desert Island Discs - 28 July 2013.flac|title=Mary Robinson's voice|type=speech|description=From the [[BBC]] programme ''[[Desert Island Discs]]''<br /> Recorded 28 July 2013<ref name="DID" />}}
}}

'''Mary Therese Winifred Robinson''' ({{langx|ga|Máire Mhic Róibín}};<ref name="pres.iebio">{{Cite web|url=https://president.ie/index.php/ga/the-president/mary-robinson|title=The President Mary Robinson|website=Office of the President of Ireland|access-date=20 May 2021|archive-date=12 September 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210912121812/https://president.ie/ga/the-president/mary-robinson|url-status=live}}</ref> {{nee|'''Bourke'''}}; born 21 May 1944) is an Irish politician who served as the [[president of Ireland]] from December 1990 to September 1997. She was the country's first [[List of elected and appointed female heads of state and government|female president]]. Robinson had previously served as a senator in {{lang|ga|[[Seanad Éireann]]|italic=no}} from 1969 to 1989, and as a councillor on [[Dublin Corporation]] from 1979 to 1983. Although she had been briefly affiliated with the [[Labour Party (Ireland)|Labour Party]] during her time as a senator, she became the first independent candidate to win the presidency and the first not to have had the support of [[Fianna Fáil]].<ref name="EIpresE" /> Following her time as president, Robinson became the [[Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights|United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights]] from 1997 to 2002.

During her tenure as High Commissioner, she visited [[Tibet]] in 1998 (the first holder of the office to do so) and criticised Ireland's immigration policy and the use of [[capital punishment in the United States]]. She extended her intended single four-year term as High Commissioner by one year to preside over the [[World Conference against Racism 2001]] in [[Durban]], South Africa; the conference proved controversial due to a draft document which equated [[Zionism]] with racism. Robinson resigned her post in September 2002. After leaving the United Nations, Robinson formed Realizing Rights: the Ethical Globalization Initiative,<ref name="real1" /> which came to a planned end at the end of 2010.

Robinson also served as [[Chancellor of the University of Dublin]] from 1998 until 2019, and as [[Oxfam]]'s honorary president from 2002 until she stepped down in 2012. She returned to live in Ireland at the end of 2010 and has since founded ''The Mary Robinson Foundation – Climate Justice''.<ref name="mrfcj" /> Robinson continues to campaign globally on issues of civil rights. She has been the honorary president of the [[European Inter-University Centre for Human Rights and Democratisation]] (EIUC) since 2005. She is a former Chair of the [[International Institute for Environment and Development]] (IIED) and is also a founding member and chair of the [[Council of Women World Leaders]]. She was a member of the European members of the [[Trilateral Commission]].

[[Presidency of Mary Robinson|Robinson's presidency]] is regarded as having a transformative effect on Ireland. Having successfully campaigned on several liberalising issues as a senator and a lawyer, Robinson was a key figure in the [[LGBTQ rights in the Republic of Ireland|decriminalisation of homosexuality]] in 1993, the legalisation of [[Contraception in the Republic of Ireland|contraception]] and [[Fifteenth Amendment of the Constitution of Ireland|divorce]], enabling women to sit on juries and securing the right to legal aid in civil legal cases in Ireland.<ref>{{cite web |title=OHCHR {{!}} Mary Robinson |url=https://www.ohchr.org/EN/ABOUTUS/Pages/Robinson.aspx |access-date=28 February 2022 |website=www.ohchr.org |archive-date=9 March 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220309082236/https://www.ohchr.org/EN/AboutUs/Pages/Robinson.aspx |url-status=live}}</ref> Regularly polling approval ratings above 90%,{{Sfn|Bresnihan|1999|p=256}} approval of Robinson peaked at 93% among the Irish public, the highest rating of any Irish president.{{sfn|Beard|2013}}

== Early life and background (1944–1969) ==
Born in [[Ballina, County Mayo|Ballina]], [[County Mayo]] in 1944, she is the daughter of two medical doctors.<ref name="brita" /> Her father was Aubrey Bourke, of Ballina, while her mother was Tessa Bourke ({{nee|O'Donnell}}) from [[Carndonagh]] in [[Inishowen]], [[County Donegal]].{{Sfn|Horgan|1997|p=13}} Mary was raised, along with her brothers, at Victoria House (Numbers 1 and 2 Victoria Terrace), her parents' residence in the centre of Ballina.<ref>'Ballina's Victoria House comes into State ownership' (''The Western People'', Tuesday, 5 November 2019). https://westernpeople.ie/2019/11/05/ballinas-victoria-house-comes-into-state-ownership/ {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220215101613/https://westernpeople.ie/2019/11/05/ballinas-victoria-house-comes-into-state-ownership/ |date=15 February 2022}}</ref> Her family had links with many diverse political strands in Ireland. One ancestor was a leading activist in the [[Irish National Land League]] of Mayo and the [[Irish Republican Brotherhood]] (IRB); an uncle, [[Paget Bourke|Sir Paget John Bourke]], was knighted by [[Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom|Queen Elizabeth II]] after a career as a judge in the [[Colonial Service]]; while another relative was a [[Catholic Church|Catholic]] nun. Some branches of the family were members of the [[Anglicanism|Anglican]] [[Church of Ireland]] while others were Catholics. More distant relatives included [[William Liath de Burgh]], [[Tibbot MacWalter Kittagh Bourke]], and [[Charles Bourke]].<ref>{{cite web |last1=principled |first1=Accueil > Partout dans le monde > Asie > UN High Commissioner must uphold |last2=crisis |first2=coherent response to China's human rights |date=3 May 2022 |title=UN High Commissioner must uphold principled and coherent response to China's human rights crisis |url=https://www.ldh-france.org/un-high-commissioner-must-uphold-principled-and-coherent-response-to-chinas-human-rights-crisis/ |access-date=15 May 2022 |website=Ligue des droits de l'Homme |language=fr-FR |archive-date=20 May 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220520075546/https://www.ldh-france.org/un-high-commissioner-must-uphold-principled-and-coherent-response-to-chinas-human-rights-crisis/ |url-status=live}}</ref>

She attended [[Mount Anville Secondary School]] in Dublin<ref name="dubli" /> and studied law at [[Trinity College Dublin]] (where she was [[List of Scholars of Trinity College Dublin|elected a scholar]] in 1965).<ref name="tdcli" /> As the Catholic Church's ban on Catholics attending Trinity was still in place at the time of Bourke's application, her parents had to first request permission from [[John Charles McQuaid|Archbishop McQuaid]] to allow her to attend.{{sfn|O'Sullivan|1993|p=23}} She was one of three women in her class in Trinity,{{sfn|O'Sullivan|1993|p=26}} and graduated in 1967 with first-class honours.<ref name="tdcli" /> An outspoken critic of some Catholic church teachings, during her inaugural address as auditor of the Dublin University Law Society in 1967 she advocated removing the prohibition of divorce from the [[Constitution of Ireland|Irish Constitution]], eliminating the ban on the use of contraceptives, and decriminalizing homosexuality and suicide.<ref name="IT Feb 1967" /> She furthered her studies at the [[King's Inns]] and was called to the [[Bar of Ireland|Irish Bar]] in 1967.<ref name="tcdbio" /> She was awarded a fellowship to attend [[Harvard Law School]], receiving an [[Master of Laws|LL.M]] in 1968.<ref name="HLS 2019" />

== Legal career and time in {{lang|ga|Seanad Éireann|italic=no}} (1967–1990) ==
{{main|Seanad career of Mary Robinson|Legal career of Mary Robinson}}
In 1969, aged 25, Bourke was appointed [[Reid Professor of Criminal Law, Criminology and Penology|Reid Professor of Criminal Law]] at Trinity College.<ref name="bbc00" /> That same year, Bourke was first elected to {{lang|ga|[[Seanad Éireann]]|italic=no}} as an [[Independent politician (Ireland)|independent]] senator.<ref name="oireachtas_db" /> Her goals as a senator were "to open up Ireland and separate Catholic teaching from aspects of the criminal law and therefore reform the law on contraceptives, legalise homosexuality and change the constitutional ban on divorce."<ref>{{cite web|date=September 2012|title=In Profile: Mary Robinson|url=https://www.ucd.ie/businessalumni/news/inprofile/maryrobinson/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220208115222/https://www.ucd.ie/businessalumni/news/inprofile/maryrobinson/|archive-date=8 February 2022|access-date=8 February 2022|website=UCD.ie}}</ref> Her time in office is most closely associated with these issues, as well as securing the right for women to serve on juries and her involvement with the [[Wood Quay]] protests.

In 1970, she married [[Nicholas Robinson (historian)|Nicholas Robinson]], with whom she had a relationship since they were law students and who was then practising as a solicitor. They have three children together.{{sfn|Horgan|1997|p=33}}

A result of Ireland joining the European Economic Community was that two of Robinson's key goals were met: Ireland was required to offer women in the public service equal pay to men, which came into effect in June 1973; and in July the [[marriage bar]] for women in the civil service was lifted.{{Sfn|Horgan|1997|p=50}}

In late July 1976, Robinson joined the Labour Party, though she later left the party in 1985.{{Sfn|Horgan|1997|p=58}} Whilst a member of the party, she ran for [[Dáil Éireann]], including the [[1981 Irish general election|1981 general election]] for [[Dublin West (Dáil constituency)|Dublin West]], but failed to win a seat.
[[File:Trinity College - Parliament Square - October 2023.jpg|thumb|[[Trinity College Dublin]].<br />Robinson served as Reid Professor of Law in the university, as well as being one of its three elected senators in {{lang|ga|Seanad Éireann|italic=no}} for twenty years.]]
During her time in office, Robinson won several landmark court cases. She first fought a gender-based case in the Labour Court on behalf of her husband. Under the pension scheme in place for politicians at the time, the widows of politicians were often entitled to pensions, but widowers were not. On 12 May 1979, the court ruled in her favour.{{Sfn|Horgan|1997|p=92}} In July 1979, she appeared in court on behalf of a couple who alleged that the Irish tax system was discriminatory as the tax allowances available to couples were less than double those available to single people. A court decision in their favour was made in October but was appealed by the Irish government. The Supreme Court eventually ruled in favour of the couple in April 1980.{{sfn|Horgan|1997|p=92}} Robinson also lost a groundbreaking case in the [[European Court of Justice]], the first case in which the court granted legal aid to a plaintiff.{{sfn|Horgan|1997|p=92-93}}

On 23 May 1989, Robinson announced that she would not be seeking re-election, and on 5 July 1989, Robinson served as a senator on her last day in her {{lang|ga|Seanad|italic=no}} career.{{sfn|O'Sullivan|1993|p=160}}

== Presidential campaign ==
{{main|1990 Irish presidential election|Presidency of Mary Robinson}}

{{BLP sources section|date=February 2021}}

=== Background ===
Robinson won the Labour Party nomination over former [[Minister for Health (Ireland)|Minister for Health]] [[Noel Browne]] by a 4:1 majority.{{Sfn|Robinson|1997|p=130}} She had the advantage of being the first candidate nominated for the election (and the first female), in that she could cover more meetings, public addresses and interviews. However, she refused to be drawn on specifics in case she would alienate possible support. She also received the backing of ''[[The Irish Times]]'' newspaper, and this proved hugely advantageous.

=== Candidates from other parties ===
Robinson ran against two other candidates: [[Austin Currie]], for Fine Gael, and [[Brian Lenihan Snr|Brian Lenihan]] for Fianna Fáil. Currie was widely seen as Fine Gael's last choice as a candidate, nominated only when no one else was available. Fianna Fáil's candidate, then [[Tánaiste]] and [[Minister for Defence (Ireland)|Minister for Defence]] Brian Lenihan had become popular during his three decades in politics. Like Robinson, he had delivered liberal policy reform.

At the beginning of the campaign, Lenihan was seen as the favourite to win the presidency. As the campaign proceeded, however, it became apparent that Robinson was a serious contender. Crucial to her appeal was the deep unpopularity of the Taoiseach, Charles Haughey, and the rising popularity of Dick Spring.

