Mary Robinson: The Authorised Biography Book

Political skill lies sometimes less in the belief that one can mould one's times, than in recognising the point at which things are changing for the better and becoming the channel through which events flow. Mary Robinson could not single-handedly have changed Ireland into a progressive and increasingly secular society; her genius was to see where and how the Catholic Church and a traditional establishment had lost touch with popular sentiment. This applied in a number of areas, many of them to do with sex; Robinson's campaign for the presidency was an initiative for women's rights and gay rights as much as a bid for power. It was also a bid for human rights-- Robinson met the Dalai Lama against the wishes of pro-China politicians. By tact and charm, she helped create a climate in which a peace process could begin; she put herself in the right places--Warrington, Belfast--at the right times. The strength of this biography is that it clarifies just how much she made her period as President of the Irish Republic matter; its account of her earlier life as lawyer and mother is unexciting by comparison, except inasmuch as it helps refute hostile claims. --Roz KaveneyRead More