Mary McAleese to be keynote speaker at Cork law summit
Dr McAleese will be presented with the Orientum Solen Award for her work in breaking barriers and for being an inspirational figure to students in law.
Former President Mary McAleese will be the keynote speaker at an intervarsity law summit being hosted in Cork this weekend.
She will deliver her address on Friday night at the Rochestown Park Hotel at the event which has been organised by seven universities across the country. Dr McAleese will be presented with the Orientum Solen Award for her work in breaking barriers and for being an inspirational figure to students in law.
She became the first female Pro-Vice-Chancellor of the Queen’s University of Belfast in 1994.
On Sunday, the former Master of the Rotunda Maternity Hospital, Dr Rhona Mahony, and the executive director of Amnesty Ireland, Colm O’Gorman, will take part in a panel discussion on the summit’s theme of breaking barriers.
Dr Mahony and Mr O’Gorman will be presented with awards for their work in creating a united community through inclusive discussion, according to the summit convenor, Anna O’Doherty.
Also participating in the panel discussion will be Senator David Norris, who the organisers describe as “the person who changed societal perceptions and the rigid laws of Ireland regarding LGBT+ rights in the seminal case of Norris v Ireland.”
Another member of the panel will be Emily O’Reilly, current EU Ombudsman, who is also a former journalist. The fifth contributor will be author and activist Gina Martin, author and activist.
Ms O’Doherty said the event has completely sold out. The event is aimed at students interested in a career in law.
Ms O’Doherty said: “There will be 500 people attending the event, and a further 100 will be at the gala ball.” She said 13 law firms from across the country will also participate in the summit, along with six retired or serving Supreme Court and High Court judges.
On Friday, the national finals of the 'Moot and Mock Trial' competitions will take place, involving the country’s seven law schools.
They will be presided over by Ms Justice Mary C Irvine; Mr Justice David Keane; Ms Justice Marie Baker; Mr Justice Gerard Hogan; Mr Justice John Mac Menamin; Judge Helen Boyle and Judge Olann Kelleher. Mr Liam McKechnie, formerly of the Supreme Court, will also preside over the mock trials.
The event is the first of its kind in Ireland and it is hoped that it will be continued into the future.
During the summit, funds will be raised for the Aislinn Centre which was founded in Tipperary and is now in five locations across the country, offering residential drug treatment services.
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