Robinson obtained the backing of the [[Workers' Party (Ireland)|Workers' Party]] which was strong in [[Dublin]] and [[Cork (city)|Cork]] and was considered crucial to getting working-class votes.

A transfer pact was agreed upon between Fine Gael and Labour, as both parties were normally preferred partners for each other in general elections.

=== Lenihan controversy ===
{{Main|Brian Lenihan Snr#The Lenihan tape|Brian Lenihan Snr#"On mature recollection"}}

During the campaign it emerged that what Lenihan had told friends and insiders in private flatly contradicted his public statements on a controversial effort in 1982 by the opposition Fianna Fáil to pressure [[Patrick Hillery|President Hillery]] into refusing a parliamentary dissolution to Garret FitzGerald, the Taoiseach at the time; Hillery had resolutely rejected the pressure.

Lenihan denied he had pressured the President but then a tape was produced of an interview he had given to a postgraduate student the previous May, in which he frankly discussed attempting to apply pressure. Lenihan claimed that "on mature recollection" he hadn't pressured the President and had been confused in his interview with the student. The issue, however, nearly led to the collapse of the government.

Under pressure from the junior coalition partner, the [[Progressive Democrats]], Haughey sacked Lenihan as Tánaiste and Minister for Defence. Lenihan's integrity was seriously questioned. Lenihan's role in the event in 1982 seemed to imply that he could be instructed by Haughey in his duties, and that electing Lenihan was in effect empowering the controversial Haughey. In an effort to weaken Robinson, a government minister and Haughey ally, [[Pádraig Flynn]], launched a controversial personal attack on Mary Robinson "as a wife and mother" and "having a new-found interest in her family".<ref name="itim22" /> Flynn, even more controversially, also joked privately that Robinson would "turn the Áras ''[President's residence]'' into the Red Cow Inn ''[a pub in Dublin]''". Flynn's tirade was itself attacked in response as "disgraceful" on radio by [[Michael McDowell (politician)|Michael McDowell]], a senior member of the Progressive Democrat party which up to that point supported Lenihan's campaign.<ref name="quote1" /> When Robinson met McDowell later in a restaurant, she quipped, "with enemies like McDowell<!--the quote is about McDowell. Technically he was an enemy as he was part of the government.-->, who needs friends?" Flynn's attack was a fatal blow to Lenihan's campaign, causing many female supporters of Lenihan to vote for Robinson in a gesture of support.

Lenihan's support evaporated, and Haughey concluded that the election was as good as lost. Haughey distanced himself from Lenihan and sacked him from the Cabinet. This had unintended consequences, as disquiet within the Fianna Fáil organisation concerning Haughey's leadership increased dramatically. Many canvassers now restarted the campaign to get Lenihan elected. However, Lenihan's personal confidence was shattered and although he recovered somewhat in the polls towards the end of the campaign, it was insufficient. He was ahead on the first count with 44% of the first-preference votes — Robinson attaining 39%.<ref name="elei42" /> However, transfers from Currie proved critical and the majority of these went — as expected — against Fianna Fáil. Lenihan became the first Fianna Fáil presidential candidate to lose a presidential election. Robinson became president, the first woman to hold the office, and the first candidate to be second on first preference votes to win the presidency.

She became the first Labour Party candidate, the first woman, and the first non-Fianna-Fáil candidate in a contested presidential election to win the presidency. RTÉ broadcast her victory speech live rather than [[The Angelus (television programme)|The Angelus]]. Her first television interview as President-elect was on the RTÉ children's television show The Den with [[Ray D'Arcy]], [[Zig and Zag (puppets)|puppets Zig and Zag]] and [[Dustin the Turkey]], another puppet.<ref name="zigzag" />

== Presidency (1990–1997) ==
{{Main|Presidency of Mary Robinson}}

[[File:24. Internationales Management-Gespräch 1994-Mary Robinson-HSGH 022-000751-07.jpg|thumb|right|upright=0.9|Robinson gives a speech, 1994]]

=== Inauguration and early term ===

Robinson was inaugurated as the seventh President of Ireland on 3 December 1990. She proved a popular President, earning the praise of Brian Lenihan himself who, before his death five years later, said that she was a better President than he ever could have been.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Downey |first1=James |title=Decent Man of Ireland |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/260710537/?clipping_id=126671267&fcfToken=eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJmcmVlLXZpZXctaWQiOjI2MDcxMDUzNywiaWF0IjoxNzIxOTA4NTQ3LCJleHAiOjE3MjE5OTQ5NDd9.gI7ZD6OVDfHvlx8Wu-gNX41hO_Mh5aYvtDS2tRoDGVA |access-date=25 July 2024 |work=The Guardian |date=2 November 1995 |page=17}}</ref>

In 1991, Robinson was prevented from leaving the country by Charles Haughey's government. The power of the government to prevent the president from leaving the country is enshrined in Article 12.9 of the Irish constitution, which states that "the President shall not leave the State [...] save with the consent of the Government". Robinson had been invited to deliver the [[BBC]] [[Dimbleby Lecture]], and was to be speaking on the position of women and the family in Ireland. Wary of Robinson's position as a feminist and human rights lawyer, the government prevented her from leaving as they wished to avoid the negative publicity that they believed would arise from a speech they believed would be highly critical of the Irish state.{{Sfn|Morgan|1999|p=260-261}}

=== International relations ===
[[File:President Bill Clinton arrives at Dublin and proceeds on the tarmac with President Mary Robinson and Prime Minister John Bruton.jpg|thumb|right|Robinson greets U.S. President [[Bill Clinton]] on a visit to [[Dublin]], 1995]]

In 1992, Robinson travelled to Somalia, which at the time was struck by [[1992 famine in Somalia|famine]]. She then travelled to the UN to make a report of her findings.{{Sfn|Morgan|1999|p=266}} The UN ultimately failed in its effort to relieve the famine, and the United States eventually intervened, ending the famine by March 1993.

In the summer of 1993, Robinson met and shook hands with both [[Elizabeth II|Queen Elizabeth II]] and [[Gerry Adams]] (the [[president of Sinn Féin]]), meetings which occurred on two separate occasions. On 27 May,{{Sfn|Morgan|1999|p=266}} Robinson became the first serving Irish president to visit the United Kingdom and meet [[Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom|Queen Elizabeth II]] at [[Buckingham Palace]].<ref name="irtim77" /> She later welcomed visits by senior members of the British royal family, most notably [[Charles III of the United Kingdom|Charles, Prince of Wales]], to her official residence, [[Áras an Uachtaráin]].{{Citation needed|date=February 2022}} In June, a few weeks after her trip to London, Robinson controversially met and shook hands with Gerry Adams in [[Belfast]].{{Sfn|Horgan|1997|p=176}} Dick Spring, now the [[Tánaiste]] and [[Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade|Minister for Foreign Affairs]], had advised her not to meet Adams,{{Citation needed|date=February 2022}} whose party was linked with the [[Provisional IRA]]. His disapproval was well-circulated by Irish media.{{Sfn|Morgan|1999|p=267}} However, the Government refused to formally advise her not to meet with him.{{Citation needed|date=February 2022}} During her various visits to Northern Ireland, she in fact regularly met politicians of all hues, including [[David Trimble]] of the [[Ulster Unionist Party]] and [[John Hume]] of the [[Social Democratic and Labour Party]].{{Citation needed|date=February 2022}}

=== Oireachtas ===

In the previous 52 years, only two [[List of addresses to the Oireachtas|addresses to the Oireachtas]] (parliament) had taken place: by President [[John F. Kennedy]] of the United States on 28 June 1963 during a state visit to Ireland,<ref>{{cite book
| title = JFK in Ireland: Four Days That Changed a President
| url = https://archive.org/details/jfkinireland0000tubr
| first = Ryan
| last = Tubridy
| publisher = HarperCollins
| year = 2010
| pages = 184–203
| isbn = 978-0-00-731759-2}}</ref> and by President [[Éamon de Valera]] in 1969, to mark the fiftieth anniversary of the foundation of Dáil Éireann.<ref>{{cite web
	| title = Dáil Éireann debate - Tuesday, 21 Jan 1969
	| first = Éamon 
	| last = de Valera 
	| date = 1969-01-21
	| website = Houses of the Oireachtas
	| url = https://www.oireachtas.ie/en/debates/debate/dail/1969-01-21/16/
}}</ref> Robinson delivered two such addresses. She was also invited to chair a committee to review the workings of the United Nations, but declined when asked to by the [[Government of Ireland]], who feared that her involvement might make it difficult for it to oppose the proposals that would result.{{Citation needed|date=November 2007}}

=== Church and religion ===
[[File:Amnesty International Ireland Conference, Cork, February 1996 (01) (cropped).jpg|thumb|right|Robinson at the Amnesty International Ireland Conference, February 1996]]

To the surprise of her critics, who had seen her as embodying liberalism that the Catholic Church disapproved of, she had a close working relationship with the Church. She visited Irish nuns and priests abroad regularly, and became the first President to host an Áras reception for the [[Congregation of Christian Brothers|Christian Brothers]]. When on a working trip to Rome, she requested, and was granted, an audience with [[Pope John Paul II]]. Her outfit was condemned by a young priest, Fr [[David O'Hanlon (priest)|David O'Hanlon]], for supposedly breaking Vatican dress codes. The Vatican contradicted O'Hanlon, pointing out that the dress codes had been changed early in John Paul's pontificate – an analysis echoed by Ireland's Catholic Bishops, who distanced themselves from Fr O'Hanlon's comments.<ref name="quote2" />

=== Legislation and popularity ===

As President, she signed two significant bills that she had fought for throughout her political career: a bill to fully liberalise the law on the availability of [[contraceptives]]; and a bill fully decriminalising homosexuality, and which unlike legislation in much of the world at the time, provided for a fully equal [[age of consent]].<ref name="stanford" /> In 1996, she also signed the legalisation of divorce into law.

Robinson was an exceptionally popular president, and halfway through her term of office her popularity rating had reached an unprecedented 93%.<ref name="newsr" />

=== Resignation as president ===
Robinson issued her resignation as president in a message to the {{lang|ga|[[Ceann Comhairle]]|italic=no}} of the {{lang|ga|Dáil|italic=no}}, taking effect on 12 September 1997.<ref name="oire49" /> [[Taoiseach]] [[Bertie Ahern]] said in a statement that her resignation "was not unexpected" and wished her "every success".<ref name="taos3" /> Robinson resigned to take up the appointment as United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights.<ref name="presi85" /> Upon her resignation as president, the role of President of Ireland was transferred to the [[Presidential Commission (Ireland)|Presidential Commission]] (which comprised the [[Chief Justice of Ireland]], the {{lang|ga|Ceann Comhairle|italic=no}} of {{lang|ga|Dáil Éireann|italic=no}} and the {{lang|ga|[[Cathaoirleach]]|italic=no}} of {{lang|ga|Seanad Éireann|italic=no}}) from 12 September to 11 November 1997, when the new president [[Mary McAleese]] was sworn in. Despite leaving office with almost three months remaining in her presidency, Robinson later expressed regret at her early departure, indicating she could have postponed her acceptance of the High Commissioner's office.<ref>{{Cite news |date=2023-01-21 |title= Mary Robinson 'bullied' into leaving presidency early |newspaper= [[The Irish Times]] |url=https://irishtimes.com/news/ireland/irish-news/mary-robinson-bullied-into-leaving-presidency-early-1.2970898}}</ref>

