Meathman's Diary: The wearing of the green!
The president, the pope, and the Meath priest
With all the fuss about President Joe Biden having to step down as the Democrat candidate in the upcoming US elections, one could be forgiven for thinking that once you hit 80 or so, you were past it. Not so in the case of Mary Robinson, the former President of Ireland, who is still challenging the inequalities and injustices of this world, almost three decades after she departed Aras an Úachtaran.
It is hard for a younger generation now to understand what a stuffy aul' post that the President of Ireland was regarded as previous to Mary Robinson's election in 1990. It was ground breaking, followed by 14 years of Mary McAleese, who continued that use of the presidency as a symbol of a changing Ireland.
A new film, 'Mrs Robinson', directed by Aoife Kelleher, going on general release this month, looks back at the career of Mary Robinson.
A reforming constitutional lawyer and senator, Robinson detonated an electoral earthquake in 1990. Later, as a crusading UN High Commissioner, she built a lasting legacy, challenging perpetrators of human rights abuses all over the world.
To this day, she exerts power and leadership as the Chair of The Elders, an independent group of global leaders, founded by Nelson Mandela, who work for peace, justice and human rights. Robinson is also spearheading Project Dandelion, a women-led climate justice campaign.
Mary Robinson and Aoife Kelleher attended a preview screening of the film in the IFI Cinema in Dublin last week, where they were interviewed by Justine McCarthy of the Irish Times. Although it doesn't feature in the film, McCarthy recalled an episode when Mrs Robinson visited the Vatican to meet Pope John Paul II, in 1997. Breaking with the tradition that calls for guests to wear black or dark clothing, Robinson chose a green suit, adorned with a sprig of mimosa to mark International Women's Day. She also chose not to wear any head covering.
At first the President's choice of clothing prompted no particular notice. But then Boyerstown native Fr David O'Hanlon of the Meath Diocese, who was ordained in 1995 and was studying in Rome, wrote to the Irish Times criticising the style of the Irish president's visit and calling her "cheap." His letter provoked an angry response. Ten priests and a bishop delivered their own response to the Irish Times. The lively exchange continued for weeks.
The age profile at the screening last week was quite young, and one wonders what they would have made of the spat. But unfortunately, Kelleher had no room for it in the film, nor had she time to mention Brian Lenihan's phone calls to the Aras fiasco of that 1990 presidential election (but the misogynistic Padraig Flynn did get a look in!), a crisis created by another native of O'Hanlon's home parish, Jim Duffy of Bohermeen, and his tape recordings of Lenihan.
If it all seems like ancient history now, thankfully that’s because it is.