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Former Irish President Mary McAleese, who is the Burns Library Visiting Irish Scholar in Irish Studies at Boston College this fall, will make two campus appearances in the coming weeks.
She will present a lecture, “Peacebuilding and Reconciliation: Lessons from an Irish Context,” on Oct. 29 at noon in the Boisi Center for Religion and American Public Life. McAleese will will examine efforts to resolve the centuries-old, seemingly intractable Irish conflict, and how — despite various setbacks and lingering difficulties — peace has been achieved.
An RSVP is required to attend the event, which is free, and space is limited. For information, send e-mail to susan.richard@bc.edu, or see the Boisi Center website at www.bc.edu/boisi.
On Nov. 7, the C21 Center and Theology Department will present “Collegiality in Church Leadership,” at which McAleese will be interviewed by Joseph Professor in Catholic Systematic Theology Richard Gaillardetz. The event will take place at 6 p.m. in the Cadigan Alumni Center on Brighton Campus. Send e-mail to church21@bc.edu to register.
A North Belfast native, McAleese served as president of Ireland from 1997 to 2011 — the first Northern Irish native to hold the office — and is widely acclaimed as a major player in the Northern Ireland peace process. Her “Building Bridges” platform was regarded as contributing to a period of reconciliation and economic growth in Ireland.