== High Commissioner for Human Rights (1997–2002) ==
Robinson became the [[United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights]] on 12 September 1997, resigning the presidency a few weeks early to take up the post. Media reports suggested that she had been head-hunted for the post by [[Secretary-General of the United Nations]] [[Kofi Annan]], to assume an advocacy as opposed to an administrative role, in other words, to become a public campaigner outlining principles rather than the previous implementational and consensus-building model. The belief was that the post had ceased to be seen as the voice of general principles and had become largely bureaucratic. Robinson's role was to set the human rights agenda within the organisation and internationally, refocusing its appeal.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Doyle |first=Jim |date=12 September 2016 |title=Mary Robinson Resigns as President of Ireland |url=https://seamusdubhghaill.com/2016/09/12/mary-robinson-resigns-as-president-of-ireland/ |access-date=17 May 2022 |website=seamus dubhghaill |language=en |archive-date=27 September 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220927214554/https://seamusdubhghaill.com/2016/09/12/mary-robinson-resigns-as-president-of-ireland/ |url-status=live }}</ref>
[[File:Mary Robinson in Somalia.jpg|thumb|260x260px|Robinson in [[Somalia]], 2011]]
In November 1997, she delivered the [[Romanes Lecture]] in [[University of Oxford|Oxford]] on the topic of "Realizing Human Rights"; she spoke of the "daunting challenge" ahead of her, and how she intended to set about her task. She concluded the lecture with words from ''[[The Golden Bough]]'': "If fate has called you, the bough will come easily, and of its own accord. Otherwise, no matter how much strength you muster, you never will manage to quell it or cut it down with the toughest of blades."<ref>{{Cite web |title=Default title |url=https://www.ohchr.org/en/statements/2009/10/default-title-315 |access-date=23 May 2022 |website=OHCHR |language=en}}</ref>

Robinson was the first High Commissioner for Human Rights to visit [[Tibet]], making her trip in 1998. During her tenure, she criticised the Irish system of permits for non-EU immigrants as similar to "bonded labour" and criticised the United States' use of capital punishment.{{Citation needed|date=February 2022}}

In 2001, she chaired the Asia Regional Preparatory Meeting for the World Conference against Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and related intolerances, which was held in [[Tehran]], Iran.<ref name="irane" /> At this meeting, neither the representatives of the [[Simon Wiesenthal Centre]], a Jewish group, nor the [[Baha'i International Community]] were permitted to attend.<ref name="un126" /> She wore a headscarf at the meeting because the Iranians enforced an edict that all women attending the conference must wear one. Women who did not wear it were criticised, and Robinson said that it "played into the hands of religious conservatives".<ref name="belief" /><ref name="bahai" />

Though she had initially announced her intention to serve a single four-year period, she extended the term by a year following an appeal from Annan, allowing her to preside over the [[World Conference against Racism 2001|2001 World Conference against Racism]] in [[Durban]], South Africa, as secretary-general. The conference drew widespread criticism, as did Robinson. Former [[US Congressman]] [[Tom Lantos]] said, "To many of us present at the events at Durban, it is clear that much of the responsibility for the debacle rests on the shoulders of UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Mary Robinson, who, in her role as secretary-general of the conference, failed to provide the leadership needed to keep the conference on track."<ref name="lantos" />

Robinson's period as High Commissioner ended in 2002, after sustained pressure from the United States led her to declare she was no longer able to continue her work.<ref name="guard" /> She had criticised the US for violating human rights in its [[war on terrorism]] and the World Conference against Racism was widely condemned in the US for its perceived [[antisemitism]]. [[Michael Rubin (historian)|Michael Rubin]] even went so far as to suggest in a tongue-in-cheek article that she be tried for war crimes for presiding over "an intellectual pogrom against Jews and Israel."<ref name="natre" /> On 9 November 2006, in [[Yogyakarta]], she attended the International Conference, then she became one of 29 signators of the [[Yogyakarta Principles]],<ref>{{Cite web|author=International Commission of Jurists |date=March 2007 |title=Yogyakarta Principles: Principles on the Application of International Human Rights Law in Relation to Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity |page=35 |url=https://www.refworld.org/pdfid/48244e602.pdf |access-date=3 December 2022 |archive-date=1 September 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220901032632/https://www.refworld.org/pdfid/48244e602.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref> adopted for protection of rights by [[International Human Rights Law]].

== Post-commissioner period (2002 – present) ==

=== University of Dublin ===
Robinson served as the twenty-fourth, and first female, [[Chancellor of the University of Dublin]]. She represented the university in the {{lang|ga|Seanad|italic=no}} for over twenty years and held the Reid Chair in Law. She was succeeded as chancellor by [[Mary McAleese]], who had also succeeded her as president of Ireland.

=== Membership of "The Elders" ===
{{Main|The Elders (organization)}}

[[File:Musimbi and Mary Robinson.jpg|thumb|Robinson and [[Musimbi Kanyoro]] with a [[cheetah]]]]
Along with [[Nelson Mandela]], [[Graça Machel]], and [[Desmond Tutu]], and others, Robinson was a founding member of "The Elders", a group of world leaders with the goal of contributing their wisdom to tackle some of the world's toughest problems. She has travelled with Elders delegations to the [[Ivory Coast]], the [[Korean Peninsula]], Ethiopia, India, [[South Sudan]] and the Middle East.<ref name="theel" />

In August 2014, she was joined by fellow Elder [[Jimmy Carter]] during the [[2014 Israel–Gaza conflict]], to pen an article in ''[[Foreign Policy (magazine)|Foreign Policy]]'' magazine, pressing for the inclusion of recognition of [[Hamas]] as a legitimate political actor, noting the recent unity deal between Hamas and [[Fatah]] when the former agreed with the [[Palestinian Authority]] to denounce violence, recognise Israel and adhere to past agreements. Robinson and Carter called on the UN Security Council to act on what they described as the inhumane conditions in [[Gaza Strip|Gaza]], and mandate an end to the [[Blockade of the Gaza Strip|siege]].<ref name="CarterRobinson" /> On 16 October 2014, she attended the One Young World Summit in Dublin. During a session with fellow Elder, Kofi Annan, she encouraged 1,300 young leaders from 191 countries to lead on inter-generational issues such as [[Global warming|climate change]] and the need for action to take place now, not tomorrow.<ref name="theel2" /><ref name="yout" /><ref name="inde25" /> She was also the keynote speaker at the One Young World Opening Ceremony where she highlighted the need to empower young people to participate in decision-making processes that shape their future.<ref name="mrfcj32" /><ref name="oneyo" />

On 1 November 2018, Robinson was appointed as the Chair of The Elders, succeeding Kofi Annan who had died earlier in the year.<ref name="theel88" />

=== Memoirs ===
[[File:Mary Robinson World Economic Forum 2013.jpg|link=|thumb|220x220px|Robinson at the [[World Economic Forum]] in 2013]]
In September 2012, Robinson's memoir ''Everybody Matters'' was published by [[Hodder & Stoughton]].<ref name="irpub09" />

=== Views on agriculture ===
In 2016 at the One Young World summit, Robinson began to become vocal about her efforts to [[Semi-vegetarianism|eat less meat]] and encouraged others to either do the same or adopt some type of entirely [[vegetarianism|vegetarian]] diet [[Environmental impact of meat production|in order to help fight climate change]]. Robinson was applauded for her suggestions but did receive condemnation from critics in her own country expressing concern that following her lead would inadvertently harm workers in the [[Industrial agriculture|agricultural industry]] and [[meat industry]]; she was asked to withdraw her comments by her local council. At the 2018 summit she stood by her call for people to consume less meat despite the backlash.<ref>{{cite news|date=20 October 2018|title=Mary Robinson stands by veganism call despite local council backlash|publisher=Farming Independent|url=https://m.independent.ie/business/farming/forestry-enviro/environment/mary-robinson-stands-by-veganism-call-despite-local-council-backlash-37440134.html|access-date=5 November 2021}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|author1=Gráinne Ní Aodha|date=29 September 2016|title=Independent TD Michael Fitzmaurice calls Mary Robinson's advice to stop eating meat 'bizarre and unhelpful'|url=https://www.thejournal.ie/michael-fitzmaurice-mary-robinson-3002853-Sep2016/|access-date=5 November 2021|archive-date=10 November 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181110200030/https://www.thejournal.ie/michael-fitzmaurice-mary-robinson-3002853-Sep2016/|url-status=live}}</ref> In 2019 Robinson announced that she believes in making tackling climate change a personal issue in our lives and for this reason she has stopped eating meat in favour of a more [[Pescetarianism#Sustainability and environmental concerns|eco-friendly pescetarian diet]].<ref>{{cite news|author1=Kevin O'Sullivan|date=6 February 2019|title=Robinson becomes pescatarian, urges people to 'get angry' over climate change|publisher=The Irish Times News|url=https://www.irishtimes.com/news/environment/robinson-becomes-pescatarian-urges-people-to-get-angry-over-climate-change-1.3784693|access-date=5 November 2021|archive-date=8 November 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201108010324/https://www.irishtimes.com/news/environment/robinson-becomes-pescatarian-urges-people-to-get-angry-over-climate-change-1.3784693|url-status=live}}</ref>

=== Archive and tax avoidance controversy ===
In October 2016, it was revealed in the media that Robinson was planning to donate her archive to [[Mayo County Council]], as part of the development of The Mary Robinson Centre, and had applied to have the archive designated under the Taxes Consolidation Act, 1997, potentially resulting in a personal tax credit to her worth over €2m, arising from the donation of her personal papers. The house proposed to be used for the centre was to be purchased from Robinson's brother for €665,000.<ref name="irishtimes.com" />

The website of the Mary Robinson Centre lists the contents of the proposed archive (valued at €2.5m) as including:
"2,000 books on law and Human Rights 3,800 periodicals; A Master File of the President's engagements from December 1990 to September 1997; The symbolic light in the window of Áras an Uachtaráin from her Presidency; Robinson's personal diaries from 1967 to 1990 and from 1998 to 2001; 325 Archive Cartons..Scrap Books, Cassette Tapes." These papers relate to Robinson's almost 50-year career, spanning her time as a senator and barrister in the 1970s and '80s, her personal papers relating to the presidency and significant papers from the post-presidential period of her career, most notably her time with the United Nations as High Commissioner for Human Rights.<ref name="robcen" />

The project as a whole was condemned as an "expensive vanity project" by historian Diarmuid Ferriter.<ref name="irishtimes.com" /> A member of the fundraising committee for the Centre argued that "Ballina is the same distance to Dublin as Dublin is to Ballina."<ref name="irit63" />{{clarify|date=February 2021}} Chief Executive of Mayo County Council, Peter Hynes (who is also on the board of the Mary Robinson Centre) stated that Robinson had a "legacy as a politician" and that the centre is designed to bring significant academic, tourism, education and economic opportunities to Ballina and the West. Hynes also commented that "The west coast town (of Ballina) has considerable pride in her outstanding career and on-going global leadership and sees the proposed centre as a living institution which will focus global attention and, working in collaboration with the [[University of Galway|National University of Ireland, Galway]], will continue the conversation on topics of fundamental importance."<ref name="robce35" />

Following the reporting of the potential €2m windfall, Robinson announced she would abandon the plan to "gift" the archive to Ballina and instead she said the papers would be "gifted to NUIG, with Mayo County Council having full access to any part of the collection which is required to support the mission of the centre in Ballina".<ref name="irit17" /> In addition she stated that she would now not avail of the tax credit for the donation.

