Trinity Women Graduates AGM - Saturday, 27 January 2024

Our AGM will take place on campus in Regent House, Trinity College Dublin on Saturday, 27 January 2024 from 9.30 am to 12.30pm. This year, we are delighted to be joined by keynote speaker Dr Jennifer Cassidy.

9.30-10.00 Welcome Tea & Coffee

10.00-10.45 Dr Jennifer Cassidy (all welcome)

11.00-12.30 TWG AGM (members-only)

Please confirm you attendance by clicking on the button below. All registered are welcome to attend Jennifer’s talk. Only TWG members can attend the AGM.

Minutes from the 2023 AGM and a copy of the Treasurer’s Report will be circulated to all members before the meeting.

Keynote Speaker - Dr Jennifer Cassidy

Dr Jennifer A. Cassidy is a diplomatic scholar at the University of Oxford, where she lectures on Diplomacy and International Law, Digital Diplomacy, and Gender and Diplomacy. Her PhD (2017) from the University of Oxford focused on the emerging discipline of Digital Diplomacy, with a specific focus on the changing nature of digital diplomatic signalling and online strategic narratives during times of political crisis. Jennifer produced the first edited volume on Gender and Diplomacy: Theory and Practice. Prior to teaching, Jennifer served as a diplomatic attaché to Ireland's Permanent Mission to the United Nations (New York), European External Action Service to the Kingdom of Cambodia, and Ireland's Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade Headquarters during the Presidency of the Council of the European Union. Jennifer also contributes regularly to media commentary, including the BBC, Sky News, ABC Australia and The Irish Times.

If you have any queries please contact us by sending an email to :-trinitywomengraduates@gmail.com.

TWG Christmas Commons

Join TWG for a festive Christmas Commons in the TCD Dining Hall on Monday 4 December 6-8 pm

We are pleased to invite all TWG guests to a drinks reception beforehand from 5-6pm, in the Alumni Room, East Chapel, TCD.

Christmas Commons: The Dining Hall, Trinity College Dublin, from 6pm.

Tickets: All welcome, with tickets available at the link below for €40.

Please email to confirm any dietary requirements before 1 Dec 2023.

If you have any questions, please contact trinitywomengraduates@gmail.com.

TWG Summer Gathering - Provost’s House & Gardens

We are delighted to announce the details of the 2023 TWG Summer Gathering.

This year the TWG Summer Gathering will return to the historic Provost's House and Gardens at the invitation of Trinity College Dublin Provost, Linda Doyle. Join us on the afternoon of Thursday 29 June for a guided tour through Trinity Campus to discover the hidden gems and stories that make Ireland’s oldest university such a special place, a Trinity Women Graduates Honorary Members Ceremony, and live music and refreshments served in the gardens. Proceeds go towards TWG Trinity Access Programme (TAP) scholarships, supporting women students at Trinity College Dublin.

With an address of No 1. Grafton Street, the Provost's House has a special place in Dublin's built heritage. Most of the house is invisible from Nassau Street and Grafton Street, as it is screened behind high walls. Begun in 1759, it was designed by Dublin architect John Smyth for Trinity Provost Francis Andrews.  Trinity College Professor in Architectural History, Dr. Christine Casey, describes it as "a grand and eccentric stone-fronted townhouse that survives in pristine condition and is still used for its original purpose". The highlight of the "intriguing" interior is the saloon at piano nobile level with its "central Venetian window", "coffered ceilings" and "rich Corinthian half-columns" (Casey).

A visit to the Provost's House and Gardens is a special experience for anyone interested in art and architecture and the history of Trinity College.

Event Outline:

14:00 Guided campus tour (Trinity Trails)

14:45 Provost and TWG welcome, followed by Trinity Women Graduates Honorary Members Ceremony

15:15 Refreshments and music in the Garden (Benjamin Errington)

Tickets: limited tickets are available to purchase below (click on the photo of the Provost’s House below)

If you have any questions, please contact trinitywomengraduates@gmail.com.

Interested in joining Trinity Women Graduates? Find out more about TWG membership here.

TICKETS ARE NOW SOLD OUT

PLEASE EMAIL trinitywomengraduates@gmail.com TO BE ADDED TO WAIT LIST

Is enough being done for women's health? A conversation with Prof Sabine Oertelt-Prigione

This Wednesday 8 March, Trinity Women Graduates is delighted to welcome Professor Sabine Oertelt-Prigione, for a special online lunchtime webinar to mark International Women’s Day 2023.

This International Women’s Day, TWG is delighted to be joined by Professor Sabine Oertelt-Prigione, whose research focuses on sex and gender precision medicine. Professor Oertelt-Prignione has developed the first international database about sex and gender-specific research. She is co-editor of one of the first textbooks in the discipline and has conducted the largest study in Europe on gendered harassment in academia. She is a member of the EU expert group “Gendered Innovations” which consults with national governments and funding agencies and advises startups that want to focus on sex and gender-sensitive topics. She is also a member of the ESMO Gender Medicine Task Force.

Join us online next Wednesday 8 March (1-2pm) for what is sure to be an enlightening discussion. Find the link to register for free below - we hope to see you there!

