Mary McAleese is the president of Ireland. This is an excerpt from her commencement address at Mount Holyoke College in Massachusetts.
Mary McAleese, President of Ireland
Over 40 years ago when I was in my mid-teens, I announced at home that I had decided to become a barrister [lawyer]. The first words I heard in response were “You can’t because you are a woman.” It was the voice of our parish priest. The next voice I heard was my mother’s saying, “Don’t listen to him.” To my mother’s surprise, I heeded her …