Material relating to the convening of the Council of State to examine the Criminal Justice Public Order Bill, 1993, following summoning to do so by President Mary Robinson (MR), including memo from Peter Ryan (PR), Secretary to the President, on the background of the Bill and the areas of concern, 07/12/1993; letters from the public to MR voicing concerns that the Bill would infringe upon rights of those to preach the gospel on the streets "Street Evangelism", including handwritten letter from Eugene Dunne, Blackrock, Co. Dublin, where he lists the names and ages of his children, 28/11/1993, typed letter from Rev David Clements, Woodvale Methodist Church, Belfast, Northern Ireland, 26/11/1993, handwritten letter from Ms Nancy Keelik, Cork, 07/12/1993, The Reverend Tony Simpson, Pastor, Cork 07/12/1993, typed letter signed by Church officers of Cork Baptist Church, 08/12/1993; typed letter of concern signed by representatives of Laois Peace and Justice Group, Irish National Congress (Laois Branch), Laois Resource Group, Environmental Action Alliance-Ireland, Laois Unemployment Alliance and Hillview Drive Residents and Tenants Association, 14/12/1993; memo from PR to MR on schedule of presentation for signature of Bill, and on Irish Press article which "disappointingly quoted 'sources'", 09/02/1993; transcript of discussion [possibly at Committee stage of Bill in Dáil Éireann/Seanad Éireann], 23/02/1994; office Council of State notice convening meeting for 1st March, 1994; typed brief from Dr Whitaker sent in prior to meeting with cover note from PR, 28/02/1994; Dáil Éireann Parliamentary Debates Official report - unrevised, for Select Committee on Legislation and Security. 14th, 15th and 20th September 1994, with pages marked and passages highlighted; copy of Criminal Justice (Public Order) Bill, 1993 as initiated [No. 36 of 1993], as passed by Dáil Éireann [No. 36b of 1993] and as passed by both Houses of the Oireachtas [No. 36c of 1993]; list of members of Council of State; minutes for 17th Meeting of the Council of State, Council of State Room, 01/03/1994; report on meeting, 02/03/1994.

Ref: P143/4/14/12/2

Report on 19th meeting of the Council of State, Council of State Room, on 16 March 1995, which was convened to allow President Mary Robinson to consult with the Council on whether or not to refer to the Supreme Court the Regulation of Information (Services outside the State for Termination of Pregnancies) Bill, 1995, signed on 31 January 1996, by the President.

Ref: P143/4/14/12/3

Material relating to the convening of the Council of State to examine the Employment Equality Bill, 1996, following summoning to do so by President Mary Robinson (MR), including letters from organisations and the public to MR voicing concerns with the Bill. It includes correspondence from The Campaign to Separate Church and State who felt section 37 of the Bill was unconstitutional and incompatible with Ireland's obligations in international law, 02/1997, typed letter expressing concerns the Bill gave powers to religious organisations to refuse employment to a teacher or nurse or admission to a child to protect the religious ethos of the organisation, 27/02/1997 and photocopies of other anonymised handwritten communication; correspondence from the Equality Campaign in relation to the Bill, concerns they had, and their belief it would be in the public interest to refer sections of the Bill to the Supreme Court, 17-26/02/1997; transcript of Seanad Éireann Employment Equality Bill, 1996: Committee Stage (Resumed), 12th March and report stage, 12th March; memo from Peter Ryan (PR), Secretary to the President, in relation to arguments for and against referral of the Bill to the Supreme Court, 19/03/1997; photocopies of Employment Equality Bill, 1996 as passed by both Houses of the Oireachtas; memos from PR of action to be taken if Bill was or was not being referred, along with draft press releases covering both possibilities, [March?], 1997 and in relation to draft schedule for Council of State Meeting and notice convening it, 21/03-01/04/1997; typed agenda and seating arrangements for meeting of Council of State, 01/04/1997, and seating plan for formal photograph; fax of draft report of meeting, sent from PR to MR, 01/04/1997; photocopy of faxed letter from Dr Michael McKillen, to MR pushing for MR to refer the bill to the Supreme Court, 01/04/1997; letter from Geraldine O'Farrell FitzGerald with note she was asked to write it by Board of Management Members when applying for a job as a National School teacher, and letter dating from 1995 from her husband where he stated that allegations about his private life [that he was a Jehovah's Witness] which he claimed were circulating and false could have bearing on his wife's application, faxed with cover note from PR, 02/04/1997; cutting from Irish Times, 02/04/1997 of photograph of Council of State, and articles on the convening of the Council.

Ref: P143/4/14/12/4

Material relating to the convening of the Council of State to examine the Equal Status Bill, 1997, following summoning to do so by President Mary Robinson (MR), including memo from Peter Ryan (PR), Secretary to the Government, to MR attaching draft schedule and draft press release for meeting, 29/04/1997; photocopies of discussion in Dáil Éireann on Equal Status Bill, 1997, second stage, 27th February 1997, in Seanad Éireann, second state and committee stage, 15th, 17th April 1997; transcript from Seanad Éireann on Equal Status Bill, 1997, Report and Final Stages, [17?]/04/1997; photocopies of Equal Status Bill, 1997 as passed by both Houses of the Oireachtas and Explanatory and Financial Memorandum; typed agenda and seating arrangements for meeting of Council of State, 06/05/1997, and seating plan for formal photograph; letter from Campaign to Separate Church and State, raising concerns over the Bill, with cover note from PR in which he noted he would circulate letter to Council of State members, 05-06/05/1997; minutes of 21st meeting of the Council of State, Council of State Room, 6th May, signed by MR 12/05/1997; correspondence between Dr TK Whitaker and Mr Gerard Hogan, Barrister at Law, on whether if a Bill were referred for judgement by the Supreme Court on a section only, whether their judgement affected the whole Bill, 04/04-06/05/1997; report on meeting of 21st meeting of the Council of State, 06/05/1997.

