An old friend and colleague turned up on Mary Robinson's doorstep [in Ranelagh, Dublin], literally, on St Valentine's Day, February 14th, 1990. It was John Rogers, the barrister who had been appointed Attorney General under the coalition government in 1984 - the job everyone had expected her to get - and who was a confidant of the Labour Party leader Dick Spring.
He wasn't bearing chocolates or red roses. He said he wanted to have a chat with her, to draw on her constitutional expertise about some ideas he had for a new type of Irish presidency. Within half an hour, she realised why he was there. He was about to ask her if she would "run".
The brainwave had been that of a namesake, and no relation, Denise Rogers. The secretary to the Labour Party's deputy leader, Ruairi Quinn, Rogers had been listening to chat about the proposed party candidate for the presidency a few weeks before. Dick Spring had said in a radio interview that he was determined to ensure that there was an election and that if necessary he would put himself forward. It was a remark that causes some consternation, both within and without the party. It had its desired effect. A number of names were suggested, including that of Dr Noel Browne. Spring believed that his party should be first in with its nomination for the presidency. One morning, Denise Rogers suggested to Ruairi Quinn that Mary Robinson was the obvious choice as "someone who could make a difference". She would not be the first woman to be considered as President of Ireland, but would certainly be the first woman to run if nominated.
Robinson was pale and quiet during John Rogers's visit. She gave no immediate commitment.
In fact Mrs Robinson had needed little persuading once the proposal was put to her, and subsequent meetings to discuss it were formalities. The hard left in the Labour Party had been disappointed initially that Noel Browne was not considered, especially since Mary Robinson had resigned from the Labour Party five years before. It had been agreed to approach Browne informally to sound him out.
Two aspects had attracted her: the idea that she would be the first woman to run for the highest office in the Republic, and the notion that, even if she didn't win, the campaign platform would give her the opportunity to speak her mind on vital issues. The Labour Party's job description sought "a voice for the voiceless", and she was not long in identifying her constituency as one that stretched beyond the comfortable Dublin drawingrooms of her liberal, legal friends.
Mary Robinson: The Woman Who Took Power In The Park by Lorna Siggins will be published by Mainstream Publishing later this month (£14.99).
