FORMER President of Ireland Dr Mary McAleese has been appointed Distinguished Professor in Irish Studies at a leading London university. The appointment at St Mary’s University, Twickenham comes as the Catholic university prepares to celebrate the 165th anniversary of its foundation. St Mary’s has historic links with Ireland and has been home to the Centre for Irish Studies (CIS) for the last 25 years. Dr McAleese, who was President of Ireland between 1997 and 2011, will take up her position in the School of Arts and Humanities in the 2015/16 academic year. “I am delighted to join St Mary’s at an exciting time in its growth and development and look forward to meeting both students and staff, she said. “I particularly look forward to working closely with the excellent team at its Centre for Irish Studies as it researches the continuing development of Anglo-Irish relations. St Mary’s, which has been a focus of Irish life in Britain for 165 years, has an important role to play in this work as we look to the next 100 years of close relations between our two countries.” During Dr McAleese’s presidency, the historic negotiations that led to the Good Friday Agreement in 1998 were reached. At St Mary’s she will teach on the MA Irish Studies programme and in particular its ‘New Perspectives on Irish History’ seminar series. She will also give a keynote conference lecture and take part in a programme of public conversations. In addition, she will give two public lectures at the University’s Centre for Law and Culture while carrying out research. “It’s a huge honour for us to appoint such a distinguished and respected public figure to our staff here at St Mary’s,” said St Mary’s Vice-Chancellor Francis Campbell. “Not only will Dr McAleese be giving us the benefit of her rich experience through her lectures, she will also be directly engaging with our students, which I’ve no doubt will inspire them as they prepare for the next important step in their careers.” Born in Belfast, Dr McAleese is the first President of Ireland to come from the North of Ireland. The theme of her presidency was ‘Building Bridges’ to address issues concerning justice, social equality, social inclusion, anti-sectarianism and reconciliation. Dr McAleese played a major role in the Northern Irish peace process and she hosted Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth in the highly successful British state visit to the Republic of Ireland in May 2011. Next year St Mary’s, the largest Catholic university in Britain, will celebrate 165 years since its foundation in 1850. The university recently appointed Cardinal Vincent Nichols, Head of the Catholic Church in England and Wales, as its Chancellor.