=== Activities in non-governmental organisations ===
* Africa Europe Foundation (AEF), Member of the High-Level Group of Personalities on Africa-Europe Relations (since 2020)<ref>[https://www.friendsofeurope.org/initiatives/eu-africa-high-level-group/ High-Level Group of Personalities on Africa-Europe Relations] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220411085150/https://www.friendsofeurope.org/initiatives/eu-africa-high-level-group/ |date=11 April 2022 }} Africa Europe Foundation (AEF).</ref>
* Institute for Human Rights & Business (IHRB), Patron<ref>[https://www.ihrb.org/about/trustees-council/ Patrons] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210111223359/https://www.ihrb.org/about/trustees-council/ |date=11 January 2021 }} Institute for Human Rights & Business (IHRB).</ref>
* [[Club de Madrid]], member and former president<ref name="clubm" />
* [[Aurora Prize for Awakening Humanity|Aurora Prize]], member of the selection committee (since 2015)<ref name="auror" />
* [[Arab Democracy Foundation]], founding member of the board of trustees (since 2007)
* [[Global Alliance for Clean Cookstoves|Clean Cooking Alliance]], Member of the Leadership Council<ref name="cleanc" />
* [[European Climate Foundation]], board member<ref name="euclim" />
* [[International Commission of Jurists]], head (since 2009)<ref name="rte97" />
* Scaling Up Nutrition Movement, Member of the Lead Group (since 2016, appointed by [[United Nations Secretary-General]] [[Ban Ki-moon]])<ref name="un433" />
* [[The B Team]], Member<ref>[https://bteam.org/who-we-are/leaders Leaders] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200404030606/https://bteam.org/who-we-are/leaders |date=4 April 2020 }} [[The B Team]].</ref>
* [[World Justice Project]], honorary co-chairwoman
* Association of European Parliamentarians with Africa ([[AWEPA]]), member of the Eminent Advisory Board<ref name="awepa" /><ref name="prusa" /><ref name="allaf" />
* [[Mo Ibrahim Foundation]], board member.<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Board |url=https://mo.ibrahim.foundation/about-us/board |access-date=14 November 2022 |website=Mo Ibrahim Foundation |language=en |archive-date=14 November 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221114122315/https://mo.ibrahim.foundation/about-us/board |url-status=dead }}</ref>
* [[Mothers of Invention (podcast)]], co-host (since 2018)

=== Roles in international organisations ===
[[File:Mary Robinson visits to DR Congo (8696029048).jpg|right|thumb|Mary Robinson, the UN Special Envoy for the [[African Great Lakes|Great Lakes]] region, on 28 April 2013 in [[Kinshasa]], during a press briefing at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs]]
In March 2013, Robinson was chosen to oversee the implementation of a peace deal to stabilise the [[Democratic Republic of the Congo]]. Appointed as [[Special Envoy|special envoy]] to [[Great Lakes region (Africa)|Africa's Great Lakes region]] by UN Secretary-General [[Ban Ki-moon]],<ref name="edmon" /> she played a key role in supporting implementation of the U.N.-drafted peace deal signed by 11 African countries in late February 2013.<ref name=":0">{{Cite news|date=4 August 2014|title=Interview with outgoing Africa Great Lakes Special Envoy Mary Robinson|work=The New Humanitarian|url=http://www.irinnews.org/report/100444/interview-with-outgoing-africa-great-lakes-special-envoy-mary-robinson|access-date=7 February 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191001140825/http://www.thenewhumanitarian.org/interview/2014/08/04/interview-outgoing-africa-great-lakes-special-envoy-mary-robinson|archive-date=1 October 2019}}</ref> During her tenure as special envoy, the 23 March Movement and other armed rebel groups surrendered to the Congolese government.<ref name=":0" />

In July 2014, Ban Ki-moon appointed her special envoy for climate change to interact with global leaders ahead of the 2014 [[2014 UN Climate Summit|Climate Summit]], in New York, at which the secretary-general said he hoped to forge political commitment to finalising an agreement in 2015.<ref name="ClimateChange" /> A month following her appointment, in August 2014, she stepped down as special envoy to Africa's Great Lakes region.<ref name=":0" /> In March 2015, she voiced support for [[fossil fuel divestment]] commenting "it is almost a due diligence requirement to consider ending investment in dirty energy companies".<ref name="UN climate envoy backs fossil fuel divestment movement" />

In early 2016, she was appointed by [[Erik Solheim]], the chairman of the [[Development Assistance Committee]], to head a high-level panel on the future of the Development Assistance Committee.<ref name="oecd4" />

In May 2016, Ban Ki-moon appointed Robinson and [[Macharia Kamau]], as special envoys of the Secretary-General on [[El Niño]] and Climate, tasking them with calling attention to the people around the world affected by severe El Niño-linked drought and climate impacts, and mobilising an integrated response that takes preparedness for future climatic events into account.<ref name="secg" />

In September 2016, she was appointed by Ban Ki-moon to serve as member of the lead group of the Scaling Up Nutrition Movement.<ref name="un433" />

In December 2018, she was criticised by human rights organisations, Detained International and Guernica 37 International Justice Chambers, for her statements regarding Dubai's [[Latifa bint Mohammed Al Maktoum (II)|Sheikha Latifa]]'s disappearance and escape attempt. After meeting Latifa at a family lunch on the invitation of Dubai's royal family, Robinson described Latifa to the BBC as a "troubled young woman" who regretted an earlier video in which she alleged being confined and tortured in Dubai. Detained International head [[David Haigh]] expressed astonishment at the former UN commissioner for repeatedly reciting a single statement from Dubai's official version of the events, "loving care of her family", and for dismissing Latifa's alleged attempt to escape from Dubai in February 2018.<ref name="bbc99" /><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://royalcentral.co.uk/east/uae/the-quest-to-free-dubais-kidnapped-princess-continues-150856/|title=The quest to free Dubai's kidnapped Princess continues|date=13 October 2020|access-date=20 May 2021|archive-date=19 May 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210519050745/https://royalcentral.co.uk/east/uae/the-quest-to-free-dubais-kidnapped-princess-continues-150856/|url-status=live}}</ref> In February 2021, Robinson retracted her 2018 statement claiming on the BBC's ''[[Panorama (British TV programme)|Panorama]]'' programme that she and Latifa's stepmother, [[Princess Haya]], were both misled over the health and stability of Latifa during that period, when she was held in enforced detention in a Dubai villa and Robinson was embroiled into the proof of life controversy to allay international concern over Latifa's disappearance from the public eye.<ref>{{Citation|title=Panorama – The Missing Princess|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m000sspm|language=en-GB|access-date=17 February 2021|archive-date=17 February 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210217092205/https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/m000sspm/panorama-the-missing-princess|url-status=live}}</ref> Robinson gave an account of the incident on ''[[The Late Late Show (Irish talk show)|The Late Late Show]]'' on 26 February 2021, referring to it as the biggest mistake of her career.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Hilliard|first=Mark|title=Mary Robinson says she made her biggest mistake in role over Princess Latifa|url=https://www.irishtimes.com/news/ireland/irish-news/mary-robinson-says-she-made-her-biggest-mistake-in-role-over-princess-latifa-1.4496439|access-date=19 April 2021|newspaper=The Irish Times|language=en|archive-date=21 April 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210421024338/https://www.irishtimes.com/news/ireland/irish-news/mary-robinson-says-she-made-her-biggest-mistake-in-role-over-princess-latifa-1.4496439|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Citation|title=Mary Robinson speaks about her regret over Princess Latifa {{!}} The Late Late Show {{!}} RTÉ One| date=26 February 2021 |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eHipeurZh4M|language=en|access-date=19 April 2021|archive-date=19 April 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210419050636/https://www.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&v=eHipeurZh4M|url-status=live}}</ref>

In 2020, she led an independent probe of a report that cleared [[Akinwumi Adesina]], the president of the [[African Development Bank]], of wrongdoing.<ref>Leanne de Bassompierre (2 July 2020), [https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-07-02/ex-irish-president-to-lead-review-of-ethics-report-on-afdb-chief Ex-Irish President to Lead Review of Probe Into AfDB Chief] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201011115629/https://www.bloomberg.com/tosv2.html?vid=&uuid=cc2f6c00-0bb8-11eb-8904-fff1cfe55704&url=L25ld3MvYXJ0aWNsZXMvMjAyMC0wNy0wMi9leC1pcmlzaC1wcmVzaWRlbnQtdG8tbGVhZC1yZXZpZXctb2YtZXRoaWNzLXJlcG9ydC1vbi1hZmRiLWNoaWVm%2F |date=11 October 2020 }} ''[[Bloomberg News]]''.</ref><ref>Andrea Shalal (3 July 2020), [https://www.reuters.com/article/us-africa-bank-usa/u-s-welcomes-independent-probe-of-report-that-cleared-african-development-bank-chief-idUSKBN2433H6 U.S. welcomes independent probe of report that cleared African Development Bank chief] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201011102712/https://www.reuters.com/article/us-africa-bank-usa/u-s-welcomes-independent-probe-of-report-that-cleared-african-development-bank-chief-idUSKBN2433H6 |date=11 October 2020 }} ''[[Reuters]]''.</ref><ref>[https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-53572712 Top Nigerian banker Akinwumi Adesina cleared after corruption probe] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201011115627/https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-53572712/ |date=11 October 2020 }} ''[[BBC News]]'', 28 July 2020.</ref>

== Recognition ==
Over the course of her career, Robinson has been awarded numerous honours, including the following:
* 1993 – [[New Zealand Suffrage Centennial Medal]]<ref name="dpmc4" />
* 1997 – [[North–South Prize]]<ref name="coeint" />
* 1998 – [[Four Freedoms Award#Freedom Medal|Freedom Medal]]
* 1999 – [[Erasmus Prize]]
* 1999 – Member of the [[American Philosophical Society]]<ref>{{Cite web|title=APS Member History|url=https://search.amphilsoc.org/memhist/search?creator=Mary+Robinson&title=&subject=&subdiv=&mem=&year=&year-max=&dead=&keyword=&smode=advanced|access-date=2 December 2021|website=search.amphilsoc.org|archive-date=2 December 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211202163958/https://search.amphilsoc.org/memhist/search?creator=Mary+Robinson&title=&subject=&subdiv=&mem=&year=&year-max=&dead=&keyword=&smode=advanced|url-status=live}}</ref>
* 2000 – [[Félix Houphouët-Boigny Peace Prize]] by [[UNESCO]]
* 2002 – [[Sydney Peace Prize]]
* 2002 – [[Interfaith Center of New York|James Parks Morton Interfaith Award]]
* 2003 – [[Otto Hahn Peace Medal]] in Gold of the United Nations Association of Germany
* 2004 – [[Amnesty International]]'s [[Ambassador of Conscience Award]] for her work in promoting human rights.<ref name="brita" />
* 2005 – [[Calderone Prize]]
* 2005 – Jack P. Blaney Award for Dialogue<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.sfu.ca/dialogue/watch-read-discover/mary-robinson.html|title=CSR and the Right to Health with Mary Robinson|access-date=1 March 2019|archive-date=30 July 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200730085714/https://www.sfu.ca/dialogue/watch-read-discover/mary-robinson.html|url-status=live}}</ref>
* 2005 – "Outspoken" Award by the International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission ([[IGLHRC]])
* 2006 – [[Princess of Asturias Awards|Prince of Asturias Award]] for Social Science
* 2009 – Inamori Ethics Prize by [[Case Western Reserve University]]
* 2017 – [[Knight of Freedom Award]]
* 2018 – [[Kew International Medal]]<ref name="kew20" />
* 2018 – [[Tipperary International Peace Award]]
* 2024 – [[Tang Prize]] in the field of "Rule of Law".<ref>{{cite news |last1=Teng |first1=Pei-ju |last2=Chen |first2=Yun-yu |title=TANG PRIZE/Mary Robinson: A trailblazer in climate justice, human rights advocacy |url=https://focustaiwan.tw/politics/202406210014 |access-date=21 June 2024 |agency=Central News Agency |date=21 June 2024}} Republished as: {{cite news |title=Mary Robinson awarded the Tang Prize in Rule of Law |url=https://www.taipeitimes.com/News/taiwan/archives/2024/06/22/2003819731 |access-date=22 June 2024 |work=Taipei Times |date=22 June 2024}}</ref>

On 29 September 2010, at a ceremony in Dublin, she received a damehood from the Military and Hospitaller [[Order of St. Lazarus]] of Jerusalem. As a former Head of State and in recognition of her significant contribution towards human rights she was awarded the honour of Dame Grand Cross of Merit.

=== Honorary degrees ===
In 1991 and in 2001, Robinson was awarded honorary doctorates by [[Brown University]], [[University of Cambridge]], [[University of Liverpool]] and [[Universidade Nova de Lisboa|Lisbon Nova University]]. On 22 January 2000, she received an honorary doctorate from the Faculty of Law at [[Uppsala University]], Sweden.<ref name="uuse" /> In 2004, she was awarded an honorary degree by [[McGill University]].<ref name="mcgill" /> 

In 2009, she was awarded an honorary degree of Doctor of Laws from the [[University of Bath]], at the 1100th anniversary celebration of the Diocese of Bath and Wells, where she gave a lecture entitled "Realising rights: the role of religion in human rights in the future".<ref name="bathac"/>

On 1 July 2025, she was awarded an honorary degree of Doctor of Laws from the [[University of Strathclyde]].