Book your free ticket, and find out more about Prof. Oertelt-Prigione below.

Meet our speaker

Sabine Oertelt-Prigione MD, PhD, MScPH is a physician, researcher and organizational consultant. She is the Chair of gender in primary and transmural care at the Radboud University in the Netherlands and Professor of sex- and gender-sensitive medicine at the University of Bielefeld in Germany. Since 2004, she has focused on different aspects of sex and gender differences in health, spanning from sex differences in autoimmunity to gender differences in cardiovascular diseases and sexual harassment in academia. She currently focuses on the implementation of sex- and gender-sensitive research through the analysis of practices, development of methods and engagement of stakeholders. Next to her academic activities she was a member of the EU Commission´s Expert Groups “Gendered Innovations” and currently chairs the EU Expert Group “Gender and COVID-19”. She also advises governments, healthcare organizations and funding agencies in Europe on the implementation of sex- and gender-sensitive healthcare and the prevention of gender-based harassment.

Book your free ticket, and read more about TWG below.

TWG has three funds that members have generously supported over the years. Your gift allows this work to continue and we really appreciate your continued support.

You can select your preferred fund in the “Additional Information” section once you’ve clicked the blue button above.

You can also tick the last box to allow the committee to allocate funds where the needs are greatest.

TAP Trinity Access Programme Support Scholarship

TWG supports two students every year who obtain the highest marks in their year. This makes life easier for them and enables them to concentrate on their studies. Every year the students are so grateful for these contributions. In 2020, thanks to our generous members, TWG was able to support an additional postgraduate student with a grant of €1,000.

Bursary

The TWG Bursary Fund was set up to provide financial assistance to members and former members who are in financial difficulty.  TWG currently supports two former Trinity graduates.

General Gift

Please allocate my gift to where the need is greatest.

Your support is much appreciated.

The next Council Meeting of the Irish Federation of University Women (IrFUW) will be held on Saturday 4th March at the Teatar M. Uí Chadhain, Arts Building, Trinity College Dublin.

All TWG members are invited to attend the IrFUW Council Meeting at 11am-1pm. Please email office.irfuw@gmail.com for the agenda and/or minutes.
 
10.30 am Tea/Coffee outside theatre for an 11.00 am council meeting start.
 
IrFUW Public Speaking Competition will take place afterwards with participant preparation starting at 1 pm and the competition taking place from 2-4 pm.
 
NB.  Teatar M. Uí Chadhain in the Arts building is at the end on the right side.   

All members are invited to attend the IrFUW Public Speaking Final on the afternoon of March 4th at 2-4pm.

Trinity Women Graduates AGM - Saturday, 21 January 2023

Our AGM will take place on campus at Trinity College Dublin Arts Block (Thomas Davis Theatre) on Saturday, 21 January 2023 from 10.00am to 12.30pm. This year, we are delighted to be joined by keynote speaker – playwright, novelist and newspaper columnist, Hilary Fannin. If you are a member of TWG and would like to attend, we ask that you please RSVP as soon as possible to confirm your attendance via email to trinitywomengraduates@gmail.com, or by clicking the button below. New TWG Members are always welcome! Tea, coffee and pastries will be available from 10am, with proceedings kicking off from 10.30am. Minutes from the 2022 AGM and a copy of the Treasurer’s Report will be circulated before the meeting.

Keynote Speaker - Hilary Fannin

Hilary is an award-winning playwright, novelist and newspaper columnist. Born in Dublin, where she still lives, she was writer in association at the Abbey Theatre in its centenary year, 2004. Her plays have been performed in Ireland, London, Europe and North America. For the past decade she has been writing a weekly column for The Irish Times and was named Irish Broadsheet Columnist of the Year in 2019. Her memoir, Hopscotch, was published to critical acclaim in 2015. Her first novel, The Weight of Love, was published in 2020 and won the John McGahern Award for debut Irish fiction. In 2022 Hilary was awarded an Arts Council Writer Fellowship at Trinity College.

We ask that you please RSVP as soon as possible to confirm your attendance via email to trinitywomengraduates@gmail.com, or by clicking the button below.

We also welcome nominations for new TWG Committee members in 2023. Please feel free to contact us with any queries via email to trinitywomengraduates@gmail.com.

TWG Christmas Commons

TCD Christmas Commons is returning this year! Join TWG for a festive evening on campus, on Thursday 8 December.

TWG Reception: TWG reception from 5-6pm, in the Alumni Room, East Chapel, TCD.

Christmas Commons: The Dining Hall, Trinity College Dublin, from 6pm.

Tickets: All welcome, with tickets available at the link below for €40.

Please email to confirm any dietary requirements before 30 November 2022.

If you have any questions, please contact trinitywomengraduates@gmail.com.

UPDATE: TWG Christmas Commons tickets are now Sold Out. Please contact trinitywomengraduates@gmail.com if you would like to attend, as there may be cancellations closer to the date.

This Tuesday 4 October, Trinity Women Graduates is delighted to welcome Regius Professor Rose Anne Kenny, for a special online lunchtime webinar.

