Ireland "abhorred the publication" of the cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad, President Mary McAleese told a Saudi press conference yesterday.
"They were designed to provoke, to hurt, to inflame," she said. "We are used to the press provoking us, irritating us, angering us and saying things with which we disagree. But in Ireland a very strong platform of our democracy is free speech and freedom of the press."
The President was speaking after addressing the Jeddah Economic Forum, on the economic transformation of Ireland. Other speakers at this year's conference included Cherie Booth QC (who had a brief meeting with Mrs McAleese, begun with a very affectionate hug), Al Gore, the former US vice-president, and former German chancellor Gerhard Schröder.
"We are used to talking back, we say our piece and argue it out," Mrs McAleese told the press conference. "And I am very proud that our Islamic community in Ireland did just that. They were righteously angry and righteously hurt. And they responded in time-honoured fashion by writing letters to the editors, and in very peaceful, public protests - as they should be.
"It's something that all of us take pride in," she said. "What we do not take pride in - could not take pride in - is the use of violence" to express that anger.
The President was introduced by Emr Enany, vice-chairman of the Enany Group and forum chairman, who described her as a "formidable speaker" and gave a short description of her CV, including her directorships of Channel 4 and Northern Ireland Electricity, before concluding: "Most importantly, President McAleese is married and has a family", and acknowledged Dr Martin McAleese before naming their three children.
Speaking in a country with a long journey ahead of it to achieve gender equality, the President's address noted that "inclusiveness" was one of the three fundamental elements in the making of the Celtic Tiger.
This included the provision of free quality education for "all our citizens", regardless of their economic status, gender, religion or social position and the removal of barriers to employment and participation in the economy "which some people, particularly women, had faced".
In reply to a question from the screened-off women's area, she recalled that when she went to Law School in 1969, 10 per cent of law students were women; the percentage now was 70 per cent.
She also recalled that it was "accepted practice and demanded by law" for women to give up jobs when they married. But there were now 300,000 women in the workplace that were not there then, she said. "I like to think that our country is now flying on two wings rather than one." Nonetheless, Ireland "still has some way to go", in terms of political representation. "The transformation is relatively recent, but has proved its worth in terms of sheer economic and cultural uplift." She said Irish women now have "a very powerful political voice and one being heard every day".