=== U.S. Presidential Medal of Freedom ===
[[File:Mary Robinson recieves the Presidential Medal of Freedom 2009 (cropped).png|thumb|Robinson receiving the Presidential Medal of Freedom from [[Barack Obama]]]]
In 2009, she was awarded the [[Presidential Medal of Freedom]], the highest civilian honour awarded by the US.<ref name="whitgo" /><ref name="irit45" /> In presenting the award, President Obama said "As a crusader for women and those without a voice in Ireland, Mary Robinson was the first woman elected President of Ireland, before being appointed U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights. [...] Today, as an advocate for the hungry and the hunted, the forgotten and the ignored, Mary Robinson has not only shone a light on human suffering, but illuminated a better future for our world."<ref name="whitgo3" /> Amnesty International congratulated Robinson on being named recipient.<ref name="amnes" />

The award was criticised by American and European Jewish groups, while others offered support. Parties opposed included the [[AIPAC]], [[Anti-Defamation League]], European Jewish Congress, and [[John Bolton]], former US Ambassador to the UN.<ref name="JPRob" /> Bolton stated that those in the administration who recommended her either ignored her anti-Israel history, or missed it entirely.<ref name="wsjco" /> On the other hand, a group of Israeli human rights organisations stated "as leaders of a sector within Israeli civil society that monitors and often criticizes government and military policy for violating human rights, we do not see such actions as plausible reason for denying Mrs. Robinson the award."<ref name="JPRob" /> In response to the protests by some Jewish groups and commentators, Robinson said she was "surprised and dismayed" and that "this is old, recycled, untrue stuff," "I have been very critical of the Palestinian side. My conduct continues to be on the side of tackling anti-Semitism and discrimination."<ref name="nyt56" /> "There's a lot of bullying by certain elements of the Jewish community. They bully people who try to address the severe situation in Gaza and the West Bank. Archbishop Desmond Tutu gets the same criticism."<ref name="Bt554" /> In an open letter to Robinson, [[Hillel Neuer]], a director of [[UN Watch]], rejected Robinson's claim of being misunderstood or bullied by those who criticise her role in Durban. He said that she failed to confront purveyors of anti-Israel rhetoric. "You may not have been the chief culprit of the [[World Conference against Racism 2001|Durban]] debacle, but you will always be its preeminent symbol", he added.<ref name="JPRob" /> When asked about the opposition, White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs replied "Mary Robinson was the first female President of Ireland, and she is somebody whom we are honouring as a prominent crusader of women's rights in Ireland and throughout the world."<ref name="witgo7" />

US Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi,<ref name="speak" /> Senate Assistant Majority Leader, [[Dick Durbin]],<ref name="durbin" /> and other legislators<ref name="mcmah" /> welcomed the award to Robinson."<ref name="scribd" /> Forty-five Republican Congressmen sent a letter to President Obama citing "her failed, biased record as United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights".<ref name="JPRob" /> In a letter to President Obama, [[Nancy Rubin]], a former [[United States Ambassador to the United Nations Human Rights Council|US ambassador to the UN Human Rights Commission]], praised Robinson as a "dedicated crusader for human rights for all people".<ref name="reali" /> [[Oxfam]] expressed its strong support for Robinson.<ref name="jtaor" /><ref name="oxfam0" /> The Council of Women World Leaders,<ref name="cwwl2" /> the Champalimaud Foundation,<ref name="champ" /> and the [[ImagineNations Group]]<ref name="busi5" /> welcomed the award to Robinson.

The [[International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission]] congratulated Robinson, saying she "helped advance recognition of the human rights of LGBT people in her capacity as President of Ireland and as United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights. She has been unwavering in her passionate call to end torture, persecution, and discrimination against LGBT people globally."<ref name="iglhrc" />

== References ==

=== Notes ===
{{Reflist|33em|refs=

<ref name="DID">{{Cite episode|title=Mary Robinson|series=Desert Island Discs|series-link=Desert Island Discs|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b037gm1f|access-date=13 November 2013|station=BBC Radio 4|date=28 July 2013|archive-date=31 July 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130731022709/http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b037gm1f|url-status=live}}</ref>

<ref name="EIpresE">{{cite web|url=http://www.electionsireland.org/results/president/index.cfm|title=Elections Ireland: Presidential Elections|work=ElectionsIreland.org|access-date=29 December 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110221162150/http://electionsireland.org/results/president/index.cfm|archive-date=21 February 2011|url-status=dead}}</ref>

<ref name="real1">{{cite web | url = http://www.realizingrights.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=75&Itemid=88 | title = Our Board: Mary Robinson | publisher = Realizing Rights | access-date = 14 March 2012 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20120317131046/http://www.realizingrights.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=75&Itemid=88 | archive-date = 17 March 2012 | url-status = dead }}</ref>

<ref name="mrfcj">{{cite web|url=http://www.mrfcj.org/about/us/mary_robinson.html |publisher=The Mary Robinson Foundation – Climate Justice |title=Our President: Mary Robinson – About Us |access-date=13 March 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120430115236/http://www.mrfcj.org/about/us/mary_robinson.html |archive-date=30 April 2012 }}</ref>

<!--<ref name="ihrbo">{{cite web|url=http://www.ihrb.org/|title=Institute for Human Rights and Business|website=ihrb.org|access-date=12 December 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151113095846/http://www.ihrb.org/|archive-date=13 November 2015|url-status=dead}}</ref> -->

<!--<ref name="mrfcj2">{{cite web |url=http://www.mrfcj.org/resources/mary-robinson-joins-b-team/ |title=Mary Robinson Joins B Team |publisher=Mary Robinson Foundation |access-date=15 July 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160817060639/http://www.mrfcj.org/resources/mary-robinson-joins-b-team/ |archive-date=17 August 2016 |url-status=dead }}</ref> -->

<!--<ref name="fires">http://www.chr.up.ac.za/index.php/news.html {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180612144022/http://www.chr.up.ac.za/index.php/news.html |date=12 June 2018 }} 'Fireside chat' with Mary Robinson Retrieved 11 August 2011</ref> -->

<ref name="brita">{{cite encyclopedia|url=https://www.britannica.com/eb/article-9126239|title=Mary Robinson|encyclopedia=Britannica Online Encyclopedia|access-date=17 January 2009|archive-date=23 April 2006|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060423122701/https://www.britannica.com/eb/article-9126239|url-status=live}}</ref>

<ref name="dubli">{{cite news|url=http://www.thedubliner.ie/the_dubliner_magazine/2008/06/dubliners-dubli.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100528031905/http://www.thedubliner.ie/the_dubliner_magazine/2008/06/dubliners-dubli.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=28 May 2010|title=Mount Anville hands over control|newspaper=[[The Irish Times]]|last=McGreevy|first=Ronan|date=4 April 2007|access-date=15 February 2013}}</ref>

<ref name="tdcli">{{cite web|url=http://www.tcdlife.ie/scholars/scholar/about-list.php|title=List of Scholars|work=TCD Life|access-date=7 January 2015|archive-date=15 June 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190615091340/http://www.tcdlife.ie/scholars/scholar/about-list.php|url-status=live}}</ref>

<ref name="tcdbio">{{cite web|url=http://www.tcd.ie/chancellor/biog/|title=Chancellor's Biography|publisher=[[Trinity College Dublin]]|access-date=10 August 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170711105842/https://www.tcd.ie/chancellor/biog/|archive-date=11 July 2017|url-status=live}}</ref>

<ref name="HLS 2019">{{cite web |last1=Trickey |first1=Erick |title=Mary Robinson LL.M. '68 |url=https://today.law.harvard.edu/mary-robinson-ll-m-68/ |website=Harvard Law Today |access-date=7 June 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200607143726/https://today.law.harvard.edu/mary-robinson-ll-m-68/ |archive-date=7 June 2020 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

<ref name="IT Feb 1967">{{cite news |title=Mistaken Equation of Crime and Sin |newspaper=The Irish Times |date=4 February 1967 |page=11}}</ref>

<ref name="bbc00">{{cite news |url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/1680695.stm |title=Europe &#124; Mary Robinson: Human rights champion |publisher=BBC News |date=18 March 2002 |access-date=28 August 2010 |archive-date=7 October 2003 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20031007201602/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/1680695.stm |url-status=live }}</ref>

<!--<ref name="inde9">{{cite news|url=http://www.independent.ie/national-news/child-of-aras-answers-irelands-call-at-occupy-dame-street-protest-2929324.html|title=Child of Aras answers Ireland's call at Occupy Dame Street protest|date=9 November 2011|last=O'Connell|first=Edel|work=Irish Independent|access-date=9 November 2011|archive-date=10 November 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111110140221/http://www.independent.ie/national-news/child-of-aras-answers-irelands-call-at-occupy-dame-street-protest-2929324.html|url-status=live}}</ref> -->

<ref name="oireachtas_db">{{cite web|url=https://www.oireachtas.ie/en/members/member/Mary-Robinson.S.1969-11-05/|title=Mary Robinson|work=Oireachtas Members Database|access-date=21 June 2009|archive-date=8 November 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181108184845/https://www.oireachtas.ie/en/members/member/Mary-Robinson.S.1969-11-05|url-status=live}}</ref>

<!--<ref name="heral">{{cite news|first=Caroline|last=Crawford|url=https://www.independent.ie/regionals/herald/priest-blasted-mary-in-familys-church/28848168.html|title=Priest blasted Mary in family's church: 'Mum and dad fled cathedral as I was denounced'|work=Evening Herald|date=18 September 2012|access-date=18 September 2012|archive-date=20 September 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120920102601/http://www.herald.ie/news/priest-blasted-mary-in-familys-church-3233482.html|url-status=live}}</ref> -->

<!--<ref name="elecs_irl">{{cite web|url=http://electionsireland.org/candidate.cfm?ID=3142|title=Mary Robinson|work=ElectionsIreland.org|access-date=21 June 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110221231119/http://electionsireland.org/candidate.cfm?id=3142|archive-date=21 February 2011|url-status=dead}}</ref> -->

<ref name="itim22">{{cite news|url=http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/ireland/2008/1222/1229728441360.html|title=Robinson has no hard feelings over Flynn jibe|last=Shiel|first=Tom|date=22 December 2008|newspaper=[[The Irish Times]]|access-date=29 December 2008|archive-date=12 February 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110212055628/http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/ireland/2008/1222/1229728441360.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

<ref name="quote1">McDowell, a former TD, had been a controversial figure in the government. Though with no seat in parliament, he was nevertheless projected as the party's "conscience", launching attacks on Fianna Fáil that caused considerable anger in Fianna Fáil. The PDs threatened to quit the government after the revelations about Lenihan. They gave Haughey an ultimatum: either hold an inquiry into the pressure placed on President Hillery, or dismiss Lenihan. Through professing loyalty to his "friend of thirty years" Haughey chose the latter option and dismissed Lenihan.</ref>

<ref name="elei42">{{cite web |url=http://www.electionsireland.org/result.cfm?election=1990P&cons=194 |title=1990 Presidential – Ireland First Preference Votes |publisher=ElectionsIreland.org |access-date=9 June 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110221170420/http://electionsireland.org/result.cfm?election=1990P&cons=194 |archive-date=21 February 2011 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

<ref name="zigzag">{{cite web|url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1319592/|title=Zig and Zag: Best Bitz from Back Den|date=27 October 2008|publisher=IMDb|access-date=21 July 2018|archive-date=10 February 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170210183920/http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1319592/|url-status=live}}</ref>

<ref name="irtim77">[http://www.irishtimes.com/news/ireland/irish-news/president-s-state-visit-to-uk-opens-up-limitless-opportunities-1.1598833 President's State visit to UK opens up 'limitless opportunities'] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131118154758/http://www.irishtimes.com/news/ireland/irish-news/president-s-state-visit-to-uk-opens-up-limitless-opportunities-1.1598833 |date=18 November 2013 }} ''The Irish Times'', 18 November 2013.</ref>