Professor Kenny will talk to us about her career journey, her pioneering research as founding Principal Investigator of Ireland's largest adult population study on the experience of ageing in Ireland - The Irish LongituDinal study on Ageing (TILDA), as well as her No.1 bestselling book - ‘Age Proof - The New Science of Living a Longer & Healthier Life’.

In June 2022, Professor Kenny was appointed Regius Professor of Physic (1637) at Trinity College Dublin. The Regius Professorship of Physic is the oldest professorship in Ireland and one of the oldest Medical Professorships in Europe (the Latin, Physic, referring to the art or practice of healing disease). Professor Kenny becomes the first female physician to take the prestigious seat, which has been held by 23 prior distinguished professors over the centuries including the famous John Stearne, William Stokes and Victor Synge. It was awarded first to Dr John Stearne (1662), best known as the founder of the Irish College of Physicians. The seat dates from 1637 and was the fifth Regius professorship created after Aberdeen (1497), Cambridge (1540) Oxford (1546) and Edinburgh (1637). It is an honorary appointment in recognition of outstanding scholarship in teaching and research in medicine.

We look forward to welcoming Regius Professor Kenny to celebrate this prestigious appointment.

Join us online this Tuesday 4 October (1-2pm) to hear from Professor Kenny, moderated by Dr Joanne Kenney, TWG Vice-President.

Book your free ticket, and find out more about Prof. Kenny below.

Update - Registration is now closed.

Meet our speaker

Rose Anne Kenny is the founding Principal Investigator of Ireland's largest adult population study on the experience of ageing in Ireland - The Irish LongituDinal study on Ageing (TILDA), now in its 12th year of data collection.

Professor Kenny holds the Chair of Medical Gerontology and is Head of the academic department of Medical Gerontology at Trinity College Dublin. Previously Professor of Cardiovascular Research and Head of Geriatric Medicine at the University of Newcastle Upon Tyne, she is now director of a new state of the art clinical-research institute for ageing at St. James’s Hospital Dublin - Mercer’s Institute for Successful Ageing (MISA), with over 300 staff. Her research expertise in cardiovascular and mobility disorders of ageing has promoted the incorporation of traditional and novel tests of locomotion, autonomic function, and cardiovascular and cognitive health into TILDA coupled with traditional measures of health care utilisation and economics.

She has represented her field as Chair or member of international working groups for geriatrics, cardiology and neurology. Trinity College and St. James's have committed strong support to ageing research, education and training in ageing. In particular, the Trinity College 2011 Strategic Plan has highlighted Ageing Research as one of eight priorities for further strategic development and investment supporting the new Institute of Ageing on the hospital site, the proposed new Trinity Centre for Ageing Research (with Professor Kenny as Director) and the new Centre for Longitudinal Studies Analyses.

Since her appointment, Medical Gerontology has become the highest achieving department in the School of Medicine regarding grant income, scholarly output, public and policy engagement. As the Champion of the Ageing Research Theme in Trinity College, Professor Kenny is one of five leaders for the ‘Inspiring Generations’ campaign for Trinity College.

Professor Kenny has co-chaired the European working group “Transforming the Future of Ageing” led by the Scientific Advisory Policy by European Academies (SAPEA), and served as an advisor to the Irish Government for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation and to the Irish Citizens’ Assembly on Ageing. She has published over 700 scientific publications to date, including 574 research articles, 52 reviews, 4 textbooks and 57 book chapters. She is a Member of the Royal Irish Academy (M.R.I.A); Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh (F.R.C.P.E.): London (F.R.C.P.), Ireland (F.R.C.P.I.); Fellow of Trinity College Dublin (F.T.C.D); Fellow of the European Society of Cardiology (F.E.S.C), and was most recently awarded, 2021: Honorary Fellow Faculty of Public Health Medicine (F.F.P.H.M.I (Hon)). She has over 50 medal awards and keynotes, and recently received the Lifetime Achievement Award, WCFP, Kuala Lumpur 2019, and honorary fellowship of the faculty of Public Health Medicine (2020); The Irish Times Health Hero, 2018; and Trinity Innovation Award, 2017. In 2020, she was elected President of the Irish Geriatrics Society (IGS). She authored the No.1 best-selling book, “Age Proof: the new science of living a longer and healthier life”, published in 2022. 

In June 2022, Professor Kenny first female to be appointed Regius Professor of Physic (1637) at Trinity College Dublin. The Regius Professorship of Physic is the oldest professorship in Ireland and one of the oldest Medical Professorships in Europe (the Latin, Physic, referring to the art or practice of healing disease).

Book your free ticket, and read more about TWG below.

Update - registration is now closed.

TWG has three funds that members have generously supported over the years. Your gift allows this work to continue and we really appreciate your continued support.

You can select your preferred fund in the “Additional Information” section once you’ve clicked the blue button above.

You can also tick the last box to allow the committee to allocate funds where the needs are greatest.

TAP Trinity Access Programme Support Scholarship

TWG supports two students every year who obtain the highest marks in their year. This makes life easier for them and enables them to concentrate on their studies. Every year the students are so grateful for these contributions. In 2020, thanks to our generous members, TWG was able to support an additional postgraduate student with a grant of €1,000.

