[12] An outspoken critic of some Catholic church teachings, during her inaugural address as auditor of the Dublin University Law Society in 1967 she advocated removing the prohibition of divorce from the Irish Constitution, eliminating the ban on the use of contraceptives, and decriminalizing homosexuality and suicide.

"[20] Her time in office is most closely associated with these issues, as well as securing the right for women to serve on juries and her involvement with the Wood Quay protests.

[23] Whilst a member of the party, she ran for Dáil Éireann, including the 1981 general election for Dublin West, but failed to win a seat.During her time in office, Robinson won several landmark court cases.

[28] Flynn, even more controversially, also joked privately that Robinson would "turn the Áras [President's residence] into the Red Cow Inn [a pub in Dublin]".

Flynn's tirade was itself attacked in response as "disgraceful" on radio by Michael McDowell, a senior member of the Progressive Democrat party which up to that point supported Lenihan's campaign.

In the summer of 1993, Robinson met and shook hands with both Queen Elizabeth II and Gerry Adams (the president of Sinn Féin), meetings which occurred on two separate occasions.

[35] She later welcomed visits by senior members of the British royal family, most notably Charles, Prince of Wales, to her official residence, Áras an Uachtaráin.

[citation needed] In June, a few weeks after her trip to London, Robinson controversially met and shook hands with Gerry Adams in Belfast.

[36] Dick Spring, now the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs, had advised her not to meet Adams,[citation needed] whose party was linked with the Provisional IRA.

[citation needed] In the previous 52 years, only one address to the Oireachtas (parliament) had taken place, by President Éamon de Valera in 1966, on the fiftieth anniversary of the Easter Rising.

She was also invited to chair a committee to review the workings of the United Nations, but declined when asked to by the Government of Ireland, who feared that her involvement might make it difficult for it to oppose the proposals that would result.

[44] Robinson became the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights on 12 September 1997, resigning the presidency a few weeks early to take up the post.

Media reports suggested that she had been head-hunted for the post by Secretary-General of the United Nations Kofi Annan, to assume an advocacy as opposed to an administrative role, in other words, to become a public campaigner outlining principles rather than the previous implementational and consensus-building model.

[45] In November 1997, she delivered the Romanes Lecture in Oxford on the topic of "Realizing Human Rights"; she spoke of the "daunting challenge" ahead of her, and how she intended to set about her task.

[citation needed] In 2001, she chaired the Asia Regional Preparatory Meeting for the World Conference against Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and related intolerances, which was held in Tehran, Iran.

[49][50] Though she had initially announced her intention to serve a single four-year period, she extended the term by a year following an appeal from Annan, allowing her to preside over the 2001 World Conference against Racism in Durban, South Africa, as secretary-general.

"[51] Robinson's period as High Commissioner ended in 2002, after sustained pressure from the United States led her to declare she was no longer able to continue her work.

[55] In August 2014, she was joined by fellow Elder Jimmy Carter during the 2014 Israel–Gaza conflict, to pen an article in Foreign Policy magazine, pressing for the inclusion of recognition of Hamas as a legitimate political actor, noting the recent unity deal between Hamas and Fatah when the former agreed with the Palestinian Authority to denounce violence, recognise Israel and adhere to past agreements.

During a session with fellow Elder, Kofi Annan, she encouraged 1,300 young leaders from 191 countries to lead on inter-generational issues such as climate change and the need for action to take place now, not tomorrow.

[63] In 2016 at the One Young World summit, Robinson began to become vocal about her efforts to eat less meat and encouraged others to either do the same or adopt some type of entirely vegetarian diet in order to help fight climate change.

[64][65] In 2019 Robinson announced that she believes in making tackling climate change a personal issue in our lives and for this reason she has stopped eating meat in favour of a more eco-friendly pescetarian diet.

[66] In October 2016, it was revealed in the media that Robinson was planning to donate her archive to Mayo County Council, as part of the development of The Mary Robinson Centre, and had applied to have the archive designated under the Taxes Consolidation Act, 1997, potentially resulting in a personal tax credit to her worth over €2m, arising from the donation of her personal papers.

[67] The website of the Mary Robinson Centre lists the contents of the proposed archive (valued at €2.5m) as including: "2,000 books on law and Human Rights 3,800 periodicals; A Master File of the President's engagements from December 1990 to September 1997; The symbolic light in the window of Áras an Uachtaráin from her Presidency; Robinson's personal diaries from 1967 to 1990 and from 1998 to 2001; 325 Archive Cartons..Scrap Books, Cassette Tapes."

Appointed as special envoy to Africa's Great Lakes region by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon,[85] she played a key role in supporting implementation of the U.N.-drafted peace deal signed by 11 African countries in late February 2013.

[86] In March 2015, she voiced support for fossil fuel divestment commenting "it is almost a due diligence requirement to consider ending investment in dirty energy companies".

[96][97][98] Over the course of her career, Robinson has been awarded numerous honours, including the following: On 29 September 2010, at a ceremony in Dublin, she received a damehood from the Military and Hospitaller Order of St. Lazarus of Jerusalem.

[...] Today, as an advocate for the hungry and the hunted, the forgotten and the ignored, Mary Robinson has not only shone a light on human suffering, but illuminated a better future for our world.

"[112] In response to the protests by some Jewish groups and commentators, Robinson said she was "surprised and dismayed" and that "this is old, recycled, untrue stuff," "I have been very critical of the Palestinian side.

"[116] US Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi,[117] Senate Assistant Majority Leader, Dick Durbin,[118] and other legislators[119] welcomed the award to Robinson.

"[120] Forty-five Republican Congressmen sent a letter to President Obama citing "her failed, biased record as United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights".