Mary Robinson ( ; born 21 May 1944 ) was the first female President of Ireland , serving from 1990 to 1997 . Mary Therese Winifred Robinson ( nÃ e Bourke ) ( ; born 21 May 1944 ) served as the seventh , and first female , President of Ireland from 1990 to 1997 , and the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights , from 1997 to 2002 .