Correspondence between Kay Gleeson, former Personnel Office while Mary Robison (MR) was President, and MR referring to the transfer of gift items received by MR while president to the Department of the Taoiseach and enclosing copy of the memorandum submitted by the Taoiseach Bertie Ahern to the Government at meeting on 23 July 1999, 26/07-19/08/1999.

Ref: P143/4/13/10

Various Bills presented to President Mary Robinson (MR) for signature with some additional related material including Referendum (Amendment) Bill, 1992, with cover note from Peter Ryan (PR), Secretary to the President, attaching a fax from Senator Brendan Ryan, suggesting that Section 2 may be in breach of the Constitution, 15-18/05/1992; Eleventh Amendment of the Constitution Bill, 1992 [permitted the State to ratify the Treaty on European Union, commonly known as the Maastricht Treaty], 15/05/1992, and photocopy of translated Bill ratifying the Treaty, November 1992; Local Government (Planning and Development) Bill, 1993, with cover letter from PR enclosing submission from Ms Geraldine O'Brien, Cork Environmental Alliance, 02/04-10/07/1992; Health (Family Planning) (Amendment) Bill, 1992, with letter from Mr David Munro suggesting MR refer it to Supreme Court, 15-20/07/1992; Presidential Elections Bill, 1993, 18-22/11/1993; photocopy of proclamation by MR fixing 17 Feb 1993 for first meeting of Seanad Éireann [Irish Senate] following General Election, 10-11/02/1993; photocopy of translation of nomination by MR of Gearóid Ó Cléirigh as Plenipotentiary, giving him "Full Powers and Authority" to sign the Convention on Jurisdiction and the Enforcement of Judgements in Civil and Commercial Matters, July 1993; photocopy of draft translation of ratification of Act amending the Protocol on the statute of the European Investment Bank empowering the Board of Governors to establish the European Investment Fund, 1993; copy of nomination by MR of Albert Reynolds, Taoiseach, Dick Spring, Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Pádraic McKernan, Permanent Representative of Ireland at the European Union as Plenipotentiaries in relation to Treaty concerning accession of Kingdom of Norway, Republic of Austria, Republic of Finland and Kingdom of Sweden to European Union, June 1994, and copy of ratification, November 1994; photocopy of draft acceptance by MR of retirement of Pádraig L Mac Domhnaill (Patrick L McDonnell, Comptroller and Auditor General), July 1994; material relating to Regulation of Information (Services Outside the State for Termination of Pregnancies), Bill, 1995, including photocopy of Supreme Court decision Bill was not repugnant to the Constitution, with cover letter from by Liam Hamilton, Chief Justice, and photocopy of MR's declaration she had signed Bill following their decision, 12/05/1995.

Ref: P143/4/14/6

Letters from VIPs to President Mary Robinson (MR) during and related to her presidency and arranged chronologically by year. Also includes a folder of responses to letter sent by MR to over 80 Heads of State calling for assistance for Rwanda following genocide against minority Tutsi population in 1994 (P143/6/3/7).

Ref: P143/4/6/3

Letters from VIPs to President Mary Robinson, 1990 including letter from Frank McDonald, The Irish Times, congratulating MR on winning election, enclosing article he wrote on Áras an Uachtaráin [the official residence of the President of Ireland] and asking her to "keep the Fifties powder room!", 09/11/1990; letter of congratulations from The Hon Wendy Fatin MP, Minister for Local Government and Minister Assisting the Prime Minister for the Status of Women, Canberra, Australia, 16/11/1990; card with pressed flowers on front, with handwritten message from Éamon de Buitléar [Irish writer, musician and film maker] to MR in Irish and English, wishing her long life and best wishes, 11/1990; handwritten letter from Gordon Wilson, thanking MR for inviting him to her inauguration, for all she stood for, for being her and stating "I was moved beyond words. Keep spreading the love", 06/12/1990; typed letter of thanks from Séamus Heaney [Irish poet, playwright and Nobel Prize winner], thanking her for the honour of the invitation to the inauguration, and noting in handwritten postscript "Trust the poet to miss the obvious: the big incandescence was to be quoted so aptly and centrally. Grandeus grandeo!", 19/12/1990.

[Archivist's note: Gordon Wilson, a draper from Enniskillen, County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland, survived the IRA bombing at Enniskillen, 08/11/1987, but lost his daughter, Marie, who died from her injuries. He became known internationally as a peace campaigner.]

Ref: P143/4/6/3/1

Letters to and from VIPs to President Mary Robinson (MR), 1990-1997 (no dates given) including handwritten letter from Gary White Deer, Elder of Choctaw Nation, thanking MR for loan of painting "Brave Hearts Must Travel" which he used during tour of Ireland; Christmas card from Graham Turley, featuring photograph of Turley, his wife, Irish Journalist Veronica Guerin [murdered in a contract killing believed to have been ordered by a South Dublin-based drug cartel, in June 1996] and their son Cathal, [12/1996?]; compliment slip from Secretary General of United Nations Boutros Boutros-Ghali, thanking MR for her support of the UN.

