Former President of Ireland Mary McAleese has been elected chancellor of Trinity, after running unopposed for the position.
The Irish Times has reported that McAleese will take over the post from Mary Robinson, also a former Irish president, who occupied the position since 1998, when she became the first woman elected chancellor in the history of the university.
McAleese, who became the youngest-ever person appointed Trinity’s Reid Professor of Criminal Law in 1975, was the only person whose name was put forward for the chancellorship after nominations closed on Wednesday.
She graduated from Queen’s University Belfast in 1973.
Before nominations closed, several of Trinity’s senior academic voiced their support for her as a candidate for the role.
Prof David McConnell, a Pro-Chancellor of Trinity and a fellow emeritus of genetics, told the Irish Times he would “be very anxious to nominate” McAleese.
Senator Ivana Bacik, a Reid Professor of criminal law in Trinity, said to the Irish Times that McAleese would be a “superb candidate for chancellor”.
McConnell said: “My understanding is she would be happy to be nominated. I believe she would accept a nomination, which would be wonderful from our point of view. I am not aware of any other name being canvassed.”
McAleese, McConnell said, is one of the “most significant figures of the last 50 years”.
McAleese takes over the position as her husband, Dr Martin McAleese, serves the second of his five-year terms as chancellor of Dublin City University.
She will become the official head of the University of Dublin – of which Trinity is the sole constituent College – at an inauguration that’s likely to take place before the end of the year. Her role will include presiding over the University Senate as well as attending conferral ceremonies, where degrees are awarded.
Last month, The University Times reported that McAleese was to give the annual Edmund Burke Lecture in Trinity. McAleese will give the lecture, titled “The Future of Ireland: Human Rights and Children’s Rights”, next Tuesday.
The Edmund Burke Lecture is a free public lecture hosted by the Trinity Long Room Hub Arts and Humanities Research Institute.
