Material relating to press coverage of President Mary Robinson (MR), 1996, including fax from Trina Vargo, office of Edward M Kennedy, US Senator for Massachusetts, in relation to call he received from Irish reporter asking if he was backing MR for job as United Nations Secretary General (UNSG), and his quoted response, 15/04/1996; transcript of interview MR did on "The Today Programme", BBC Radio Four, faxed to Bride Rosney (BR), Special Adviser to the President, by Derek Keenan, Irish Embassy, London, 07/06/1996; fax from Adrian O'Neill, Press Officer, Embassy of Ireland, Washington DC, USA, which includes copy of article written by Hillary Rodham Clinton, on visit of MR to White House following week, 10/06/1996; typed letter from Fr Sean McDonagh, Missionary Society of St Columban, which was attached to article on MR being tipped as next UNSG, in "The Tablet", and copy of thank-you letter from MR, 15-27/06/1996; two typed letters from Erskine Childers, Secretary General, World Federation of United Nations Associations, to BR, the first in relation to MR agreeing to record a message for the WFUNA 50th Anniversary Congress, and the second in relation to Paddy Prenderhill, Phoenix Magazine questioning him about whether MR was interested in UNSG post, with Childers calling Prenderhill "one artful dodger", and referencing article in Phoenix by Prenderhill, with response from BR thanking him for material he had sent and referring to his concerns on article "all of us read articles from that source with about 2kgs of salt!", 16-24/06/1995; typed letter from Bill Flynn, Chairman of the Board, Mutual of America, in relation to an article in the Sunday Independent by Jody Cochran, relating to the UNSG role, MR's candidacy and that of former Taoiseach Albert Reynolds, which was misleading and gave incorrect impression of his opinion of MR, 26/09/1996; faxed correspondence in relation to US Representative Chris Smith's comments on MR's unsuitability for UNSG, including official response that MR did not regard herself as a candidate and off the record comment from Peter Ryan, Secretary to the President, on MR's popularity in Ireland and her ability to build consensus, 25-26/09/1996.
Ref: P143/4/8/1/8