Bursary

The TWG Bursary Fund was set up to provide financial assistance to members and former members who are in financial difficulty.  TWG currently supports two former Trinity graduates.

General Gift

Please allocate my gift to where the need is greatest.

Your support is much appreciated.

TWG Summer Gathering - Provost’s House

We are delighted that our popular TWG Summer Gathering is back after a break of two years!

This year we will hold our gathering at the Provost's House and Gardens at the invitation of Trinity College Provost, Linda Doyle. Join us on the afternoon of 14 July for a special tour of the house and refreshments served in the gardens, accompanied by live music from violist Benjamin Errington.

With an address of No 1. Grafton Street, the Provost's House has a special place in Dublin's built heritage. Most of the house is invisible from Nassau Street and Grafton Street, as it is screened behind high walls. Begun in 1759, it was designed by Dublin architect John Smyth for Trinity Provost Francis Andrews.  Trinity College Professor in Architectural History, Dr. Christine Casey, describes it as "a grand and eccentric stone-fronted townhouse that survives in pristine condition and is still used for its original purpose". The highlight of the "intriguing" interior is the saloon at piano nobile level with its "central Venetian window", "coffered ceilings" and "rich Corinthian half-columns" (Casey).

A visit to the Provost's House and Gardens is a special experience for anyone interested in art and architecture and the history of Trinity College.

Tickets: Update - booking now closed.

Ticket includes: tea/coffee and light snacks in the garden, with musical accompaniment; as well as a guided tour of the historical Provost’s House, TCD.

If you have any questions or to inquire about further availability, please contact trinitywomengraduates@gmail.com.

Benjamin Errington

UK-born Benjamin Errington received his musical training at Chethams School of Music and early in his career was a string finalist in the BBC Young Musicians and Audi Young Musicians competitions. He went on to study at the Royal Northern College of Music, Manchester, graduating with First Class Honours and a PPRNCM diploma in performance. As a founding member of the Johnston String Quartet (later the Navarra and Elias Quartets) Benjamin concertised in the UK and Austria and has since been a music-director and Freelance Violist in several European countries upon the completion of his studies at the Mozarteum in Salzburg (funded by the Countess of Munster Musical Trust and the English Speaking Union Award). Benjamin continues to be a dedicated chamber musician and has played as a guest with the Navarra Quartet in Ireland. In 2017 he gave a full length solo recital with pianist Christian Ivandic in the Museo Soumaya in Mexico City. He currently combines his musical career, including frequent appearances with the RTE orchestras, with academic research into the musical aesthetics of Early German Romanticism, as an Early Career Researcher at Trinity College Dublin.

To mark International Women in Engineering Day on the 23d of June 2022, Trinity Women Graduates is putting the spotlight on two trailblazing TCD engineering graduates. We are delighted to be joined by Professor Jane Grimson, a Computer Engineering graduate from Trinity College Dublin, former Dean of Engineering and of Research and Vice-Provost from 2001-2005. Professor Grimson is a strong advocate for the advancement of women in engineering and in research more broadly. 

We are also delighted to welcome Tríona Byrne, TCD Structural Engineering graduate working on conservation projects on buildings of all ages, style and size in the greater Dublin region. Tríona is co-founder of the Irish branch of the Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings (SPAB), completed the SPAB Scholarship in 2016 and is a SPAB Trustee.

We will have a conversation with these two women, discuss their career highlights, what drives them, and what attracted them to their respective fields in engineering and research. We look forward to many of our members joining this conversation. Moderated by Dr Lucy Corcoran, TWG President 2022.

Find out more about our guest speakers below.

This is a free event, book your free ticket below. A meeting link will be shared with all registered in advance of the event.

Meet the speakers

Professor Jane Grimson is a TCD computer engineering graduate and holds a Masters and Doctorate in Computer Science from the Universities of Toronto and Edinburgh, respectively. She returned to Trinity College as a lecturer in Computer Science in 1980 and was elected a Fellow in 1991. She is a former Dean of Engineering and of Research and served as Vice-Provost from 2001-2005. Professor Grimson has published widely in the field of database systems and health informatics particularly in the area of electronic health records.

She is a Past-President of the Institution of Engineers of Ireland (now Engineers Ireland), the Irish Academy of Engineering, the Irish Computer Society, and the Healthcare Informatics Society of Ireland. She is a Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering, the Irish Academy of Engineering, and Engineers Ireland and a member of the Royal Irish Academy. From 2006 until her retirement in 2014, she was partially seconded to the newly established Health Information and Quality Authority, initially as Director of Health Information and subsequently as Acting Chief Executive. She was elected a Pro Chancellor of the University of Dublin in 2016.

Professor Grimson is a strong advocate for the advancement of women in engineering and in research more broadly. She helped to establish WiSER (the Centre for Women in Science and Engineering Research) at Trinity College Dublin and chaired the Gender Equality Task Force NUI Galway from 2015-2016. In 2017 she was awarded an honorary degree by NUI Galway for services to engineering and to gender equality in higher education.

Tríona Byrne is a Structural Engineering graduate of Trinity College Dublin working on conservation projects on buildings of all ages, style and size in the greater Dublin region. She is co-founder of the Irish branch of the Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings (SPAB) and served as Chair for 5 years from its foundation in 2017 until 2021. She completed the SPAB Scholarship in 2016 and is a SPAB Trustee.

