State Papers: Media ‘ready to exploit slightest weakness’ of Mary Robinson visits

Former president was criticised for shaking hands with former Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet during her trip to Chile, as well as for her overall itinerary and its cost

Then Irish president Mary Robinson was criticised in 1995 for shaking hands with Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet, right. Picture: Francis Silvan/AFP via Getty

A civil servant warned that some media commentators were “ready to exploit the slightest weakness” of state visits by then president Mary Robinson, after criticism of her visit to South America in 1995, but was hopeful that RTÉ could be kept “on side”.

State papers, released under the 30-year rule by the National Archives, reveal concerns within the Department of Foreign Affairs that Irish media was becoming increasingly critical of Mrs Robinson's overseas trips, based on coverage of her visits to Chile, Argentina, and Brazil in March 1995.