Since 2014, The Mary Robinson Centre has welcomed a distinguished group of global leaders to deliver its annual International Human Rights Lecture. Nobel Peace Prize laureate Professor Muhammad Yunus opened the series with a vision of a world without poverty. He was followed by freedom fighter Graça Machel, who celebrated women in leadership; Hina Jilani, who shared her work protecting human rights defenders worldwide; and former US Senator George Mitchell, who reflected on the essential link between peace and human rights. South African activist Kumi Naidoo then spoke on a lifetime of social justice campaigning, from anti-apartheid struggle to global environmental leadership. Former President of Mexico Ernesto Zedillo completed the series to date. Together, these six lectures offer a powerful record of courage, insight and lasting commitment to human dignity
Glór na mBan Mhaigh Eo (Stories from the Heart of Women) is a feature length documentary that brings together the lived experiences, memories, and hopes of women from rural communities across County Mayo. Filmed across five locations and spoken in both Irish and English, the film reflects the rich linguistic and cultural heritage of the west of Ireland.
Born from a series of community workshops and intimate group conversations, the documentary weaves together three generations of women’s lives: the grandmothers and great grandmothers who shaped the land and the home, the women who lived through Ireland’s most transformative social and legislative changes, and the voices now looking with hope and concern toward the future of rural Mayo.
The film explores three central themes. First, the lives of the women who came before, including their deep connection to the land and how industrial farming has displaced women from agriculture. Second, living through change, including divorce, the repeal of the Eighth Amendment, the removal of the marriage bar, and the election of Ireland’s first female president. Third, looking to the future, with participants speaking honestly about rural depopulation, isolation, and the rise of online misogyny.
Yet alongside these concerns there is resilience, creativity, and love. The women of Glór na mBan Mhaigh Eo are not passive witnesses to change. They are thinkers, dreamers, and advocates asking sharp questions about what kind of rural Mayo they want for the next generation.
The documentary has been funded through the Mary Robinson Centre, one of four charities chosen by Mary Robinson to receive a share of her Tang Prize in Rule of Law. It is a film about County Mayo, but it speaks to every rural community where women’s lives have been shaped by land, law, language, and love
Neart na mBan is a free civic empowerment programme that brings Women in Government and Politics workshops to communities across County Mayo. Coordinated by the Mary Robinson Centre, co facilitated with See Her Elected, and supported by Mayo County Council and the Mayo Public Participation Network, the programme is the action oriented follow on to the Glór na mBan Mhaigh Eo documentary project.
Glór na mBan listened. Neart na mBan acts. Returning to the very communities where women shared their lives, their inheritance, and their vision for the future, the programme transforms those conversations into something tangible: knowledge, confidence, and a clear pathway into public life.
At the heart of Neart na mBan are informal, welcoming workshops. Women come together to explore how government and politics work in Ireland, why it matters that women are part of that conversation, and what practical steps they can take. That might mean joining a community council, engaging with local government, or putting themselves forward for elected office. No prior knowledge of politics is required.
The workshops are free to attend and designed to be accessible. They are held locally in familiar venues, with daytime and evening options to suit different schedules, and childcare signposting available where possible.
The programme has four core aims. To inform women about how local and national government works in plain language. To inspire them using the real stories gathered during Glór na mBan. To empower them with clear, practical next steps. And to connect them into a lasting county wide network through the Mayo Public Participation Network.
Across all five locations, Neart na mBan builds a community of women who have come together, heard each other, and found common cause. The programme is built on a simple belief. The knowledge and experience women already carry, of their communities, their land, their families, and their futures, is exactly what public life needs more of
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