Newspaper cutting from "Hufvudstadsbladet", a Finnish newspaper, reporting on meeting of President Martti Ahtisaari for a work lunch with President Robinson in Dublin, 15/05/1996.

Ref: P143/4/5/2/6

This subsubseries consists of material relating to visits by Mary Robinson abroad, including state and official visits as President of Ireland, as well as visits in a private capacity. Visits taken, in some cases multiple times, included to the following: Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Chile, China, Germany, France, Hong Kong, Hungary, India, Italy and the Holy See, Japan, Malta, The Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Republic of Zambia, Republic of Zimbabwe, Rwanda, Spain, Somalia, South Africa, Sudan, Switzerland, United Kingdom (see archivist's note), United Republic of Tanzania, United States of America, Ugandan and Zaire. She was accompanied on many trips by her husband, Nick Robinson (NR) and some of the information booklets here were his copies. The material is arranged by decade and includes briefing documentation, correspondence, menus and invites with press cuttings at end of each section.

[Archivist's Note: Visits to Northern Ireland, while technically part of the United Kingdom (UK), were treated differently than for the rest of the UK - for political reasons these were never labelled as State or Official visits, since Articles 2 and 3 of the Irish constitution, in place since 1937, referenced a territorial claim on Northern Ireland. During the Good Friday Agreement in 1998, shortly following the end of MR's term, Ireland rescinded its territorial claim as part of negotiations. During MR's presidency there was a large minority in Northern Ireland who considered MR their President, and during her Presidency she would visit Northern Ireland 17 times (see also P143/4/16).]

Ref: P143/4/5/3

Official ringbound information handbook for visit by President Mary Robinson (MR) to Oslo to attend funeral of King of Norway, 30 Jan 1991 including details of delegation, programme, protocol and useful contacts; photocopy of press release announcing MR and Nick Robinson's State visit to Portugal, from 4th-6th June 1991, 18/04/1991; correspondence from the Attorney General to the Taoiseach, Charles J Haughey, which was then forwarded to Thelma Doran, Chief of Protocol Department of Foreign Affairs, and Peter Ryan, Secretary to the President, in relation to MR's visit to Britain suggesting that "Foreign Affairs (or if appropriate the President's staff) should ensure that at each of her engagements the President is described and referred to as the President of Ireland rather than the President of the 'Republic of Ireland' which, as you know, is the name the British law erroneously purports to give this State." 06-08/05/1991; material relating to an address MR was giving at Berkeley (where she received the Berkeley Medal) during a visit to the United States, which raised concerns including about Head of State acting as an advocate for third world aid, which was allayed with re-drafting of speech (included), 08/10/1991.

Ref: P143/4/5/3/1/1

Photocopy of article in the Irish Times on President Robinson's 10-day tour to the United States, the first visit by a serving President of Ireland since President Éamon de Valera attended the funeral of John F Kennedy, in 1963.

Ref: P143/4/5/3/1/2