She is on the Conservation Group committee of Engineers Ireland and has been involved with the ICOMOS Ireland National Scientific Committee on Energy, Sustainability and Climate Change. She is a member of the Building Limes Forum of Ireland and the Dry Stone Walling Association of Ireland.

TWG Centenary Exhibition - Virtual Tour

Last December, Trinity Women Graduates announced the start of the Trinity Women Graduates Archive Project. This project marks the centenary of the Trinity Women Graduates Association (TWG), in April 2022. The archival records of TWG were transferred to TCD Library in 2018. These records have now been catalogued as part of a Virtual Trinity Library project with the Library of Trinity College Dublin, to make them accessible to researchers and students. The cataloguing of the archive records will be complemented by a physical exhibition in the Old Library of Trinity College Dublin (now on display until the end of May 2022) and an online exhibition on Google Cultural Institute which has been launched to form part of the centenary celebrations.

Join our online webinar on Wednesday the 11th May (1-2PM) for a virtual tour of the wonderful TWG Centenary Exhibition with TCD Archivist Ciara Daly.

The collection features correspondence, minute books, financial records, photographs and membership documents that chronicle the achievements and hard-fought victories of women in Trinity to be acknowledged as equal citizens, students, academics and graduates. This project would not be possible without the support of the TCD Association and Trust, who provided a generous grant for this project.

Exhibition highlights include:

• Memorial presentation at the tercentenary of Dublin University June 1892 signed by 10,560 Irish Women of the educated classes.

• Disciplinary Regulations for Women Students 1908.

• Photograph of the July 1906 TCD Commencements of the Oxbridge women.

• Dublin University Women Graduates' Association Report, Statement of Accounts and List of Members 1922. Shows the Constitution of the TWG in their first year as a society.

• Flyer for DUWGA Jubilee Dinner- First time women could host in the Dining Hall 1954.

• Photograph of the first Women Graduates at the Michaelmas Commencements in 1906.

• Calligraphy reading 'Trinity Monday June 1968. First women to be elected as Fellows?

• Interviews from ‘All Changed, documentary on the experiences of female staff in Trinity. Produced for WiSER Women in Science and Engineering Research by Angie Mezzetti of Ocarina Productions.

Book your free ticket, meet guest speaker Ciara Daly, and read more about TWG below.

A meeting link will be shared with all registered in advance of the event.

Meet the speaker - Ciara Daly, TCD Project Archivist

TWG has three funds that members have generously supported over the years. Your gift allows this work to continue and we really appreciate your continued support.

You can select your preferred fund in the “Additional Information” section once you’ve clicked the blue button above.

You can also tick the last box to allow the committee to allocate funds where the needs are greatest.

TAP Trinity Access Programme Support Scholarship

TWG supports two students every year who obtain the highest marks in their year. This makes life easier for them and enables them to concentrate on their studies. Every year the students are so grateful for these contributions. In 2020, thanks to our generous members, TWG was able to support an additional postgraduate student with a grant of €1,000.

Bursary

The TWG Bursary Fund was set up to provide financial assistance to members and former members who are in financial difficulty. 

General Gift

Please allocate my gift to where the need is greatest.

Your support is much appreciated.

Centenary Women’s Commons

Please join us for an evening with Provost Linda Doyle and former Tanáiste Mary Harney at a special Commons dinner to benefit the Trinity Women Graduates Centenary Exhibition.

When: 5.45pm arrival for 6pm, Thursday the 3rd of March.

Where: The Dining Hall, Trinity College Dublin.

Dress code: Smart casual.

Tickets: All welcome, with tickets available at the link below for €60 (proceeds to support curation and cataloguing of TWG archive to support exhibition launch).

PLEASE EMAIL US IF YOU HAVE ANY SPECIAL DIETARY REQUIREMENTS. If you have any questions, please contact trinitywomengraduates@gmail.com.

About the TWG Centenary Exhibition

TWG has partnered with the Trinity Library to develop an exhibition curating TWG’s archive from the past 100 years. The TWG material, donated to Trinity Library in 2018, has been archived, conserved, digitised and catalogued to create this exhibition which will allow us to fully appreciate the contribution of Trinity to the higher education of women in Ireland.

Find out more about the exhibition on the TWG Website and in our recent blog post.

Our AGM will take place virtually on Saturday 22nd of January from 10.30am to 12.30pm. If you are a member of TWG and would like to attend please click below to email a request for the link to join. Minutes from the 2021 AGM and the Treasurer’s Report will be circulated before the meeting.

We also welcome nominations for new TWG Committee members in 2022, to support TWG during its centenary year and celebrations, and in particular a Treasurer. Please feel free to contact us with any queries.

At our upcoming AGM, we are delighted to welcome guest speaker - broadcaster, journalist and Trinity graduate, Flor MacCarthy. Flor will share seven hidden gems with us from her recently published book - The Presidents' Letters: An Unexpected History of Ireland.

A conversation with Architects Roisin Heneghan and Katarzyna Turza Rachwal, and Librarian Helen Shenton.

