Word: robinsons
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Dates: during 1990-1999
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...Irish call it. A group of 40 people, most of them fit, elderly, dressed in practical tweeds, have gathered in a gracious 19th century drawing room filled with pale sunlight. They are members of the National Association of Tenants' Organizations, a volunteer group, and have been invited by Robinson for a tour and tea. After a few minutes, a tall, handsome woman, dressed in a bright suit that could be described as benign dress for success, enters and, without fanfare, begins her talk...
This is a good-news story. There aren't very many of them in politics these days, but the saga of Mary Robinson is the real thing. Irish public life is the stuff of tragedy or bad jokes. The country is haunted by the division between north and south, by the grim persistence of terrorism, by divisive personal issues such as birth control and abortion, and by recurrent scandals. Charles Haughey, the Taoiseach (Prime Minister) for nine of the past 13 years, was thrown out of office in January when one scandal too many surfaced...
...nonexecutive President, Robinson has little real power; her only crucial role is to intervene if she believes that any proposed legislation is unconstitutional. But immediately upon her election in late 1990, Robinson showed that she understood the enduring importance of symbols. From the candle in the kitchen window -- once a sign of welcome to the "tatiehokers," men who went to Scotland to harvest potatoes -- she has created a highly visible office, representing her countrymen at their best. She is now easily the most popular figure in the country, drawing crowds everywhere in her ceaseless crisscrossing of the land...
...Robinson has virtually created a new office, one with far more clout than the retirement sinecure it had become. Though she barely squeaked in, her popularity standing in a recent poll was around 80%. A lot of it has to do with Irish pride. By opening up the presidential mansion to virtually any group that wants to come, she has nurtured her countrymen's love for their history. By sailing expertly through 25 or 30 public engagements a week, she | is a highly visible symbol of the national character. By visiting Northern Ireland and encouraging travel between the two states...
After her Paris year, Mary went to Trinity College in Dublin to study law. All indications are that she had a good time there. Her mother had bought a Dublin house for her brainy brood (Robinson is the third child and only girl among five) and added a governess to keep order. There were plenty of parties, but according to her brother Henry, "she always got the balance right." After graduation she spent a year at Harvard getting a master's degree at the law school. That was a seismic learning experience...