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Outlook

Factual: Life Stories

True stories of ordinary people and the extraordinary events that have shaped their lives

True stories of ordinary people and the extraordinary events that have shaped their lives.

Outlook: 12/09/2012

12/09/2012

BBC World Service - Outlook, 12/09/2012

Mary Robinson, the first female President of Ireland.

Extraordinary personal stories from around the world: Today, Matthew Bannister meets Mary Robinson, who became the first female President of Ireland in 1990.  She talks about growing up in Ireland, her Catholic background and how she lost her vocation to become a nun after spending a year at finishing school in Paris, France. 

After reflecting on the political fights she picked as President, she also reveals that she became addicted to sleeping pills when she initially took on the role as United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights back in 1997. 

She is now running her own Foundation on Climate Justice which she says is the biggest human rights challenge facing the world today. Her memoir - entitled "Everybody matters" - has just been published.

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