Mary McAleese is now President of Ireland and resides at Aras an Uachtarain. I cannot disguise my joy at her success since she and I have been close friends since November 1992 when we met on The Late Late Show. We were taking part in the pre-referendum debate on the substantive issue of abortion and both of us supported the government wording that was put to the people but was subsequently to be defeated. Having witnessed and experienced the media reaction to President McAleese's electoral success it is apparent that students of the sociology of journalism will have much material for investigation over the next decade. From the time of her nomination she was haunted by innuendo and guilt by association yet weathered these "slings and arrows" spectacularly to be elected by the highest margin in the history of the State. She even achieved the status of being described as too brilliant to become first citizen.
Having been described as haughty and cold, too packaged and difficult, it seemed the Irish electorate liked what they saw and heard of Mary McAleese. However, media antipathy to her was not universal and in particular Tom McGurk wrote a forceful piece in her defence - "the short-arsed moral pygmys" quip he used was infinitely more searing than the genteel "malice and envy love lofty marks" contemplated by others. It must be acknowledged that several editorials in this newspaper were receptive to her suitability.
To those of us who know her well the negative traits laid at her feet were astounding and a gross distortion. True, she does not suffer fools gladly, is intolerant when the truth is distorted for political advantage and is a challenging debater.
However, she is warm and generous and displays a sensitivity to the suffering of others that is unique.
Why did journalists display an obvious and ongoing dislike for our President? By definition, journalists work with words and to a lesser extent visual images. Words in themselves are limited but necessary conduits for conveying information about the complex world we live in and to make sense of our environment we classify our experiences linguistically. The use of explicit terms to describe objects is shorthand for conveying more detailed implicit information.
The soundbite was developed to convey the maximum of information with the minimum of time, fuss and effort. Journalists are thus hidebound by the flawed system of classification that is language and ever increasingly, soundbite. In the process complexity is forfeited.
Mary McAleese is not a person who can be classified or pigeon-holed easily. Those who know and speak with her are well aware that she does use metaphors freely in her discourse. Her much-derided "building bridges" is quintessential McAleese. In turn she can enter the cut and thrust of debate in a forceful and convincing manner when required - it is tempting to perceive this as hauteur. She is, as everybody knows, a devout and practising Catholic but has been able to extend the hand of ecumenical friendship to the Anglican flock in this State. She is an academic powerhouse but also a loving mother. She is nationalist and a pacifist.
The polarity in her character makes her a nightmarish subject for the soundbiters who have persisted in using shibboleths to categorise her. Mary Robinson was more easily classifiable as the traditional "liberal" than is Mary McAleese as a traditional traditionalist. More worrying is the impact her time in RTE may have had on the memories of journalists, some of whom are still working in that field.
Being a nationalist and a committed Catholic at a time when RT E was a hotbed of challenge on a number of political and social issues, she was the odd one out who challenged the ideological status quo. She was lampooned for "double jobbing" although others in a similar position were not. Her ability to debate and defend her positions became definitive evidence of her arrogance and testiness. Being an incestuous profession, her reputation went before and after her.
Inevitably this will change as newer members enter the profession of journalism. Some commentators have speculated that she will continue to be the butt of criticism and the furore that has surrounded her taking Communion in an Anglican church seems to provide some evidence for this supposition.
However, because of her commitment to Catholic Christianity this gesture was all the more significant in building bridges. What has not been reported simultaneously is that she has also reinstated the Blessed Sacrament in the Church at Aras an Uachtarain and a chaplain has been appointed.
Neither has her recent participation in the John Maine seminars been credited - she shares the distinction of succeeding the Dali Lama and Jean Vernier as a speaker and is the only President to publish a theological treatise, Reconciled Being, based on these.
Similar controversy has surrounded her fictional "rush" to the Mater hospital with her son. Allegedly she flouted security in a hysterical James Bond-type car chase along North Circular Road. The truth was altogether more mundane. Adjusting to a new and complex President is visibly problematic for journalists, particularly one who defies the usual preconceptions about what it is to be nationalist and Catholic, a woman and a Northerner. Essex Girl, Father Ted and New Man fall within convenient stereotypes, Mary McAleese does not.
The constitutional protective function of President is clearly delineated but some components of the Presidential role are not defined and are capable of expansion. These are the pastoral and ambassadorial functions and in electing Mary McAleese voters chose a person who would represent the collective spirit of the Irish people.
A nation which has moved from being peasant to educated in one generation can identify with a woman whose lineage is rooted in rural Co Roscommon.
As we stride into the third millennium, creative and articulate but rooted in a culture which valued generosity and family, it is appropriate that we should choose a President who would mirror these attributes. As a nation we were victims of oppression but have achieved independence - in electing Mrs McAleese we choose a person whose family were the victims of sectarian attack but never adopted the status of victimhood.
The metier of the McAleese Presidency will be inclusiveness, respect and friendship. Her Northernness will specifically equip her to achieve the goals she has set for herself, having an intimate knowledge of and sensitivity to the prevailing circumstances in Northern Ireland.
In reaching out from her specific cultural base she will be better positioned to achieve success than would one of bland, non-specific ideology. As a nation we will vicariously develop further our confidence in the future and our respect for the past through our new President. The symbolism of President McAleese's election is powerful indeed.
Patricia Casey is professor of psychiatry at the Mater Hospital/UCD
(John Waters is on leave)