by Mary Cullen

One of Mary Robinson’s most symbolic acts was to place a lit candle in the window of her official residence in the Phoenix Park when she was first elected President of Ireland in 1990.  In her acceptance speech she promised that ‘there will always be a light on in Áras an Uachtaráin for our exiles and our emigrants’.

The light still shines and is visible from the main road through the park.  It has come to symbolise hope and connection for the Irish people, wherever they are in the world.

I was in Dublin in the last days of campaigning for the election of the tenth president of Ireland to succeed President Michael D Higgins.  There were adverts everywhere, encouraging people to use their vote.  Many were happy to talk about the presidency and who was getting their vote. In the event, Catherine Connolly, the third woman to hold the post, was elected by a landslide on 24 October.  A former clinical psychologist, barrister, and independent member of parliament for Galway, she was seen as the candidate of the left. She has pledged to speak for all those who are being left behind in Ireland’s booming economy, and, like her predecessor, to be a president for all.

Dr Mary Cullen is editor of Open House

Photo by Roxana Zerni for Unsplash