Mary Robinson's parents were both doctors and she was particularly influenced by her father. She was the only daughter in a Catholic family with four brothers, but they were brought up in an equal way and shared household tasks. Robinson thinks this gave her an advantage in life:

"Although I was the only girl I never had any sense that I was different or there was a limit on what I might do or achieve. My brothers were involved as much as I was in washing up and clearing out and keeping rooms tidy and there was no role stereotyping. And although there wasn't much discussion of equality, it was implicitly there, and I had more confidence as a teenager and as a female youngster in those days than I think a lot of my contemporaries."