Ref: P143/4/14/12/5

Indices to Supreme Court and High Court written judgements, 1976-1989 (P143/4/14/13/1), 1990-1992 and 1996 (P143/4/14/13/2), compiled for the Bar Council and Incorporated Law Society; copies of "Gazette" newsletter, giving summaries of Irish cases, December 1977 - July/August 1992 (P143/4/14/13/3) and selected Employment Appeals Tribunal Cases, supplement to the "Gazette", 1978-1982, 1987-1988 (P143/4/14/13/4).

This material was kept together based on pre-existing arrangement and overlaps with Legal Series P143/1. It is unclear whether it was gathered during Mary Robinson’s presidential term or prior to it.

Ref: P143/4/14/13

Documents relating to former President of Ireland Cearbhaill Ó Dálaigh resigning from office (22/10/1976) and letter of apology from then Minister for Defence [Patrick S Donegan] for calling him a "Thundering Disgrace"(19/10/1976), 19/07-09/11/1976; photocopy of final draft of report of inter-departmental committee on "President's Allowance", Department of the Taoiseach, September 1978.

Ref: P143/4/15/1

Photocopy of brief on role of President of Ireland, "Uachtarán na hÉireann" [President of Ireland], dated 7th November 1990, the day Mary Robinson was announced as winner of Presidential election; briefing documentation on Acts of the Oireachtas which refer to the President [11/1990?].

Ref: P143/4/15/2

Photocopy of faxed partial transcript of Dáil Éireann [lower House of Irish Parliament] debate [parliamentary questions] where An Taoiseach [Albert Reynolds] was asked about the powers of the President and the requirement for her to get cabinet approval even to go on private holiday abroad, 19/02/1992; photocopy of chapter eight of unidentified book on the X Case [a constitutional case on whether a 14-year-old girl who had become pregnant as a result of rape could access abortion in the United Kingdom (see P143/4/6/1/3/1 and P143/4/6/4/3)], which examined specifically the role of Mary Robinson in the case, opining that she was in breach of the constitution when she spoke which may have affected the outcome.

Ref: P143/4/15/3

Material relating to an invite from The Ford Foundation to President Mary Robinson (MR) to serve as co-chair of an Independent Working Group on the Future of the United Nations, the Irish Government's refusal based on legal advice from the Attorney General, and subsequent correspondence relating to MR seeking out independent legal advice. It includes photocopy of the invite from the Ford Foundation, 17/11/1993; photocopy of letter from MR to Taoiseach Charles Haughey, 24/07/1991, in which she refers to the legal opinion received by Government previously which she felt focussed too narrowly on certain subsections of the Constitution relating to the Office of the President, and which includes the opinion of the Attorney General on "the Constitutional Freedom of the President of Ireland", 31/05/1991; briefing material ahead of meeting between MR and Taoiseach to discuss the invite, 13/12/1993; correspondence between MR, Peter Ryan (PR), Secretary to the Government, Frank Murray, Secretary to the Government, and Brian McCarthy, Assistant Secretary to the Government in relation to Government's decision not to allow MR accept invite, as well as to source of leaks of the discussions to the Press, and MR's intention to seek legal advice independently on role of President, 13-30/12/1993; correspondence between PR and MR on seeking further legal opinion, and draft documents prepared for "Request for Advice", 21-[23?]/12/1993; copy of letters sent by PR to Mr Frank Clarke, SC [Senior Counsel], and Mr Gerry Durcan, Barrister at Law in relation to request for advice sought, 30/12/1993; photocopies of articles in The Irish Times and The Irish Independent on Government's refusal to allow MR accept invitation, 12/1993.

Ref: P143/4/15/4

Material relating to an invite from The Ford Foundation to President Mary Robinson to serve as co-chair of an Independent Working Group on the Future of the United Nations, the Irish Government's refusal based on legal advice from the Attorney General, and subsequent correspondence relating to MR seeking out independent legal advice. It includes two copies of official Legal Opinion (Querist: "The President of Ireland Mrs Mary Robinson, Subject: "The function and role of the President under the provisions of the Constitution", signed by Mr Frank Clarke, SC [Senior Counsel], and Mr Gerry Durcan, Barrister at Law, 17/01/1994; two copies of Supplementary Legal Opinion (subject: The validity of a decision of the Government that the President should not accept an invitation to serve as co-chair of an Independent Working Group on the Future of the United Nations", signed by Clarke and Durcan, 17/01/1994; drafts of opinions with notation; correspondence between Peter Ryan (PR), Secretary to the President and Frank Murray (FM), Secretary to the Government in relation to the Legal Opinion of 17th January and requesting final decision on invite, 17-20/01/1994; correspondence between Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs, Dick Spring, and MR including drafts, in relation to Government's decision not to allow MR accept invitation, 20/01/1994; briefing note with notations for meeting with Taoiseach, 21/01/1994; photocopies of correspondence between PR and FM in relation to and including transcripts of comments and questions in the Dáil on the controversy, and photocopies of articles in the press, 17-24/02/1994.

Ref: P143/4/15/5