Carmen Bryce gives her vote to Aoife Kelleher’s documentary Mrs. Robinson.
To see Ireland’s first female president cry on screen is as disarming as it is admirable. More human than the Iron Lady, and more matriarch than politician.
At key moments, this vulnerability shines through in Aoife Kelleher’s feature-length profile of Mary Robinson. The film premiered last summer at the Galway Film Fleadh and is now airing on Sky Documentaries and the RTÉ Player. In these tender beats, Kelleher captures one of the main reasons for Mary Robinson’s enduring popularity. What moves Mrs. Robinson to tears, like a true matriarch, is her fierce protectiveness and pride in her people.
The film, which skilfully condenses Mrs. Robinson’s remarkable life into just over 90 minutes, became the most successful documentary of 2024 in Irish cinemas. It charts her journey from childhood in Ballina, Co. Mayo, where she was a "shy bookworm" with an inherent drive to ‘make life more fair’, through her trailblazing legal and political career, to her global work as a tireless campaigner for human rights and the environment.
As a docu-portrait of a figurehead, the film tracks the numerous pivotal historical backdrops that have taken place during the now 81-year-old Robinson’s career. The Vietnam War, the conflict in Northern Ireland and the modern-day climate change crisis all had a big influence on her work. Robinson was studying law at Harvard University, US, during the Vietnam War and the assassinations of Martin Luther King and Robert Kennedy. She was at Trinity College Dublin during Ireland’s call for gender equality, reproductive rights, and LGBTQ+ decriminalisation. During her presidency, Robinson notably met both Queen Elizabeth II and Gerry Adams. She travelled to Somalia to raise awareness of the famine, and to Rwanda in the aftermath of genocide.
Kelleher allows for a generous and genuine glimpse into Robinson’s personal life, and her husband Nicholas Robinson is a constant talking head. He shares charming recollections of their meeting in college, their parents’ disapproval of their partnership, and the pressure the presidency put on their marriage. Celebrity admirers also contribute, including Richard Branson, who praises her efforts to tackle global issues like climate change and nuclear disarmament, while adding that she can party with the best of them. Raw and honest in parts too, Robinson shares her regrets about leaving the presidency early and opens up about her part in the controversial Latifa affair.
At its core, this documentary tells the story about a shy underdog who changed the course of Irish history. Mary Robinson continues to leave a lasting mark on the world with her unwavering drive to do the right thing and “make things more fair”. As charismatic and inspirational as its subject, Mrs. Robinson will make you proud to be Irish.
Mrs. Robinson is available to watch on the RTÉ Player now.
