Former President Mary McAleese: Will be Visiting Scholar in Irish Studies at BCFormer President Mary McAleese will come to Boston College this fall as the Burns Library Visiting Scholar in Irish Studies, the university announced on March 15. The Belfast native, who was the first Northern Irish native to hold the presidency, will teach a course and present public lectures while pursuing research in BC's Burns Library Irish Book and Manuscript Collection.

McAleese — now studying for a doctoral degree in canon law at the Gregorian University in Rome — took office in 1997 and proclaimed “Building Bridges” as the theme of her presidency. She advocated for peace and reconciliation through regular trips to Northern Ireland and by hosting visitors from the North at her official residence.

“Coming to Boston, using that wonderful Burns Library, talking with students and faculty members from a variety of disciplines, including my beloved Irish Studies,” said McAleese, “will be for me a seminal opportunity to enrich and deepen the insights I can bring to my own research and also hopefully to add a little to the insights of others.”