Michael Davitt (1846-1906), ‘the Father of the Irish Land League’, social reformer, Member of Parliament, international humanitarian, and author, was a great champion of education for the empowerment of men and women. In his book Leaves from a Prison Diary (1885), he deplored the limited educational opportunities for girls and strongly recommended that the system should provide equal opportunities for both genders at all levels.

  Highly intelligent and self-educated to a great extent, Michael Davitt’s reading embraced English literature, history, politics, economics, biographies, and the Bible. His intellectual curiosity turned every experience into a learning opportunity, especially his numerous journeys abroad. Shortly after his arrival in Philadelphia in July 1878, on his first visit abroad following, he explored the historic sites of the city, recording the experience in his diary. He visited Independence Hall, where the American founding fathers signed the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776, and where the US Constitution was adopted on September 17, 1787, Congress Hall, where Congress met from 1790 to 1800 when the city was the first capital of the US, as well as Christ Church, where he saw in the adjacent burial-ground the grave of Benjamin Franklin, who helped draft the US Declaration of Independence and the Constitution. Amongst other sites and places, he also saw the Liberty Bell, which rang out on July 4, 1776, the Free Library, Fairmount Park, and of course, the local prison. Thereafter, he really enjoyed travelling and loved exploring different places, always learning and eager to see how things could be improved in Ireland. He loved reading, writing and when the opportunities arose attending theatres, concerts and operas. According to Dr T. W. Moody, Davitt had some knowledge of French, Spanish, German, Italian and Latin, which is amazing in view of his limited learning opportunities

  Davitt’s biggest intellectual accomplishment was the publication of six books, an enormous achievement having regard to his life and disability (he had to learn to write with his left hand following the amputation of the right one). His six books encapsulate his enormous ability, concentration, dedication and work-rate as well as his desire to disseminate knowledge and ideas for the betterment of society. No other Irish political figure has bequeathed to posterity such a valuable record of contemporary affairs.

  Appreciating the role of education as a source of empowerment for individuals, families, society and the economy, he made several recommendations in his writings for widening access to everyone able and willing to avail of it. After his own experience of the Mechanics’ Institute in Haslingden, England, he had a big interest in the provision of suitable evening courses for working people, and supported the establishment of similar Institutes in Ireland. Michael Davitt believed strongly in the transformative role of education in developing the talents of people, in enhancing their opportunities to earn their livelihoods, in improving their living conditions, as well as enabling them to enjoy social and cultural activities. He deplored the limited educational opportunities then available, and really campaigned all his life for their improvement.

The film Mrs Robinson, directed by Aoife Kelleher and produced by Cormac Hargaden and Trisha Canning for Loosehorse went on general release at the end of August 2024. The film tells the life story of Ireland’s first female Head of State, and of her battles over fifty years for gender equality, human rights, and social justice for all humankind, and in later years for climate justice.

  On December 3, 1990, Mary Robinson, a constitutional lawyer, caused a national and international sensation with her election as the seventh President of Ireland. Born Mary Bourke in Ballina, County Mayo, on May 21, 1944, she was the only daughter in a family of five born to Aubrey Bourke and his wife Tessa, née O’Donnell from Carndonagh, County Donegal, both medical doctors. Mary was educated at Ms Ruddy’s private school in Ballina before going to Mount Anville Secondary School in Dublin, then to a ‘finishing school’ for a year in Paris, before going on to become a distinguished law student at Trinity College, Dublin, the King’s Inns, and Harvard Law School. After qualifying as a barrister, she was appointed Reid professor of constitutional and criminal law in Trinity College, Dublin, at the age of twenty-five. Later, she took a number of high-profile constitutional cases in Ireland as well as to the European Court of Human Rights and the European Court of Justice on issues like women’s right to sit on juries, access to legal aid, the concept of ‘illegitimacy’, decriminalisation of homosexual acts, and discrimination against married women under the social welfare acts, which led to many changes in the law. After her election to Seanad Éireann as a representative of the University of Dublin in November 1969 (a seat she held until July 5, 1989), she promoted the liberalisation of Irish law, and used the chamber to support reform in women’s rights, gender equality, human rights, and social issues in general.

  Following her election as President of Ireland, she paid a special tribute to the women of Ireland, mná na hÉireann. In her inaugural address, she spoke about her ambition to represent ‘a new Ireland: open, tolerant, inclusive’. A very successful and popular president, she completely transformed the conservative nature of the office, using her position to promote inclusiveness and empowerment, especially with voluntary community organisations and minority groups. She reached out to the Irish diaspora, placing a light in the window of the family kitchen in Áras an Uachtaráin as a symbol of her concern for those who had left Ireland, and she made numerous visits to Irish communities around the world. One of her major achievements was to bring the suffering of the people of Rwanda to world attention in October 1995 after a terrible civil war in that part of central Africa. In May 1993, Mary Robinson visited Queen Elizabeth in Buckingham Palace, the first official meeting between the Irish and British Heads of State since Irish independence in 1922. She insisted on being addressed by her correct constitutional title, President of Ireland. Her single presidential term ended on September 12, 1997, when she resigned to become United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, a position she held until September 12, 2002. In her United Nations’ role, she visited numerous countries promoting human rights, including China, and was courageous in ‘speaking truth to power’, wherever she saw abuse.

  For eight years after leaving the United Nations post, Mary Robinson led ‘Realizing’, an organisation pioneering the implementation of economic and social rights, especially in African countries. She established the Mary Robinson Foundation — Climate Justice in 2010, addressing how people are affected by climate change, and became a world champion for climate justice. In 2014, she was appointed as the United Nations special envoy on climate change and later to a number of other posts. Mary Robinson has served as Chancellor of the University of Dublin and as honorary President of Oxfam. She received numerous honorary degrees, awards and honours, including, in July 2009, the Presidential Medal of Freedom from President Obama, the highest civilian honour awarded by the USA. In 2007, she was invited to join a group to be known as The Elders, a small number of independent world leaders brought together by Nelson Mandela to foster reconciliation, respect for human rights, and hope wherever there is conflict in the world, and she is now its influential moral leader. In the film, she recalls these battles over her lifetime in her own words. Bono and Irish songwriters Gemma Doherty and Morgan Mac Intyre contributed a special song for the film’s soundtrack ‘Women of the World’.