This collection consists of material relating to Mary Robinson’s work from 1967-2024 and includes material covering her time as a barrister, legislator, senator, professor, President of Ireland, United Nations (UN) High Commissioner of Human Rights, UN Special Envoy for the Great Lakes, UN Special Envoy for Climate Change and El Niño, founding member and Chair of the Elders, founder of Realizing Rights - The Ethical Globalization Initiative, and founder of the Mary Robinson Foundation - Climate Justice (MRFCJ). It also includes material relating to her work as board member, patron and/or honorary president of numerous organisations and charities.

The archive includes material relating to many ground-breaking and precedent-setting achievements and events of great historical significance both nationally and internationally. From her inaugural address as the first female auditor at Trinity College Dublin Law society in 1967, through to the setting up of her own foundation (MRFCJ), a common theme across all of Robinson’s work is her drive to raise awareness of and protect the Human Rights of the individual and ensure their access to Justice when these rights have been violated.

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