THE IRISH community in Britain has reacted to President Robinson's decision with a sense of sadness and of some inevitability - while politicians and diplomats reflected on the "maturing" the Anglo Irish relationship during her Presidency.
Visits to hostels for the Irish homeless were recalled alongside last year's historic first "official" visit to Britain by a serving Irish Head of State. One diplomat said the fact that it occurred against the backdrop of a difficult and protracted Anglo Irish negotiation was itself proof of "the growing maturity" in relations between Britain and the Republic.
And the President's high profile visits after the Warrington and Manchester bombings were cited as a major contribution to a new and easier relationship between the Irish in Britain and their British neighbours.
Weighed down with other concerns, Mr John Major was not available for the cameras to respond directly to Mrs Robinson's decision not to seek a second term.
But a Downing Street spokesman was swift and gracious on Mr Major's behalf. The Prime Minister, he said, "had always had the greatest respect for President Robinson and enjoyed an excellent relationship with her". And he continued: "Her (official) visit to Britain last year was a great success, and her constant concern for a lasting and peaceful settlement of Northern Ireland's political problems, together with her sympathy for the victims, of violence, have been much appreciated."
Those sentiments were echoed fully by Mr Tony Blair. In his tribute, the Labour leader said: "Mary Robinson has carried out her duties with great dignity and professionalism, and has been a distinguished representative of Ireland. She has been a welcome visitor here in Britain on numerous occasions and she, has my very best wishes for the future."
Mr Blair's Shadow Northern Ireland Secretary, Dr Mo Mowlam, said the President's contribution to the search for peace and stability in Northern Ireland had been immense - "both in her capacity as President of Ireland, and by the example both she and her husband have set as individuals".
Dr Mowlam said: "Her visits to Northern Ireland have helped create trust and confidence between the communities to build peace from the grass roots up. Both in Northern Ireland and in the Republic she has always made herself available to, and enjoyed meeting people from, all walks of life."
She continued: "As President of Ireland Mary Robinson has added considerably to the vibrancy and confidence of a young nation. She has increased the stature and influence of Ireland worldwide. She has raised the profile and status of women in public life in Ireland by her success as Ireland's first woman President, and by taking the lead on many issues that are of particular concern to women everywhere. I wish her well in whatever she turns her exceptional abilities to next."
During her term thus far the President has made some 15 visits to Britain, been showered with honorary degrees from Oxford to Coventry, and made meetings with British royalty - only a short while ago unthinkable - seem almost routine.
It was her "courtesy call" for afternoon tea at Buckingham Palace on May 26th, 1993, which paved the way for last year's ground breaking "official" visit. And the editor of the Irish Post, Mr Donal Mooney, has no doubt that these two events maximised President Robinson's impact. He told The Irish Times: "I think her impact in Britain has been phenomenal. I think she's given a sense of pride and dignity to the people here. She has come across as a very charismatic figure. But more than anything else she has raised the profile and dignity of the community."
Of that first royal encounter, Mr Mooney said: "I think the meeting with the Queen up to a point was a very symbolic breakthrough because it does mean that the Irish community in Britain can feel more at one at a high level with the establishment of Britain.
Acknowledging that the President had probably done as much as she could with the office in these terms, Mr Mooney continued: "The impact she made really was maximised when she first visited the Queen, and then made the official visit with John Major last year.
"Combined with her interest in the Irish community at all levels, she reached out to the lowliest of the community, to the down and outs, visited hostels for the homeless.
At every level she's had an impact on the Irish community in Britain.
That impact was arguably at its most eloquent when, for example after the Manchester bombing, Mrs Robinson came here to show solidarity - and to register in the process that "the Irish community in Britain was not identifying with terrorism".
She is on occasion a wordsmith's dream. Of necessity her message of change and challenge, new friendships and beginnings was diplomatically coded - as when once she reached out the familiar hand to "Ulster" - while reminding a glittering Guildhall audience of the 150th anniversary of the Great Famine. But on occasion, too, Mrs Robinson chose to be quite explicit. In a withering condemnation of the IRA, the President told the people of Manchester the attack "on a civilian population" was not perpetrated "in the name of any Irishness I represent as President of Ireland".