Ref: P143/4/6/3/10

Letters from VIPs to President Mary Robinson, 1991 including two photocopies of letter from His Holiness, The Dalai Lama stating how happy he was that they had the opportunity to meet during his visit, "in spite of the pressure on you against such a meeting", referring to his visits to England and the United States and noting the growing awareness and support for the Tibetan struggle, 25/04/1991; typed letter on headed paper from Éamon de Buitléar, [writer, musician and filmmaker], thanking MR for invite to lunch at Árus [Áras an Uachtaráin, the official residence of the President of Ireland], and referring to her plans to improving her Irish, and for "The Story of the Árus", to be written, 29/01/1991.

Ref: P143/4/6/3/2

Letters from VIPs to President Mary Robinson (MR), 1992 including typed letter from Brian Friel [Irish dramatist], thanking MR for her speech at the "I.C.E.M. ceremony", 12/02/1992; handwritten letter in Irish from Dr Kenneth Whitaker, Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies, thanking MR for presenting an award to An Dochtúir [Dr] Mac Conaill, 14/03/1992; typed letter from Madeline Reid, wife/partner to Keith McBean, on their return to Ireland from India for his new posting as a First Secretary, and the work she was finishing up first including with an Indian NGO "Working Women's Forum", 24/03/1992; typed postcard from Rita Childers, widow of former President of Ireland Erskine Childers, congratulating MR on the good working relationship she enjoyed with the Government, as per news article enclosed, with typed draft response, 21/04-11/05/1992; handwritten letter from Séamus Heaney [Irish poet, playwright and Nobel Prize winner] to MR referring to her press conference [following visit to Somalia], congratulating her on it being "electrifying", and referring to her use of lines from his poem "Cure at Troy", noting it had given them "such currency", and stating "I was caught between a well behaved 'aw shucks' and an inclination to stand out on Strand Road asking passersby if they'd heard what the President said in the States", 09/10/1992; typed letter from Cardinal Cahal Daly, Archbishop of Armagh, expressing admiration "for the great courage and compassion which [she] showed by her visit to Somalia", with response from MR, 07-12/10/1992.

Ref: P143/4/6/3/3

Letters to and from VIPs to President Mary Robinson, 1993 including handwritten letter from Harry Whelehan, then Attorney General, thanking MR that he was still a member of her Council of State "an ex-officio position", noting the 13th anniversary of both of them being called to the Inner Bar, was approaching and suggesting a group assemble for a dinner/lunch to celebrate, 15/01/1993; typed letter to Lord Revelstoke, thanking him for invitation to visit Lambay Island the following spring (1994), and referring to the unique architectural heritage of Lambay Castle, including wing added by architect Edwin Lutyens, 19/10/1993.

Ref: P143/4/6/3/4

Letters from VIPs to President Mary Robinson (MR), 1994 including handwritten letter from Harry Whelehan, then Attorney General, thanking MR for making space in her schedule for lunch and congratulating her on what he believed was a successful trip to the United States of America, 11/03/1994; handwritten letter from Máirín Lynch, wife of Jack Lynch, former Taoiseach, thanking MR for bouquet of get-well flowers she sent, which Máirín noted were in his favourite Cork colours [red and white], 21/03/1994; correspondence between Pope John Paul II, MR, Emmanuel Gerada, Apostolic Nuncio and Aidan O'Hara, Assistant Chief of Protocol, Department of Foreign Affairs, in relation to Ireland's input into International Conference on Population and Development, and the Catholic Church's "Year of the Family", 19/03-14/08/1994; typed letter from Elizabeth Smith, widow of British Labour Party politician and leader of the party, John Smith, who had passed away on 12th May 1994, thanking MR for her letter of condolence, with photocopy of MR's letter, 12-14/11/1994; typed letter from Dr Hans Küng [a Swiss Catholic priest, theologian, and author], thanking MR for a "sympathetic provisional answer with regard to a statement on the Declaration >>Towards A Global Ethic<<, promulgated by the Parliament of the World's Religions", 21/11/1994.

