[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 60 (Tuesday, May 16, 2000)]
[Senate]
[Page S4009]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                          ANNUAL BREHON MEDAL

 Mr. SANTORUM. Mr. President, I rise today to recognize 
Ireland's President, Mary McAleese, as she will be awarded the 
prestigious Annual Brehon Medal in Philadelphia today for her 
outstanding contributions to the cause of Ireland throughout the world.
  Born on June 27th, 1951, Mary Leneghan was married in 1976 to Martin 
McAleese, with whom she has three children--Emma, Saramai and Justin.
  After graduating from Queen's University Belfast, Mary McAleese was 
called to the Northern Ireland Bar and practiced primarily criminal and 
family law.
  In 1975, she was appointed Reid Professor of Criminal Law, 
Criminology and Penology at Trinity College Dublin, a position she held 
until 1979 when she joined RTe as a journalist and presenter. She 
returned to the Reid Professorship at Trinity in 1981, while continuing 
with RTe on a part-time basis.
  In 1987, Mary McAleese was appointed Director of the Institute of 
Professional Legal Studies, which trains barristers and solicitors for 
the legal profession in Northern Ireland. In 1994, she was appointed a 
Pro-Vice Chancellor of Queen's University Belfast. Other appointments 
that she has held include Director of Channel 4 Television, Director of 
Northern Ireland Electricity, Director of the Royal Group of Hospitals 
Trust, and delegate to the 1995 White House Conference on Trade and 
Investment in Ireland and follow-up Pittsburgh Conference in 1996. She 
was also a member of the Catholic Church delegation to the North in 
1996, the Commission on Contentious Parades, the Catholic Church 
Episcopal Delegation to the New Ireland Forum in 1984, and was a 
founding member of the Irish Commission for Prisoners Overseas.
  On November 11, 1997, Mary McAleese was inaugurated as the eighth 
President of Ireland. As President, she has demonstrated a sincere 
commitment to promoting Ireland worldwide, and will be recognized for 
her service to Ireland today, May 16, 2000, at the Brehon Law Society's 
annual banquet in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. I would like to welcome 
President McAleese to Philadelphia and extend my sincere 
congratulations on the prestigious honor which she will be receiving 
today.

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