Trinity College has embarked upon an exciting project – the transformation of the visitor experience to the Old Library (1712-33). Designed by architect Thomas Burke, the Old Library encloses arguably Ireland’s grandest interior space – the Long Room. It also houses one of Ireland’s most visited historic objects – the Book of Kells. Our special webinar will give attendees a special preview on the transformation project by Heneghan Peng Architects who also led the redevelopment of the National Gallery. Architect Roisin Heneghen will be joined by Librarian Helen Shenton. Moderated by Dr Sandra O’Connell, TWG President.

Meet our speakers

Roisin Heneghan is an architect and co-founder of heneghan peng architects (hparc), a practice working with landscape, urban planning and architecture with offices in Dublin and Berlin. Her practice's work includes The Giant’ Causeway Visitors’ Centre in Northern Ireland, the Palestinian Museum in Birzeit, the National Gallery of Ireland's Historic Wings Refurbishment and the Grand Egyptian Museum which is due to open next year on the centenary of the rediscovery of Tutankhamun’s tomb. heneghen peng have won significant international competitions including the world’s largest realised architectural competition – the Grand Egyptian Museum. The practice has been exhibited and published widely, including at the Venice Biennale, and been awarded the Aga Khan Award in Architecture as well as nominated and shortlisted for the European Union Prize for Contemporary Architecture, Mies van der Rohe Award, and twice nominated for the RIBA Stirling Prize.

Katarzyna Turza Rachwal is an Architect and Associate Director with heneghan peng architects. She graduated from Poznan Technical University in 1999, worked in Poland upon graduation and moved to Ireland in 2002. Since joining heneghan peng architects in 2004, Katarzyna has become an important member of the hparc team and is currently one of two Associate Directors. Her skill, knowledge and commitment were an essential element in the success of the National Gallery of Ireland Historic Wings refurbishment, a project that was awarded the RIAI Public Building award for 2017. Katarzyna is currently leading the project for the Old Library redevelopment at Trinity College Dublin, aligning its myriad strands into an overall that will form the basis for the next chapter of the Old Library.

Helen Shenton took up the position of Librarian and College Archivist at Trinity College Dublin in June 2014, becoming the first woman to do so since the University was founded in 1592. Prior to Trinity, Helen was Executive Director of Harvard Library in Cambridge Massachusetts, where she brought together 73 individual libraries in areas such as digitisation, accessibility, preservation, collection and content development, and records management. Before moving to America, Helen worked at the British Library where she led the care of the UK’s national documentary heritage and national printed archive. She was involved with world heritage projects such as the virtual re-unification of the earliest New Testament, Codex Sinaiticus and an international peer review of the Lindisfarne Gospels. That followed positions in the Victoria and Albert Museum in London, where she was deeply involved with the conservation, care and display of the world-renowned decorative arts collections.

At Trinity, Helen has led a new far-reaching Strategy for the Library, including a year-long public debate around ‘The Library of the Future; the Future of the Library’. Currently, Helen is Programme Sponsor of the ambitious Old Library Redevelopment Project and the Virtual Trinity Library programme. Helen has published and presented widely in international forums and mediums, including TEDxDublin. She represents Trinity on a number of national and international forums and is a Board member of the National Museum of Ireland. Helen is a Fellow of the International Institute of Conservation and Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts.

Book your free ticket, and read more about TWG below.

A meeting link will be shared with all registered in advance of the event.

TWG has three funds that members have generously supported over the years. Your gift allows this work to continue and we really appreciate your continued support.

You can select your preferred fund in the “Additional Information” section once you’ve clicked the blue button above.

You can also tick the last box to allow the committee to allocate funds where the needs are greatest.

TAP Trinity Access Programme Support Scholarship

TWG supports two students every year who obtain the highest marks in their year. This makes life easier for them and enables them to concentrate on their studies. Every year the students are so grateful for these contributions. In 2020, thanks to our generous members, TWG was able to support an additional postgraduate student with a grant of €1,000.

Bursary

The TWG Bursary Fund was set up to provide financial assistance to members and former members who are in financial difficulty.  TWG currently supports two former Trinity graduates.

General Gift

Please allocate my gift to where the need is greatest.

Your support is much appreciated.

This online career makeover event aims to provide advice on how to identify your next career move, prepare for an in-person or online interview and - for those who wish to remain in existing jobs - how to negotiate home-working and other flexibility.

Speakers include Claire Jennings, a Trinity graduate and Key Account Manager at LinkedIn, who will provide advice and insights on How to Rock Your LinkedIn Profile.

Speakers from Accenture will discuss the topic of the changing workplace, and will include:

• Helena Kelly, Accenture Ireland

  Helena Kelly is a Trinity Graduate and Retail Industry Consulting Manager at Accenture. She joined Accenture in March 2020 with almost 20 years experience in Consumer Goods and Retail in Ireland and Internationally.

• Edel Ryan, Accenture Ireland

  Edel Ryan is the Recruitment Project Lead at Accenture Ireland. Edel works on the end to end project delivery of new recruitment tools, data quality, building strategies around diversity enablement and supporting the recruitment team in best practices.