<ref name="quote2">O'Hanlon also criticised Robinson for not making a [[state visit]] to the Vatican. That was revealed to be unjustified. She could only make a state visit if invited. No invitation had been issued. As the last state visit had been carried out by President Hillery, in 1989, another state visit was not due for at least a decade.</ref>

<ref name="stanford">{{cite web |url=http://prelectur.stanford.edu/lecturers/robinson/ |title=Presidential Lectures: Mary Robinson – Free and Equal in Dignity and Rights: The Life and Work of Mary Robinson |author=James Jacobs |year=2010 |publisher=Stanford University |access-date=5 July 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120829033852/http://prelectur.stanford.edu/lecturers/robinson/ |archive-date=29 August 2012 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

<ref name="newsr">{{cite web|url=http://www.newsroom.ucr.edu/cgi-bin/display.cgi?id=955|title=Chancellor's Distinguished Lecture Series|date=28 January 2005|work=University of California, Riverside|access-date=17 January 2009|archive-date=1 September 2006|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060901113214/http://www.newsroom.ucr.edu/cgi-bin/display.cgi?id=955|url-status=dead}}</ref>

<ref name="taos3">{{cite web|url=http://www.taoiseach.gov.ie/eng/News/Archives/1997/Government_Press_Releases_1997/Statement_by_the_Taoiseach_on_forthcoming_resignation_of_President_Mary_Robinson_.html|archive-url=https://archive.today/20130702090938/http://www.taoiseach.gov.ie/eng/News/Archives/1997/Government_Press_Releases_1997/Statement_by_the_Taoiseach_on_forthcoming_resignation_of_President_Mary_Robinson_.html|url-status=dead|title=Statement by the Taoiseach on forthcoming resignation of President Ma...|date=2 July 2013|archive-date=2 July 2013}}</ref>

<ref name="oire49">{{cite web|url=https://www.oireachtas.ie/en/debates/debate/dail/1997-09-30/12/|title=Message from President – Dáil Éireann (28th Dáil) – Tuesday, 30 Sep 1997|access-date=9 April 2020|website=Houses of the Oireachtas|archive-date=3 August 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200803173504/https://www.oireachtas.ie/en/debates/debate/dail/1997-09-30/12/|url-status=live}}</ref>

<ref name="presi85">{{cite web|url=https://president.ie/en/the-president/mary-robinson|title=The President Mary Robinson|website=President.ie|access-date=11 December 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181130021448/https://president.ie/en/the-president/mary-robinson|archive-date=30 November 2018|url-status=dead}}</ref>

<ref name="irane">{{cite web |title=Islamic Republic of Iran's commitment to Human Rights |url=http://iranianembassy.nl/en/9_hogh_bash/gozaresh/971.html |website=iranianembassy.nl |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120824021636/http://iranianembassy.nl/en/9_hogh_bash/gozaresh/971.html |archive-date=24 August 2012 |url-status=dead}}</ref>

<ref name="un126">{{cite web|url=https://www.un.org/News/Press/docs/2001/RD907.doc.htm|title=ASIAN PREPARATORY MEETING FOR WORLD CONFERENCE ON RACISM ADOPTS DECLARATION, ACTION PROGRAMME – Meetings Coverage and Press Releases|publisher=United Nations|access-date=29 June 2017|archive-date=24 August 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120824031205/http://www.un.org/News/Press/docs/2001/RD907.doc.htm|url-status=live}}</ref>

<ref name="belief">{{cite web|url=http://www.beliefnet.com/Faiths/Islam/2001/03/U-N-Rights-Chief-Says-Islamic-Headscarf-Protest-Was-Mistake.aspx|title=U.N. Rights Chief Says Islamic Headscarf Protest Was Mistake|website=Beliefnet.com|access-date=21 August 2012|archive-date=23 August 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120823154413/http://www.beliefnet.com/Faiths/Islam/2001/03/U-N-Rights-Chief-Says-Islamic-Headscarf-Protest-Was-Mistake.aspx|url-status=live}}</ref>

<ref name="bahai">{{cite web|url=http://bahai.uga.edu/News/022301-3.html|title=Bahai News – U.N. rights chief says Islamic headscarf protest was mistake|website=Bahai.uga.edu|access-date=21 August 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120823164019/http://bahai.uga.edu/News/022301-3.html|archive-date=23 August 2012|url-status=dead}}</ref>

<ref name="lantos">{{cite web |last1=Lantos |first1=Tom |title=The Durban Debacle: An Insider's View of the UN World Conference Against Racism |url=http://www.lantosfoundation.org/news/PDFs/Durban.pdf |website=lantosfoundation.org |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130116151432/http://www.lantosfoundation.org/news/PDFs/Durban.pdf |archive-date=16 January 2013 |date=2002 |url-status=dead}}</ref>

<ref name="guard">{{cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2002/jul/31/uk.usa1|title=America forced me out, says Robinson|work=[[The Guardian]]|last=Burkeman|first=Oliver|date=31 July 2002|access-date=31 October 2008|archive-date=26 August 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130826060118/http://www.theguardian.com/world/2002/jul/31/uk.usa1|url-status=live}}</ref>

<ref name="natre">{{cite web|url=http://www.nationalreview.com/comment/comment-rubin052002.asp|title=Mary Robinson, War Criminal?|work=[[National Review]]|last=Rubin|first=Michael|date=20 May 2002|access-date=18 August 2009|archive-date=4 August 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090804112627/http://www.nationalreview.com/comment/comment-rubin052002.asp|url-status=live}}</ref>

<ref name="theel">{{cite web |url= http://www.theelders.org/mary-robinson |title= Mary Robinson |publisher= TheElders.org |access-date= 7 March 2013 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20130306035608/http://theelders.org/mary-robinson |archive-date= 6 March 2013 |url-status= dead }}</ref>

<ref name="CarterRobinson">{{cite news|title=Former U.S. President and ex-Human Rights Council chief call for ICC probe into Gaza war|url=http://www.heraldglobe.com/index.php/sid/224472251|access-date=7 August 2014|publisher=Herald Globe|archive-date=8 August 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140808113633/http://www.heraldglobe.com/index.php/sid/224472251|url-status=live}}</ref>

<ref name="theel2">{{cite web|url=http://theelders.org/article/how-can-young-people-join-debate-about-climate-change|title=How can young people join in the debate about climate change?|website=The Elders|access-date=19 February 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150219173034/http://theelders.org/article/how-can-young-people-join-debate-about-climate-change|archive-date=19 February 2015|url-status=dead}}</ref>

<ref name="yout">{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x5G19NmwCkU&list=PLp7iueYZU6DxiH8zE3nnfSGl6m4yr8b_h|title=YouTube|via=YouTube|access-date=10 December 2018|archive-date=12 September 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210912121807/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x5G19NmwCkU&list=PLp7iueYZU6DxiH8zE3nnfSGl6m4yr8b_h|url-status=live}}</ref>

<ref name="inde25">{{Cite web|url=https://www.independent.ie/irish-news/one-young-world/kofi-annan-tells-one-young-world-we-must-tackle-climate-change-now--30670197.html|title=Kofi Annan tells One Young World: 'We must tackle climate change now '|website=independent|date=16 October 2014 |access-date=20 May 2021|archive-date=1 May 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190501140303/https://www.independent.ie/irish-news/one-young-world/kofi-annan-tells-one-young-world-we-must-tackle-climate-change-now-30670197.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

<ref name="mrfcj32">{{cite web|url=http://www.mrfcj.org/news/one-young-word-summit-2014.html |title=One Young World Summit Celebrating Youth Leadership – News |access-date=19 February 2015 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150219173607/http://www.mrfcj.org/news/one-young-word-summit-2014.html |archive-date=19 February 2015 }}</ref>

<ref name="oneyo">{{cite web|url=http://www.oneyoungworld.com/news/mary-robinson-calls-transformative-leaders-step-climate-justice|title=Mary Robinson calls for transformative leaders to step up on climate justice|date=16 October 2014|access-date=19 February 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150219173840/http://www.oneyoungworld.com/news/mary-robinson-calls-transformative-leaders-step-climate-justice|archive-date=19 February 2015|url-status=dead}}</ref>

<ref name="theel88">{{Cite web|url=https://www.theelders.org/article/mary-robinson-appointed-new-chair-elders|title=Mary Robinson appointed new Chair of The Elders|website=The Elders|access-date=2 November 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181111044016/https://www.theelders.org/article/mary-robinson-appointed-new-chair-elders|archive-date=11 November 2018|url-status=dead}}</ref>

<ref name="irpub09">{{cite web|title=Editor|url=http://www.irishpublishingnews.com/2010/09/16/catch-up-mary-robinson-to-write-memoir/|work=None|publisher=Irish Publishing News|access-date=24 April 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130521031642/http://www.irishpublishingnews.com/2010/09/16/catch-up-mary-robinson-to-write-memoir/|archive-date=21 May 2013|url-status=dead}}</ref>

<ref name="irishtimes.com">{{Cite news|url=https://www.irishtimes.com/opinion/diarmaid-ferriter-mary-robinson-s-legacy-in-no-need-of-a-vanity-project-1.2838667|title=Diarmaid Ferriter: Mary Robinson's legacy in no need of a vanity project|first=Diarmaid|last=Ferriter|newspaper=The Irish Times|access-date=20 May 2021|archive-date=20 May 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210520022412/https://www.irishtimes.com/opinion/diarmaid-ferriter-mary-robinson-s-legacy-in-no-need-of-a-vanity-project-1.2838667|url-status=live}}</ref>

<ref name="robcen">{{cite web|url=http://www.maryrobinsoncentre.ie/archive|title=Archive|website=The Mary Robinson Centre – Ireland's first Presidential Library|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220203121838/http://www.maryrobinsoncentre.ie/archive.html|archive-date=3 February 2022}}</ref>

<ref name="irit63">{{Cite news|url=https://www.irishtimes.com/news/ireland/irish-news/oireachtas-committee-to-hold-hearing-on-mary-robinson-centre-1.2853885|title=Oireachtas committee to hold hearing on Mary Robinson Centre|first=Ronan|last=McGreevy|newspaper=The Irish Times|access-date=20 May 2021|archive-date=5 October 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171005051145/https://www.irishtimes.com/news/ireland/irish-news/oireachtas-committee-to-hold-hearing-on-mary-robinson-centre-1.2853885|url-status=live}}</ref>

<ref name="robce35">{{Cite news|url=https://www.irishtimes.com/opinion/the-mary-robinson-centre-is-no-vanity-project-1.2843020|title=The Mary Robinson Centre is no vanity project|first=Peter|last=Hynes|newspaper=The Irish Times|access-date=20 May 2021|archive-date=9 August 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200809230242/https://www.irishtimes.com/opinion/the-mary-robinson-centre-is-no-vanity-project-1.2843020|url-status=live}}</ref>

<ref name="irit17">{{cite news|url=https://www.irishtimes.com/news/ireland/irish-news/mary-robinson-abandons-plans-to-store-archive-in-mayo-family-home-1.2885556|title=Mary Robinson abandons plans to store archive in Mayo family home|first=Lorna|last=Siggins|newspaper=The Irish Times|access-date=20 May 2021|archive-date=20 May 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210520022406/https://www.irishtimes.com/news/ireland/irish-news/mary-robinson-abandons-plans-to-store-archive-in-mayo-family-home-1.2885556|url-status=live}}</ref>

<ref name="clubm">{{cite web |url=http://www.clubmadrid.org/en/miembro/mary_robinson |title=Robinson, Mary |publisher=Club de Madrid |work=Official website |access-date=8 March 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120223144828/http://www.clubmadrid.org/en/miembro/mary_robinson |archive-date=23 February 2012 |url-status=dead}}</ref>

<ref name="auror">[https://auroraprize.com/en/aurora-prize/2018/selection_committee Selection Committee] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180909115146/https://auroraprize.com/en/aurora-prize/2018/selection_committee |date=9 September 2018}} [[Aurora Prize for Awakening Humanity|Aurora Prize]].</ref>