Ref: P143/4/6/3/5

Letters from VIPs to President Mary Robinson (MR), 1995 including handwritten letter from Shaharyar M Khan, United Nations Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Rwanda, thanking MR for her "new years greetings", noting she "left such a deep imprint on all of us in Rwanda" during her 1994 visit, and enclosing a personal diary he had written of his experiences in Rwanda, which referenced her *(see archivist's note),[01?/1995]; typed letter of thanks from Senator Edward Kennedy following condolences MR sent on death the previous month of his mother, Rose Kennedy (née FitzGerald), 10/02/1995; photocopy of fax sent by Richard Jolly, Acting Executive Director, UNICEF, thanking MR for condolences sent on death of Executive Director James P Grant, and referring to Grant speaking of MR and her visit the previous year to Somalia, the first Head of State or Government to do so, 20/02/1995; handwritten letter from Monica Barnes tendering her resignation as a member of the Council of State, and thanking MR for opportunity "during one of the most interesting periods of this Council", 07/04/1995; photocopies of faxed correspondence from Embassy of Ireland, Washington DC, USA, relating to push by Senator Edward Kennedy and other members of US Congress to have the Speaker, Newt Gingrich, invite MR to address a Joint Meeting of Congress, 21/07-06/09/1995; typed letter from United Nations Secretary General, Boutros Boutros-Ghali to MR, following the World Summit for Social Development, Copenhagen, requesting designation of a focal point in Irish Government with whom the UN Secretariat could be in contact, and welcoming MR's personal views, 28/07/1995; typed letter and photocopy of same, from former US President Jimmy Carter to MR, in relation to lunch MR hosted for him and wife Rosalynn during their visit to Ireland, and noting they hoped to return soon, 15/08/1995; typed letter from William Smith, Northern Co-ordinator of the Shankhill/Belfast-Shankhill/Dublin Project, thanking MR for wonderful reception at Áras an Uachtaráin [the official residence of the President of Ireland], and noting the project "is a shining example of what can be done between our two countries", 29/08/1995; photocopy of typed letter from President of the Republic of Hungary, Árpád Göncz, thanking MR for her letter of congratulations on his re-election as president, 09/1995; typed letter from Tony Blair, leader of the British Labour party [later became Prime Minister], thanking MR for taking time to meet him and Marjorie Mowlam [Secretary of State for Northern Ireland] at "a very sensitive and difficult time in the peace process", noting he enjoyed the meeting and would continue to support efforts of all concerned in reaching settlement, 13/09/1995; photocopy of letter from Queen Noor, Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, thanking MR for responding to her appeal to try to alleviate suffering of people of Bosnia Herzegovina (see P143/4/6/2/3), sent through the Jordanian embassy in London, 10/1995-08/11/1995; typed letter from Shaharyar M Khan, Special Representative of the Secretary General, United Nations Assistance Mission to Rwanda, apologising for being unable to surface during MR's visit to Rwanda, after being stricken with Malaria, and thanking MR for being the only "Head of State who has seen the shattered Rwanda of last year and the current signs of recovery", 11/10/1995; typed letter from Jack Valenti, President and Chief Executive Officer, Motion Picture Association of America Inc., thanking her for her visit, 20/10/1995; typed letter from Lord Howe [Sir Geoffrey Howe, former Deputy Prime Minister of UK], thanking MR for sending copy of her Herman Phleger lecture at Stanford University, and referring to Peace Process and Round Table Seminar he was going to be attending in Ireland, 13/11/1995; typed letter from Vigdís Finnbogadóttir, President of Iceland, with handwritten note, referring to telephone call between her and MR, and referring to the International Women's Leadership Forum taking place in Stockholm in May 1996, and Robinson's visit to Iceland in Spring 1996, 17/11/1995; typed letter from United Nations Secretary General Boutros Boutros-Ghali stating on record his deep appreciation for Ireland's steadfast support for the UN since Ireland became a member in 1955, on occasion of Conference of the Irish United Nations Association, held to mark 50th anniversary of UN, 01/12/1995; typed letter from US President Bill Clinton, following warm reception on his visit to Ireland, and applauding work of Irish and UK Governments towards peace in Northern Ireland, with handwritten note, stating he was looking forward to her visit to US the following year, 04/12/1995; typed letter from President F W De Klerk, South Africa, thanking MR for hospitality shown during his visit to Ireland with wife Marike, 08/12/1995; typed letter of thanks from Frank Longford, 7th Earl of Longford [British politician and social reformer], for message sent by MR, most likely following his 90th birthday, 19/12/1995; typed letter from John Major, Prime Minister, United Kingdom, officially inviting MR to UK as guest of British Government, June of 1996, and noting the substantial progress on Northern Ireland, 21/12/1995; typed letter from Pasteur Bizimungu, President of the Republic of Rwanda, thanking MR for her visit, and "rare gesture of solidarity to have visited Rwanda for the second time within the same year", sent via the Embassies of Rwanda and Ireland, in London, 27/12/1995.

[Archivist's note: Khan worked as Special Representative from 1994-1996. His experiences there, both during and after the genocide and refugee crisis, prompted his book "Shallow Graves of Rwanda", which may have featured some of this diary. He died 23/03/2024.]