• Hannah Murray, Accenture Ireland

  Hannah Murray is the Early Talent Lead for Accenture Ireland, managing all student recruitment across the business. Early Talent functions include Accenture’s award winning Graduate program and internship program but also apprenticeships and early engagements such as the TY experience, teen programmes and smaller finance and HR graduate programmes.

Book your free ticket, and read more about TWG below.

A meeting link will be shared with all registered in advance of the event.

About Trinity Women Graduates
On 25 April 1922 some of the first women Trinity graduates founded our alumni association, Dublin University Women Graduates Association – since renamed Trinity Women Graduates (TWG). Our first President was Lucy Gwynn (1866-1947), who was also the first Lady Registrar at Trinity College, and our first Vice President Olive Purser (1886-1973). Olive was the first woman to be made a scholar. The conditions for women at Trinity College were completely different in 1922 – women had to be off campus by 6pm and were banned from attending the Dining Hall and joining the established societies. They fought for many decades for equal status and our theme for 2021 – ‘Courage and Curiosity’ – is inspired by those first women entering Trinity as students.

TWG has three funds that members have generously supported over the years. Your gift allows this work to continue and we really appreciate your continued support.

You can select your preferred fund in the “Additional Information” section once you’ve clicked the blue button above.

You can also tick the last box to allow the committee to allocate funds where the needs are greatest.

TAP Trinity Access Programme Support Scholarship

TWG supports two students every year who obtain the highest marks in their year. This makes life easier for them and enables them to concentrate on their studies. Every year the students are so grateful for these contributions. In 2020, thanks to our generous members, TWG was able to support an additional postgraduate student with a grant of €1,000.

Bursary

The TWG Bursary Fund was set up to provide financial assistance to members and former members who are in financial difficulty.  TWG currently supports two former Trinity graduates.

General Gift

Please allocate my gift to where the need is greatest.

Your support is much appreciated.

We are delighted to celebrate our 99th birthday with a special event where we will be joined by Professor Linda Doyle, TCD Provost-elect, and Professor Ivana Bacik, Senator for the University of Dublin, Trinity Graduates and Students, to discuss their time at Trinity. Join us on the 27th of May from 1-2pm to mark this milestone in our history. We continue to share the same objectives of our founding mothers – to provide graduates with a continued link to Trinity and to each other, and to use our voice in political and social debates, such as the need to close the gender pay gap for women.

As we prepare for our centenary next year we’ve been reminded that the experiences we take for granted were not easily won. To support the next generation of Trinity women, we fund students through the Trinity Access Programme and special projects such as recent sexual consent workshops. We also have a bursary scheme for women graduates who find themselves in financial need.

Book your free ticket, and read more about our guest speakers and TWG below.

A meeting link will be shared with all registered in advance of the event.

Prof Linda Doyle, TCD Provost-elect

Linda Doyle is Professor of Engineering and The Arts at Trinity College Dublin, and Vice President for Research/Dean of Research since January 2018. In April 2021, she was elected Provost, and will be the first woman to lead TCD since its formation in 1592. She will be the 45th Provost of the University and will take office from August 1st this year.

Her expertise is in the fields of wireless communications, cognitive radio, reconfigurable networks, spectrum management and creative arts practices. She has raised over 70 million in research funding and has published widely in her field. She is a Fellow of Trinity College Dublin.

Prof Ivana Bacik, Senator for the University of Dublin
Ivana Bacik will discuss her time as a Trinity student, her hopes for young women studying at Trinity today and what positive changes a female Provost could make, particularly with more focus on diversity. Ivana is a barrister and Reid Professor of Criminal Law, Criminology and Penology at Trinity College Dublin. She is a Senator for Dublin University (first elected in 2007; re-elected in 2011, 2016 & 2020), and leads the Labour group in Seanad Éireann. She has been confirmed as Labour candidate in the upcoming bye-election in Dublin Bay South.

Her research interests include criminology, feminist legal theory and equality law; her publications include Legal Cases that Changed Ireland (co-edited with Mary Rogan, Clarus Press, 2016). She chaired the Oireachtas ‘Vótáil100’ Committee programme in 2018 to mark the centenary of women’s suffrage in Ireland.

About Trinity Women Graduates
On 25 April 1922 some of the first women Trinity graduates founded our alumni association, Dublin University Women Graduates Association – since renamed Trinity Women Graduates (TWG). Our first President was Lucy Gwynn (1866-1947), who was also the first Lady Registrar at Trinity College, and our first Vice President Olive Purser (1886-1973). Olive was the first woman to be made a scholar. The conditions for women at Trinity College were completely different in 1922 – women had to be off campus by 6pm and were banned from attending the Dining Hall and joining the established societies. They fought for many decades for equal status and our theme for 2021 – ‘Courage and Curiosity’ – is inspired by those first women entering Trinity as students. They would have been so proud of Trinity’s first female Provost, Professor Linda Doyle who will take up the role this summer!

TWG has three funds that members have generously supported over the years. Your gift allows this work to continue and we really appreciate your continued support.

You can select your preferred fund in the “Additional Information” section once you’ve clicked the blue button above.

You can also tick the last box to allow the committee to allocate funds where the needs are greatest.