<ref name="cleanc">[http://cleancookstoves.org/about/our-team/15.html Leadership Council: Mary Robinson] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181111133608/http://cleancookstoves.org/about/our-team/15.html |date=11 November 2018}} Clean Cooking Alliance.</ref>

<ref name="euclim">{{cite news|url=https://europeanclimate.org/people/board/|title=Board|publisher=European Climate Foundation|access-date=13 November 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181116140231/https://europeanclimate.org/people/board/|archive-date=16 November 2018|url-status=dead}}</ref>

<ref name="rte97">{{cite news|url=http://www.rte.ie/news/2009/0115/robinsonm.html|title=Robinson to lead global jurists group|date=15 January 2009|publisher=[[RTÉ News]]|access-date=17 January 2009|archive-date=16 January 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090116183956/http://www.rte.ie/news/2009/0115/robinsonm.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

<ref name="awepa">{{cite web|url=http://awepa.org/index.php/en/about-us/organisational-structure/eminent-advisory-board.html|title=Eminent Advisory Board|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130524015248/http://www.awepa.org/index.php/en/about-us/organisational-structure/eminent-advisory-board.html|archive-date=24 May 2013}}</ref>

<ref name="prusa">{{cite web|url=http://pr-usa.net/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=842683&Itemid=30 |title=Famine in Somalia Ignites Parliamentary Action |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120215155856/http://pr-usa.net/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=842683&Itemid=30 |archive-date=15 February 2012 }}</ref>

<ref name="allaf">{{cite web |title=East Africa: EALA Joins Global MPs in Calling for Action On Famine in Somalia |url=https://allafrica.com/stories/201108160451.html |website=allafrica.com |access-date=20 May 2021 |date=14 August 2011 |archive-date=7 October 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121007081756/http://allafrica.com/stories/201108160451.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

<ref name="edmon">{{cite news|agency=The Associated Press|title=Ex-Irish president Mary Robinson named UN envoy to oversee implementation of Congo peace deal|url=https://edmontonjournal.com/news/ExIrish+president+Mary+Robinson+named+envoy+oversee/8115014/story.html|archive-url=https://archive.today/20130410182619/http://www.edmontonjournal.com/news/ExIrish+president+Mary+Robinson+named+envoy+oversee/8115014/story.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=10 April 2013|access-date=18 March 2013|work=The Edmonton Journal|date=18 March 2013}}</ref>

<ref name="ClimateChange">{{cite news|title=Robinson to head United Nations effort on climate change|url=http://www.irishsun.com/index.php/sid/223797021/scat/aba4168066a10b8d/ht/Robinson-to-head-United-Nations-effort-on-climate-change|access-date=13 July 2014|publisher=Irish Sun.com|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140715110732/http://www.irishsun.com/index.php/sid/223797021/scat/aba4168066a10b8d/ht/Robinson-to-head-United-Nations-effort-on-climate-change|archive-date=15 July 2014|url-status=dead}}</ref>

<ref name="UN climate envoy backs fossil fuel divestment movement">{{cite web|title=UN climate envoy backs fossil fuel divestment movement|url=http://www.rtcc.org/2015/03/20/un-climate-envoy-backs-fossil-fuel-divestment-movement/|website=Rtcc.org|access-date=24 March 2015|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150402095729/http://www.rtcc.org/2015/03/20/un-climate-envoy-backs-fossil-fuel-divestment-movement/|archive-date=2 April 2015}}</ref>

<ref name="oecd4">[http://www.oecd.org/dac/DAC-HighLevelPanel-Panelist-bios.pdf High Level Panel on the Future of the Development Assistance Committee] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171010200049/http://www.oecd.org/dac/DAC-HighLevelPanel-Panelist-bios.pdf |date=10 October 2017 }} [[Development Assistance Committee]].</ref>

<ref name="secg">{{cite web|title=Secretary-General Appoints Mary Robinson of Ireland, Macharia Kamau of Kenya Special Envoys on El Niño and Climate|url=https://www.un.org/press/en/2016/sga1660.doc.htm|publisher=United Nations|access-date=17 August 2016|archive-date=4 August 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160804220510/http://www.un.org/press/en/2016/sga1660.doc.htm|url-status=live}}</ref>

<ref name="un433">[https://www.un.org/press/en/2016/sga1678.doc.htm Secretary-General Appoints 29 Global Leaders to Spearhead Fight against Malnutrition] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210912121810/https://www.un.org/press/en/2016/sga1678.doc.htm |date=12 September 2021 }} United Nations, press release of 21 September 2016.</ref>

<ref name="bbc99">{{cite news |title=Sheikha Latifa: Mary Robinson 'backed Dubai version of events' |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-46697867 |access-date=28 December 2018 |publisher=BBC News |date=27 December 2018 |archive-date=6 January 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190106145630/https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-46697867 |url-status=live }}</ref>

<ref name="dpmc4">{{cite web |url=https://www.dpmc.govt.nz/our-programmes/new-zealand-royal-honours/new-zealand-royal-honours-system/types-new-zealand-royal-honours/other-distinctive-new-zealand-honours/suffrage-medal-register |title=The New Zealand Suffrage Centennial Medal 1993 – register of recipients |date=26 July 2018 |publisher=Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet |access-date=18 September 2018 |archive-date=18 September 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180918090949/https://www.dpmc.govt.nz/our-programmes/new-zealand-royal-honours/new-zealand-royal-honours-system/types-new-zealand-royal-honours/other-distinctive-new-zealand-honours/suffrage-medal-register |url-status=live }}</ref>

<ref name="coeint">{{cite web|title=The North South Prize of Lisbon |work=North-South Centre |publisher=Council of Europe |url=http://www.coe.int/t/e/north%2Dsouth_centre/programmes/7_north%2Dsouth_prize/winners_PNS.asp |access-date=21 January 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080215230739/http://www.coe.int/t/e/north-south_centre/programmes/7_north-south_prize/winners_PNS.asp |archive-date=15 February 2008 |url-status=dead}}</ref>

<ref name="kew20">{{cite web |url=https://www.kew.org/about-our-organisation/press-media/press-releases/mary-robinson-awarded-kew-international-medal |title=Mary Robinson awarded Kew International Medal for work on food security and climate justice – Kew |website=Kew.org |access-date=11 December 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181215175704/https://www.kew.org/about-our-organisation/press-media/press-releases/mary-robinson-awarded-kew-international-medal |archive-date=15 December 2018 |url-status=dead}}</ref>

<ref name="uuse">{{cite web |url=http://www.uu.se/en/about-uu/traditions/prizes/honorary-doctorates/ |title=Honorary doctorates – Uppsala University, Sweden |website=Uu.se |access-date=26 July 2016 |archive-date=19 February 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190219120402/http://www.uu.se/en/about-uu/traditions/prizes/honorary-doctorates |url-status=live}}</ref>

<ref name="mcgill">{{cite news |url=https://www.mcgill.ca/newsroom/news/item/?item_id=11270 |title=News: Honorary doctorates 2004 Spring Convocation |date=20 April 2004 |work=McGill University |access-date=11 November 2009}}</ref>

<ref name="bathac">{{cite web |url=http://www.bath.ac.uk/news/2009/09/17/mary-robinson-hongrad/ |title=Former Irish President becomes honorary graduate |publisher=University of Bath News |date=17 September 2009 |access-date=17 September 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110604163724/http://www.bath.ac.uk/news/2009/09/17/mary-robinson-hongrad/ |archive-date=4 June 2011 |url-status=dead}}</ref>

<ref name="whitgo">{{cite web |url=https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/the_press_office/President-Obama-Names-Medal-of-Freedom-Recipients |title=President Obama Names Medal of Freedom Recipients |date=30 July 2009 |via=[[NARA|National Archives]] |work=[[whitehouse.gov]] |df=dmy-all |access-date=1 March 2021 |archive-date=12 September 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210912121812/https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/the-press-office/president-obama-names-medal-freedom-recipients |url-status=live}}</ref>

<ref name="irit45">{{cite news |url=http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/opinion/2009/0807/1224252150352.html |title=Pro-Israel groups attack US honour for Robinson |newspaper=[[The Irish Times]] |date=7 August 2009 |access-date=12 August 2009 |archive-date=24 October 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101024024600/http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/opinion/2009/0807/1224252150352.html |url-status=live}}</ref>

<ref name="whitgo3">{{cite web |url=https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/the_press_office/Remarks-by-the-President-at-the-Medal-of-Freedom-ceremony/ |title=White House: Remarks by the President at the Medal Of Freedom Ceremony |date=13 August 2009 |via=[[NARA|National Archives]] |work=[[whitehouse.gov]] |access-date=9 June 2011 |archive-date=12 September 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210912121812/https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/the-press-office/remarks-president-medal-freedom-ceremony |url-status=live}}</ref>

<ref name="amnes">{{cite web |url=https://www.amnesty.org/en/news-and-updates/news/amnesty-international-congratulates-mary-robinson-medal-freedom-20090810 |title=Amnesty International: Amnesty International congratulates Mary Robinson on Medal of Freedom |publisher=Amnesty International |date=10 August 2009 |access-date=9 June 2011 |archive-date=11 June 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110611075858/http://www.amnesty.org/en/news-and-updates/news/amnesty-international-congratulates-mary-robinson-medal-freedom-20090810 |url-status=live}}</ref>

<!--<ref name="RR">{{Cite web|url=https://www.realizingrights.org/|title=Crypto Casino Websites in the US: Know Your Rights|website=Bitcoin Gambling in the US: Know Your Rights &#124; realizingrights.org|access-date=20 May 2021|archive-date=5 May 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210505173331/https://www.realizingrights.org/|url-status=live}}</ref> -->

<ref name="wsjco">[https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052970204251404574342152496390582 Mary Robinson's Medal of Freedom] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170702131651/https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052970204251404574342152496390582 |date=2 July 2017}}, ''The Wall Street Journal'', 10 August 2009</ref>

<ref name="JPRob">{{cite web |url=http://fr.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1249418590999&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FPrinter |title=Jerusalem Post: Despite critics, White House honors Robinson |work=The Jerusalem Post |date=12 August 2009 |access-date=9 June 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120224112610/https://fr.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1249418590999&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FPrinter |archive-date=24 February 2012}}</ref>

<ref name="nyt56">{{cite web |last=Landler |first=Mark |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/07/world/07robinson.html |title=New York Times: Jewish Groups Say Obama's Pick for Medal Has Anti-Israel Bias |work=The New York Times |date=6 August 2009 |access-date=9 June 2011 |archive-date=13 December 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131213013939/http://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/07/world/07robinson.html |url-status=live}}</ref>

<ref name="Bt554">{{cite news |url=http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/local-national/former-irish-president-mary-robinson-bullied-by-proisrael-lobbyists-14441753.html?startindex=40 |title=Belfast Telegraph: Former Irish president Mary Robinson 'bullied' by pro-Israel lobbyists |work=The Belfast Telegraph |date=3 August 2009 |access-date=9 June 2011 |archive-date=5 June 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110605060957/http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/local-national/former-irish-president-mary-robinson-bullied-by-proisrael-lobbyists-14441753.html?startindex=40 |url-status=live}}</ref>

<ref name="witgo7">{{cite web |url=https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/the_press_office/Briefing-by-White-House-Press-Secretary-Robert-Gibbs-8/4/09 |title=White House: Press Briefing By Press Secretary Robert Gibbs |date=5 August 2009 |via=[[NARA|National Archives]] |work=[[whitehouse.gov]] |access-date=9 June 2011 |archive-date=12 September 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210912121811/https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/the-press-office/briefing-white-house-press-secretary-robert-gibbs-8409 |url-status=live }}</ref>

<ref name="speak">{{cite web |title=Pelosi Statement on Presidential Medal of Freedom Recipients |url=http://www.speaker.gov/newsroom/pressreleases?id=1302 |website=speaker.gov |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101205192630/http://www.speaker.gov/newsroom/pressreleases?id=1302 |archive-date=5 December 2010 |date=30 July 2009 |url-status=dead}}</ref>

