Contact: Colleen Roche/Jack Deacy (212) 788-2958
Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani today honored Irish President Mary McAleese at a luncheon at Gracie Mansion. The Irish President is on her first official visit to the United States since her inauguration on November 11th, 1997.
Joining the Mayor at the luncheon were Dr. Martin McAleese, the President's husband; Irish Ambassador to the United States Sean O'Huiggin, Irish Consul General Barrie Robinson, Former Governor Hugh Carey, Pulitzer Prize-winning writer Frank McCourt and Tony Award-winning director Gary Hynes.
"Already this year, the Good Friday agreements have marked a success in this mission that most people wouldn't have dared to hope. After decades of dreaming, the first stable bridges are being built between the Protestants and Catholics in the North and the people of Ireland in the South," the Mayor said. "But there is another bridge we are here to celebrate today, one that connects Ireland and the City of New York, spanning oceans and generations - a bridge of kinship and communication that has been well-traveled over the centuries."
"New York's Irish immigrants and their descendants did much of the heavy lifting that literally built the City. But Irish-New Yorkers didn't only help build our skyscrapers and corporations - with a litany of famous names too numerous to mention, they built the modern idea of New York as a unique place of opportunity and community - a home away from home for all the people of the world," the Mayor concluded.
Mary McAleese was born on June 27, 1951. After graduating from Queen's University in Belfast, she was called to the Northern Ireland Bar and practiced mainly criminal and family law. Appointed Reid Professor in 1975, she taught Criminal Law, Criminology and Penology at Trinity College in Dublin. In 1987, Ms. McAleese was appointed Director of the Institute of Professional Legal Studies. In 1994, she was appointed a Pro-Vice Chancellor of Queen's University in Belfast. Ms. McAleese also held appointments as Delegate to the 1995 White House Conference on Trade and Investment in Ireland and its follow up Conference in Pittsburg in 1996, member of the Catholic Church Episcopal delegation to the New Ireland Forum, and founder member of the Irish Commission for Prisoners Overseas. On November 11, 1997, Mary McAleese was inaugurated as the eighth President of Ireland.