TAP Trinity Access Programme Support Scholarship

TWG supports two students every year who obtain the highest marks in their year. This makes life easier for them and enables them to concentrate on their studies. Every year the students are so grateful for these contributions. In 2020, thanks to our generous members, TWG was able to support an additional postgraduate student with a grant of €1,000.

Bursary

The TWG Bursary Fund was set up to provide financial assistance to members and former members who are in financial difficulty.  TWG currently supports two former Trinity graduates.

General Gift

Please allocate my gift to where the need is greatest.

Your support is much appreciated.

To mark International Women’s Day on the 8th of March, Trinity Women Graduates in partnership with Women in Research Ireland, are putting the spotlight on two leading Irish scientists in the global Covid response: Professor Aoife McLysaght (TCD) and Professor Máire Connolly (NUIG). We will have a conversation with these renowned experts to hear their perspective on Covid and the global response, what drives them in their careers, and what attracted them to their respective research fields. We look forward to many of our members joining this topical conversation.

This is a free event, book your ticket here.

Meet the speakers

Professor Máire Connolly is a graduate of medicine from NUIG, holds a Masters in Public Health from UCD and has a Diploma in Tropical Medicine from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.

Her areas of expertise include global health security, emerging infectious diseases, pandemic management and humanitarian response. She coordinated a Horizon 2020 security project on pandemic management in the School of Medicine at NUIG (2015-2017) and is principal investigator of the phase 2 project on pandemic preparedness and response which commenced in February 2021. She is currently a public health adviser to the Department of Health in Ireland on the COVID-19 response; a member of the Expert Advisory Group (EAG) to the National Public Health Emergency Team (NPHET); and a member of the Irish Epidemiological Modelling Advisory Group (IEMAG) to NPHET.

Prof Connolly worked with the World Health Organisation in Geneva from 1995 to 2012, where she was policy advisor to WHO’s Assistant Director-General for Health Security and lead focal point for pandemic preparedness (2007-2012). Prior to that she was WHO’s Coordinator for Disease Control in Emergencies (2000-2007). She has worked on UN response teams in over 20 countries including Afghanistan, Kosovo, Iraq, Iran, Gaza, East Timor, Uganda and most recently Jordan as part of WHO’s Syrian crisis response. Prof Connolly has peer-reviewed publications in journals such as The Lancet and Emerging Infectious Diseases and has published a number of books on communicable diseases in emergencies.

Professor Aoife McLysaght is Head of the Genetics Department at Trinity College Dublin, where she has led a research group focussing on Molecular Evolution since 2003.

She was a member of the international consortium that published the first draft of the Human Genome sequence in 2001; was the first to discover novel human-specific genes, in 2009; identified links between gene duplication patterns and human disease; and has made significant contributions to our understanding of the human genome, as well as the genomes of other animals, plants and viruses.

Aoife is on the editorial board of Molecular Biology and Evolution, Genome Biology and Evolution, and Cell Reports. She is also a member of the Genetics Society, and the Society for Molecular Biology and Evolution, serving as Treasurer from 2012-14 and being elected President in 2017.

Aoife takes a keen interest in communicating science to the public in an engaging and accessible manner.  She has given many talks at public events, including music festivals, The Royal Institution, and Brian Cox and Robin Ince’s Christmas Science shows. She is a frequent contributor to radio discussions including on BBC Radio 4, appeared on live TV, contributed to TV science documentaries, and has been a regular columnist for the Irish Times science page.

In 2016 Aoife gave the prestigious JBS Haldane Lecture of the Genetics Society, at the Royal Institution.

Our AGM will take place virtually on Saturday 23rd January from 10.30am to 12.30. If you are a member of TWG and would like to attend please click below to email a request for the link to join. Minutes from the 2020 AGM and the Treasurer’s Report will be circulated before the meeting. Inspirational speaker and personal stylist, Máirín Ní Bheacháin will join us to tell us her story and talk about resilience. Máirín is a graduate of English and French in Trinity.

Trinity Women Graduates and Women in Research Ireland (WIRI) are excited to present this joint event with Dame Jocelyn Bell Burnell. Dame Bell Burnell is a very significant figure not only in her own field (astrophysics) but to women in research as one of the founders of the Athena SWAN scheme.

Join us on 29th May at 1pm online for what is sure to be an inspiring hour.

As a postgraduate in Cambridge Dame Bell Burnell discovered radio pulsars, which resulted in her supervisor being awarded a Nobel Prize. She has subsequently worked in many roles in many branches of astronomy, working part-time while raising a family. She is now a Visiting Academic in Oxford, and the Chancellor of the University of Dundee, Scotland. She has been President of the UK’s Royal Astronomical Society, in 2008 became the first female President of the Institute of Physics for the UK and Ireland, and in 2014 the first female President of the Royal Society of Edinburgh.

The public appreciation and understanding of science have always been important to her, and she is much in demand as a speaker and broadcaster. In her spare time, she gardens, listens to choral music and is active in the Quakers. She has co-edited an anthology of poetry with an astronomical theme – ‘Dark Matter; Poems of Space’.

This is a free event, book your ticket here.

We regret to inform you that this event has been postponed, due to the COVID-19 outbreak.