<ref name="durbin">{{cite web |title=Durbin Welcomes Former President of Ireland Mary Robinson to Capitol Hill |url=http://durbin.senate.gov/record.cfm?id=264055&& |website=durbin.senate.gov |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070201000809/http://durbin.senate.gov/record.cfm?id=264055&& |archive-date=1 February 2007 |date=27 September 2006 |url-status=dead}}</ref>

<ref name="mcmah">[http://mcmahon.house.gov/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=456:mcmahon-congratulates-medal-of-freedom-recipient-mary-robinson&catid=85:press-releases-july-2009&Itemid=160 Congressman Michael E. McMahon: McMahon Congratulates Medal of Freedom Recipient Mary Robinson] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101205051433/http://mcmahon.house.gov/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=456%3Amcmahon-congratulates-medal-of-freedom-recipient-mary-robinson&catid=85%3Apress-releases-july-2009&Itemid=160 |date=5 December 2010}}</ref>

<ref name="scribd">{{cite web |url=https://www.scribd.com/doc/18460306/081109-IRL-Robinson-Ltr-1 |title=Congress of the United States |date=11 August 2009 |access-date=9 September 2017 |archive-date=5 March 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160305160757/https://www.scribd.com/doc/18460306/081109-IRL-Robinson-Ltr-1 |url-status=live}}</ref>

<ref name="reali">{{cite web |url=http://www.realizingrights.org/pdf/Nancy_Rubin_MOF.pdf |title=Nancy Rubin&nbsp;— Open Letter to President Obama |work=Nancy Rubin |date=12 August 2009 |access-date=12 August 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110217202506/http://www.realizingrights.org/pdf/Nancy_Rubin_MOF.pdf |archive-date=17 February 2011}}</ref>

<ref name="jtaor">{{cite web |url=http://jta.org/news/article/2009/08/10/1007154/israeli-human-rights-groups-back-robinson-pick |title=Israeli human rights groups back Robinson pick |publisher=Jewish Telegraphic Agency |date=10 August 2009 |access-date=12 August 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090813110034/http://jta.org/news/article/2009/08/10/1007154/israeli-human-rights-groups-back-robinson-pick |archive-date=13 August 2009 |url-status=dead}}</ref>

<ref name="oxfam0">{{cite web |url=http://www.oxfam.org/en/pressroom/pressrelease/2009-08-11/oxfam-international-congratulates-its-honorary-president |title=Oxfam International congratulates Mary Robinson on US Presidential Medal of Freedom |work=Oxfam International |date=11 August 2009|access-date=12 August 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110107145605/http://www.oxfam.org/en/pressroom/pressrelease/2009-08-11/oxfam-international-congratulates-its-honorary-president |archive-date=7 January 2011 |url-status=dead}}</ref>

<ref name="cwwl2">{{cite web |url=http://www.cwwl.org/events/2009-08-12_mary-robinson-medal-of-freedom.html |title=Council of World Women Leaders: 2009 US Presidential Medal of Freedom Awarded to H.E. President Mary Robinson |publisher=Cwwl.org |access-date=9 June 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110721203805/https://www.cwwl.org/events/2009-08-12_mary-robinson-medal-of-freedom.html |archive-date=21 July 2011}}</ref>

<ref name="champ">{{cite web |url=http://www.fchampalimaud.org/newsroom/detail/mary-robinson-awarded-2009-presidential-medal-of-freedom/ |title=Champalimaud Foundation: Mary Robinson Awarded 2009 Presidential Medal of Freedom |publisher=Fchampalimaud.org |access-date=9 June 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110720104926/http://www.fchampalimaud.org/newsroom/detail/mary-robinson-awarded-2009-presidential-medal-of-freedom/ |archive-date=20 July 2011}}</ref>

<ref name="busi5">{{cite web |author=Investing in Ireland |url=http://bx.businessweek.com/investing-in-ireland/view?url=http://c.moreover.com/click/here.pl?r2122634346&f=9791 |title=Business Week: ImagineNations Group Congratulates Mary Robinson on Receiving Presidential Medal of Freedom |work=Bloomberg BusinessWeek |access-date=9 June 2011}}{{dead link|date=April 2023|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}</ref>

<ref name="iglhrc">{{cite web |url=http://www.iglhrc.org/cgi-bin/iowa/article/takeaction/resourcecenter/960.html |title=International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission: USA: IGLHRC Congratulates Presidential Medal of Freedom Winners |publisher=Iglhrc.org |date=13 August 2009 |access-date=9 June 2011 |archive-date=6 June 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110606051218/http://www.iglhrc.org/cgi-bin/iowa/article/takeaction/resourcecenter/960.html |url-status=live}}</ref>
}}

=== Sources ===
{{refbegin|}}
* {{cite book|last=Brady|first=Anna|title=Women in Ireland: An Annotated Bibliography|publisher=Greenwood Press|year=1988|isbn=0-313-24486-3|location=Westport, Connecticut|pages=|chapter=814|issn=0742-6941}}
* {{cite book|last=Horgan|first=John|title=Mary Robinson: An Independent Voice|publisher=The O'Brien Press Ltd.|year=1997|isbn=0-86278-540-5|location=Dublin, Ireland}}
* {{cite journal|last=Morgan|first=David Gwynn|date=1999|title=Mary Robinson's Presidency: Relations With The Government|url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/44026473|journal=Irish Jurist|volume=34|pages=256–275|jstor=44026473}}
* {{cite book|last1=O'Leary|first1=Olivia|title=Mary Robinson: The Authorised Biography|last2=Burke|first2=Helen|publisher=Hodder & Stoughton|year=1998|isbn=0-340-71738-6|location=London}}
* {{cite book|last=O'Sullivan|first=Michael|title=Mary Robinson: The Life and Time of an Irish Liberal|publisher=Blackwater Press|year=1993|isbn=978-0-86121-448-8|location=Dublin}}
{{refend}}

== Further reading ==
* Stephen Collins, ''Spring and the Labour Party'' (O'Brien Press, 1993) {{ISBN|0-86278-349-6}}
* Eamon Delaney, ''An Accidental Diplomat: My Years in the Irish Foreign Service (1987–1995)'' (New Island Books, 2001) {{ISBN|1-902602-39-0}}
* Garret FitzGerald, ''All in a Life'' (Gill and Macmillan, 1991) {{ISBN|0-7171-1600-X}}
* Fergus Finlay, ''Mary Robinson: A President with a Purpose'' (O'Brien Press, 1991) {{ISBN|0-86278-257-0}}
* Fergus Finlay. ''Snakes & Ladders'' (New Island Books, 1998) {{ISBN|1-874597-76-6}}
* Jack Jones, ''In Your Opinion: Political and Social Trends in Ireland through the Eyes of the Electorate'' (Townhouse, 2001) {{ISBN|1-86059-149-3}}
* Ray Kavanagh, ''The Rise and Fall of the Labour Party:1986–1999'' (Blackwater Press 2001) {{ISBN|1-84131-528-1}}
* Gabriel Kiely, Anne O'Donnell, Patricia Kennedy, Suzanne Quin (eds) ''Irish Social Policy in Context'' (University College Dublin Press, 1999) {{ISBN|1-900621-25-8}}
* Brian Lenihan, ''For the Record'' (Blackwater Press, 1991) {{ISBN|0-86121-362-9}}
* Mary McQuillan, ''Mary Robinson: A President in Progress'' (Gill and Macmillan, 1994) {{ISBN|0-7171-2251-4}}
* Olivia O'Leary & Helen Burke, ''Mary Robinson: The Authorised Biography'' (Lir/Hodder & Stoughton, 1998) {{ISBN|0-340-71738-6}}
* {{cite book |last=Robinson |first=Mary |date=2013 |title=Everybody Matters: My Life Giving Voice |location=New York |publisher=Walker Publishing Company |isbn=978-0-8027-7964-9 |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/everybodymatters0000robi}}
* Lorna Siggins, ''The Woman Who Took Power in the Park: Mary Robinson, President of Ireland, 1990–1997'' (Mainstream Publishing, 1997) {{ISBN|1-85158-805-1}}
* Torild Skard, "Mary Robinson", ''Women of Power – Half a century of female presidents and prime ministers worldwide''(Bristol: Policy Press, 2014) {{ISBN|978-1-44731-578-0}}

== External links ==
{{Sister project links|author=yes|commons=Category:Mary Robinson|s=Mary Robinson|wikt=no|b=no|n=no|v=no|q=yes}}
* [http://www.president.ie/past_presidents/mary-robinson-2/ Biography at Áras an Uachtaráin website] {{webarchive |url=https://archive.today/20140325071423/http://www.president.ie/past_presidents/mary-robinson-2/ |date=25 March 2014}}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20160508182148/http://www.realizingrights.org/ Realizing Rights was founded in October 2002 by Mary Robinson]
* [http://www.democracynow.org/2010/12/6/fmr_irish_president_mary_robinson_calls Mary Robinson Calls for Global Climate Justice Fund] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101208033623/http://www.democracynow.org/2010/12/6/fmr_irish_president_mary_robinson_calls |date=8 December 2010}} – video report by ''[[Democracy Now!]]''
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20130430193025/http://www.sandiego.edu/peacestudies/institutes/ipj/programs/distinguished_lecture_series/biographies/mary_robinson.php Lecture transcript and video of Robinson's speech at the Joan B. Kroc Institute for Peace & Justice at the University of San Diego, March 2005]
* {{cite web|url=http://www.ricorso.net/rx/az-data/authors/r/Robinson_M/life.htm|title=Mary Robinson|last=Stewart|first=Bruce|website=Ricorso|access-date=21 February 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140926082043/http://www.ricorso.net/rx/az-data/authors/r/Robinson_M/life.htm|archive-date=26 September 2014|url-status=dead}}

{{s-start}}
{{s-off}}
{{s-bef|before = [[Patrick Hillery]]}}
{{s-ttl|title  = [[President of Ireland]]|years = 1990–1997}}
{{s-aft|after  = [[Mary McAleese]]}}
|-
{{s-dip}}
{{s-bef|before = [[José Ayala Lasso]]}}
{{s-ttl|title  = [[Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights|United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights]]|years = 1997–2002}}
{{s-aft|after  = [[Sérgio Vieira de Mello]]}}
|-
{{s-bef|before = [[Kim Campbell]]}}
{{s-ttl|title  = Chair of the [[Council of Women World Leaders]]|years=2003–2009}}
{{s-aft|after  = [[Tarja Halonen]]}}
{{s-aca}}
{{s-bef|before = [[Francis O'Reilly|Frank O'Reilly]] }}
{{s-ttl|title  = [[Chancellor of the University of Dublin]]|years = 1998–2019}}
{{s-aft|after  = [[Mary McAleese]]}}
{{s-end}}
{{Presidents of Ireland}}
{{Members of the 12th Seanad}}
{{Members of the 13th Seanad}}
{{Members of the 14th Seanad}}
{{Members of the 15th Seanad}}
{{Members of the 16th Seanad}}
{{Members of the 17th Seanad}}
{{Members of the 18th Seanad}}
{{Calderone Prize laureates}}
{{Sydney Peace Prize laureates}}
{{Sonning Prize laureates}}
{{Prince of Asturias Award for Social Sciences}}
{{The Elders}}
{{Labour Party (Ireland)}}
{{Abortion in the Republic of Ireland}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Robinson, Mary}}
[[Category:1944 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:People from Ballina, County Mayo]]

<!-- Political office categories -->
[[Category:Presidents of Ireland]]
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[[Category:Members of Seanad Éireann for Dublin University]]
[[Category:Members of the 12th Seanad]]
[[Category:Members of the 13th Seanad]]
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[[Category:20th-century women members of Seanad Éireann]]

<!-- Other professional categories -->
[[Category:Irish barristers]]
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<!-- Academic categories -->
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<!-- Women non-ghetto categories, per WP:GHETTO -->
[[Category:Women presidents in Europe]]
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<!-- Award categories -->
[[Category:Fellows of the Royal Scottish Geographical Society]]
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[[Category:Recipients of the Order of Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk]]

<!-- Chronology categories -->
[[Category:20th-century women presidents]]
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