Northern Ireland

Mary McAleese says sexist remarks 'made me quite determined'

Former President Mary McAleese.
Former President Mary McAleese. Former President Mary McAleese.

FORMER President Mary McAleese has told how sexism was "part and parcel" of her political career and only served to make her more determined.

Mrs McAleese, originally from Ardoyne in north Belfast, served two terms as head of state, from 1997 to 2011.

Speaking on BBC's The View, she revealed she had experienced "cat calling, nasty language and being sneered at because she is a woman".

"Sexism is designed to make you shrink and go away and be silent but it did the opposite with me," she said.

"It made me quite determined to use whatever leverage I have to speak out and call it out."

Her recently released memoir, Here’s the Story, looks at her career in law, politics and her often fractious relationship with the Catholic Church.

In 2018, Mrs McAleese branded the Church's teaching on homosexuality "evil" and described the institution as "an empire of misogyny".

She said she intends to "challenge the magisterium of the Catholic Church - the male bishops who regard themselves as the sole arbiters of the Church's teaching".

"Large chunks of that teaching are appalling," Dr McAleese said.

She recalled how as a schoolgirl, she told a priest that she planned to become a lawyer.

However, she said the priest dismissed the idea, saying she knew no one in the law and she was female.

Mrs McAleese said writing the memoir "reintroduced me to the experiences that formed the warp and weft of my life and Ireland’s changing times".

"The Troubles should never have happened. But they did. Women should never have been second-class citizens in the eyes of Church or state. But they were."

Dr McAleese now lives in Co Roscommon with her husband Martin, and both remain very much involved in civic life.

As President she was tasked with welcoming Queen Elizabeth on her historic visit to Dublin in 2011.

She had had a private meeting before the trip and was able to tell the monarch how "nationalists in Northern Ireland and on the island of Ireland felt".

“Her visit was a long time in the planning but it was genuinely cathartic,” she said.

“With great subtlety and symbolism she healed old wounds and brought about reconciliation.”

Here’s the Story: A Memoir, published by Penguin, was released this week.